Thunder vs. Raptors prop bets: Back SGA and Barnes to fill the basket

The Toronto Raptors host the red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder tonight.

The pregame narrative: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been getting buckets all season and we expect him to have a night in his hometown. We’re also backing Scottie Barnes’ points prop and Josh Giddey on the glass.

NBA odds as of 10:58 p.m. ET on 03/16/2023.

Thunder vs. Raptors prop bets

Best Bet: Gilgeous-Alexander over 31.5 points (-105)

SGA has been a walking bucket this season, and we expect him to keep it rolling against his hometown team.

The Toronto native has put up 31.3 points per game this season (fifth-most in NBA) but he’s been on a particularly impressive tear lately.

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 36.0 PPG in his five games since the all-star break, clearing this mark in each of those contests. He’s shooting a blistering 51.8% from the field in that span and is making exactly 40.0% of his shots from deep.

It’s worth noting that SGA missed seven games due to injury in that span, but he’s played in four of Oklahoma City’s last six with no minutes limitations.

The Raptors tend to play opposing point guards well — they rank seventh in points allowed to PGs per game, per FantasyPros — but we’re still bullish on this play.

Key stat: SGA has cleared this line in 31 of 58 games this season (53.4%).

Quick picks

Barnes over 16.5 points (-120): Barnes hasn’t exactly been a prolific scorer this season, but he’s posted three straight games with 18-plus points and that has us confident heading into tonight’s matchup.

The reigning Rookie of the Year scored a season-high 32 points last Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers and followed that up with 18 points against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.

What’s been especially encouraging is Barnes’ uptick in shot attempts. He’s averaging 18.6 attempts in his past three games, which is well above his season-long rate of 13.5.

Giddey over 7.5 rebounds (-120): OKC’s swingman has cleared this mark in four of his past six games and hasn’t fallen below seven boards in that span.

Giddey is averaging 9.1 rebounds in February and picked up nine when the Thunder played the Raptors back in November.

Toronto has since acquired Jakob Poeltl to bolster its size on the glass, but we’re still happy to back Giddey at a line he’s been breezing by lately.