On a chaotic news day with the President of the United States having his inauguration and the national championship taking place in college football, the NBA's schedule will still have its place on the airwaves with it being Martin Luther King Day, meaning basketball fans won't have to wait long for results on some of their player props with games taking place early and often.
Here are three expert player prop picks for your consideration, including a scoring prop for Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland at plus money (+100) against the visiting Phoenix Suns.
Darius Garland OVER 22.5 Points vs. Suns (+100)
Preview: Phoenix Suns vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, 3:30 p.m. ET
It's safe to assume players don't tend to enjoy earlier starts, but that's the hand both Phoenix and Cleveland have been dealt on Monday, and that could certainly play a part in efficiencies and how both box scores ultimately shape up with less preparation time prior to tip-off.
That's not steering us away from this Garland prop, though, as the Suns rank 25th across the Association in points allowed to opposing point guards at just under 26 per game. While the visitors have gone 5-1 across their last six games, as well, they're still allowing 116.7 points per 100 possessions during that stretch which places them in the bottom-third overall (20th).
Garland has scored at least 20 points in each of his five games, but he'll need 23 or more to connect on an OVER here, and he's gone UNDER that mark in two of those outings. Teammate Evan Mobley has been ruled out due to calf soreness versus the Suns, though, and Garland is averaging 27.3 points in three games already without him this season with all three being an OVER on 23.5 points.
Isaiah Collier OVER 7.5 Assists vs. Pelicans (-106)
Preview: Utah Jazz vs. New Orleans Pelicans, 8 p.m. ET
The Utah Jazz essentially being an afterthought with the worst record in the Western Conference at 10-30 has glossed over what's been an incredible stretch for rookie Isaiah Collier as of late, especially as a playmaker in the assists department.
The 20-year-old USC alumnus is averaging nine dimes over his last six games, tied for third overall amongst all players behind only Trae Young (11.4) and Nikola Jokic (10.8). Collier has gone OVER 7.5 assists in five of those outings, and is playing the second-most minutes on the team in those six appearances at 30.9 per contest.
The New Orleans Pelicans allow the 23rd-most assists to opposing point guards at 9.53, and Collier just totalled a career-best 11 dimes against them in 35 minutes off the bench on Jan. 17. He'll likely see a ton of run in this one, no matter if Utah suffers yet another blowout like it did losing by 13 on Friday.
Fred VanVleet UNDER 13.5 Points vs. Pistons (-106)
Preview: Detroit Pistons vs. Houston Rockets, 2 p.m. ET
The aforementioned early start time for the Suns and Cavaliers is even worse for the Houston Rockets and visiting Detroit Pistons at the Toyota Center, and while we're projecting it not to doom Garland, that won't be the case here with Fred VanVleet.
Detroit gives up the seventh-fewest points to point guards standing across from it on the season at 23.17, with VanVleet being one of many to put up lackluster numbers when he dropped just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting back on Nov. 10 in the Motor City. Now he did go OVER 13.5 points in both games versus the Pistons a season ago, but they've improved so much since that time that it's hard to put too much stock into those lines.
VanVleet has scored in the single digits in two of his last three games and four of his last nine, and despite playing nearly 36 minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 18, he only registered nine points while hitting three of his 10 field-goal attempts.
