The 2024 NBA Cup resumes with continued group stage action on Friday, November 29, and after the league schedule paused on Thursday due to American Thanksgiving, it's time to dive back into the player props market with a slew of value picks for all of tonight's festivities.
Here are three player props featuring some of the Association's bigger names to ponder, including a scoring prop for Karl-Anthony Towns at -102 odds when the New York Knicks visit Charlotte to take on the Hornets at the Spectrum Center.
Karl-Anthony Towns OVER 26.5 Points vs. Hornets (-102)
Preview: New York Knicks vs. Charlotte Hornets, 12 p.m. ET
Lest we forget that it was just last year, albeit when he was a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, that Karl-Anthony Towns dropped a career-high 62 points on Charlotte by shooting 21-of-35 from the field while making 10 shots from behind the arc.
He'll need just 27 points early Friday afternoon to hit the OVER on this prop, and his trends show that Towns has bounced back and forth hitting OVERs and UNDERs in each of his last five appearances, failing to string together consecutive hits.
If that should continue, an OVER should be forthcoming against a Hornets team which just lost Grant Williams for the season with a torn ACL and has no imposing presence in the middle beyond 6-foot-11 Moussa Diabate. Towns should feast against an undersized and depleted frontcourt, with the only downside here perhaps coming from the tip-off being at 12 p.m. ET, which surely no player enjoys.
Anthony Davis OVER 16.5 Rebounds + Assists vs. Thunder (-102)
Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m. ET
This would have been a far juicier matchup for Anthony Davis a little over a week ago, but with the Oklahoma City Thunder having since gotten 7-footer Isaiah Hartenstein back in the rotation following a hand injury, Davis won't be able to as easily exploit a lineup which once had its tallest player be 6-foot-6 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Nonetheless, this combined rebounds and assists prop at -102 is calling for bets, with Davis having reached the OVER in his last two appearances by averaging 14.5 rebounds and six dimes during that limited stretch. He just totalled seven assists in Wednesday's blowout of the San Antonio Spurs, which marked his season high with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Oklahoma City continues to rank dead last in opponent's rebounds by giving up 49.2 per game. Davis also hit the OVER twice last season versus the Thunder at this number, and in the two times he didn't, he only failed to do so by a single rebound or assist, so he was literally right there within arm's reach.
Scottie Barnes OVER 7.5 Rebounds vs. Heat (+120)
Preview: Toronto Raptors vs. Miami Heat, 8 p.m. ET
It's surprising to see oddsmakers believe it to be unlikely that Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes will secure eight or more rebounds against the Miami Heat, especially since Barnes is averaging 13 boards over his last two games.
The Heat also rank 26th in opponent's rebounding, not much better than the aforementioned Thunder at 46.2.
The +120 odds may be one of the greatest value picks of the entire slate, and with Barnes averaging 32.4 minutes since his return, paired with the fact that teammate Gradey Dick continues to be sidelined, head coach Darko Rajakovic will continue to run his franchise cornerstone with bettors benefiting from extended play and strong box scores.
