Today’s NBA Player Prop Picks: Backing KD to Pick Up Harden's Playmaking Duties

On Sunday, there will be six NBA games for bettors to sink their teeth into, with five of those games taking place in the evening. 

Some of these ones are somewhat hard to read from a side/total perspective, as there are stars missing games left and right in the association right now. However, player props are a good way to make sure you still get in on the action, and we have some good ones for you to follow for tonight’s slate.  

NBA player props for December 12

• Kevin Durant Over 6.5 assists (-122)
• Brandon Ingram Over 23.5 points (-116)
• Kristaps Porzingis Over 0.5 steals (-160)

Picks made on 12/12/2021 at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

Today’s best NBA player props

Playmaker KD

The Brooklyn Nets are giving James Harden the night off when they take on the Detroit Pistons this evening. The Nets have won two of their last three games, but that was a stretch in which they played three road games in four nights. Now, head coach Steve Nash is giving Harden an extra few days to get himself right for a five-game homestand that begins on Tuesday. 

With Harden out of the game, the Nets will be losing their de facto point guard for this one. Without Kyrie Irving being with the team, Harden runs the show for Brooklyn and that allows the team to give more minutes to shoot-first point guards, like Patty Mills. But with the rotation likely to be shaken up tonight, the primary ball-handling responsibilities will be given to Durant. 

Durant has eight games in which he has recorded at least seven assists this season, so we know he’s capable of getting his teammates good looks when he wants to. He’ll have no other choice in this game, as Brooklyn doesn’t have many other players in the rotation for this game that prioritizes distributing the basketball. 

Look for Durant to go all out in trying to record a triple-double in this one. He hasn’t done it since he had 29 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 22, but he occasionally likes to remind fans what he is capable of. He then heads to social media to call those fans, “casuals”. 

Pick: Kevin Durant Over 6.5 assists (-122 at FanDuel)

Ingram's resurgence

The New Orleans Pelicans face the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center tonight, which is where San Antonio just gave up 127 points against an average Denver Nuggets offense. Now, tonight’s meeting between the Pelicans and Spurs has one of the highest totals on the board, and the sharp money is backing both the Pelicans and the Over. 

With New Orleans expected to compete in something of a high-scoring game, look for Ingram to be a huge reason why. This season hasn’t been great for the 24-year-old, as he has missed nearly a quarter of it with injuries. However, Ingram is now up to 22.7 points per game and he has scored at least 24 points in five of his last six games. If he does it again here, Over bettors will cash in this one. 

Last year, Ingram averaged 27 points per game in three meetings with San Antonio, so he’ll be fired up to see them on the other side of the floor here. And while the Spurs are 14th in the NBA in defensive rating this season, they’re just 28th in the league if you narrow the sample down to their last three games. These recent defensive struggles for San Antonio make this value too good to pass up. 

Pick: Brandon Ingram Over 23.5 points (-116 at FanDuel)

Throwback Porzingis

The Dallas Mavericks will be without Luka Doncic when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, as the Slovenian star is dealing with a bad ankle right now. With Doncic out, Porzingis is going to be the player that the Mavericks lean on the most. And while that will mostly mean that the big man’s usage will go up on the offensive end, you don’t want to discount how that might impact the way he plays defensively. 

Porzingis is at his best on the defensive end of the floor when he is actively involved in the offense, as it helps him get into the flow of the game and gives him more of a reason to be engaged. There was a three-game stretch in which Doncic was out for the Mavericks back in November, and Porzingis averaged 23 points per game in those games. However, he also had a total of three steals and five blocks in those contests. 

With that, look for Porzingis to fill up the stat sheet a bit against a Thunder team that has occasionally looked miserable this season. And definitely don’t be surprised if he ends up having a steal or two, as Oklahoma City has coughed the ball up at least 15 times in two of its last four. The Thunder also have a number of forwards and bigs that like to handle the basketball, and they can all occasionally be a bit mistake-prone. That’s a good sign for those that back Porzingis in this one, especially with the big man now playing more like the player he was in New York defensively. 

Pick: Kristaps Porzingis Over 0.5 steals (-160 at FanDuel)

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