Today’s NBA Player Prop Picks: O'Neale Waxes Glass vs. Wolves

It’s a jam-packed day of NBA action with a whopping 14 games on the board. That means there is no shortage of basketball betting value to be found in the player prop market.

Today, we focus on a Hornets player who should create some buzz from 3-point range against the 76ers, and we’ll try to take advantage of the Knicks' continuing struggles to contain opposing big men, even if they are the subject of trade rumors.

Check out our NBA prop picks for Wednesday, December 8, as we bank on some of the NBA's best to do their thing.

NBA player props for December 8

• Hayward Over 1.5 Made Threes (-115)
• Sabonis Over 16.5 Points (-120)
• O'Neale Over 5.5 Rebounds (-110)

Picks made on 12/8/2021 at 12:20 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

Today’s best NBA player props

Buzzing beyond the arc

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Charlotte Hornets play the second part of their miniseries in Charlotte tonight. The first matchup on Monday night was a thriller, with the Sixers pulling out a 127-124 win in overtime.

While the 76ers squeaked out the win, one of their main areas of concern this season continued to be a problem: defending the perimeter. Philly ranks 22nd in opponent 3-point percentage and that held true Monday, allowing Charlotte to hit 16 of its 35 attempts (35 percent) in that game. 

Now, the Hornets are still without LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier due to COVID, but there is no shortage of guys wanting to take a few more shots from deep for a team that ranks second in the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage. And the player we’re going to focus on for this matchup is Gordon Hayward.

The Hornets’ small forward went just 1-8 from beyond the arc on Monday, but that may just give us some value on his made threes number for tonight’s matchup. Hayward is still shooting a solid 37.8% from downtown on 4.6 attempts per game.

But he has taken 13 threes with Ball and Rozier out the last two games and you can expect him to keep firing on Tuesday. Hayward also began the season hitting two or more threes in 13 of his first 15 games, so you know he is capable of getting in a groove, and Philly should give him plenty of opportunities to find it.

Pick: Gordon Hayward Over 1.5 Made Threes (-115 at DraftKings)

More centers, more problems

There is one hell of an interesting Eastern Conference matchup on the board on Wednesday night as the New York Knicks visit the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks are playing their second game in as many nights, while it sounds like Indiana is about to issue a fire sale on its roster and enter another rebuild mode.

The Knicks snapped a three-game losing skid last night against the visiting San Antonio Spurs. Now, New York will attempt to win consecutive games for this first time since the end of October. But in that loss, the Knicks once again struggled with the Spurs' big men, and the two biggest names rumored on the trading block for the Pacers are their dynamic duo of Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis.

The Knicks rank 27th in the NBA when it comes to scoring by opposing centers and that has been very apparent recently. Jakob Poeltl came through for us last night going Over his point total, and prior to that, they allowed Nikola Jokic to go off for 32 points, while Nikola Vucevic netted 27, and Clint Capela put up 16.

While both Turner and Sabonis have had good games against the Knicks this season, we’re going to focus on Sabonis here since he has been the more consistent scorer of the two centers.

Sabonis averages 17.8 points per game while shooting 57.2 percent from the floor and has topped 20 points five times in his last nine games, and put up 21 on the Knicks in their last matchup against them on Nov. 15.

Bet on Sabonis to up his trade value with a strong performance against a Knicks team with some heavy legs.

Pick: Domantas Sabonis Over 16.5 Points (-120 at FanDuel)

The rebounding Robin to Gobert's Batman

The Utah Jazz are the top rebounding team in the NBA, leading the Association in rebounding percentage. And when you think of the Jazz and rebounding, you automatically think of Rudy Gobert. But Royce O’Neale has started to pull his weight on the boards and could put in some good work tonight when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves.

O’Neale is averaging 5.0 rebounds per game this season, which is down from the 5.8 from a season ago. But the Jazz power forward is starting to make his presence felt on the glass once again. He has hauled down six or more boards in four of his last five games, averaging 6.4 over that span.

Now, he gets to face a T-Wolves team that has really struggled on the boards this season. Minny ranks 24th in rebounding percentage and 28th in opponent rebounds per game. You won’t mistake O’Neale for Mr. Clean when it comes to shining the glass tonight, but his rebounding total is set too low in this one. 

Pick: Royce O'Neale Over 5.5 Rebounds (-110 at FanDuel)

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