Today’s NBA Player Prop Picks: Embiid Dominates Defenseless Rockets

The NBA tips off the new week with a lucky number seven games to wager on tonight, which means there is plenty of basketball betting value to be found in the player prop markets.

Today, we highlight a pair of players who could take advantage due to some injuries and can Joel Embiid continue his hot streak and lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a seventh straight win.

Check out our NBA player prop picks for Monday, January 10, as we bank on some of the NBA's best to do their thing.

NBA player props for January 10

• LaMelo Ball Over 2.5 made threes (+140)
• Bojan Bogdanovic Over 5.5 rebounds (+120)
• Joel Embiid Over 30.5 points (-105)

Picks made on 1/10/2022 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

Today’s best NBA player props

Long-range Melo

The Charlotte Hornets will try to pull off a tough task as they’ll try to upset the Milwaukee Bucks for the second game in a row. While it sounds like the Bucks will have Giannis Antetokounmpo for this matchup, they will still be shorthanded, which isn’t great considering they have lost three of their last four games.

One of the big names the Bucks will be missing for this matchup is Jrue Holiday. The Bucks points guard left last game with an ankle injury and the Hornets proceeded to hit 16 threes in the game. Holiday is one of the best guard defenders in the NBA but the Bucks will also be without Pat Connaughton, Grayson Allen, and George Hill.

That means the Bucks are light on perimeter defenders, which doesn’t bode well against one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the NBA. And while it was Terry Rozier who went off from deep last game, tonight we like his backcourt mate LaMelo Ball to be the one with the big night. Or at least cash the Over on his made threes prop.

Ball has had a solid year from beyond the arc, shooting 38.1% from 3-point range, but he certainly falls into the category of a streaky shooter. Case in point, he has hit three or more threes five times over his last 10 games. But getting plus money on him to do it tonight against a Bucks team short on defenders is a value too good to pass up.

Pick: LaMelo Ball Over 2.5 made threes (+140 at DraftKings)

Picking up Rudy's slack

Despite the loss last time out to the Indiana Pacers, the Utah Jazz got a good chunk of their roster back after a replacement level game on Friday against the Toronto Raptors. Rudy Gobert is still out, but the Jazz have a nice get-right spot when they visit the Detroit Pistons tonight.

And with Gobert out that creates some rebounding opportunities for other Jazz players. While the first name that comes to mind is probably Hassan Whiteside, we’re going to focus on Bojan Bogdanovic. 

The Jazz small forward has been putting in the work on the glass lately. Bogdanovic has averaged 8.0 rebounds per game over his last five games and has had more than 12 twice over that span. More importantly, though, he has six or more in four of those games and his rebounding total tonight is at 5.5 with the Over seeing plus money.

That’s too tempting to pass up against a Pistons team that ranks second-to-last in the NBA in rebounding percentage and 25th in opponent rebounding per game. We’re backing Bogey to keep cleaning up the glass in this one.

Pick: Bojan Bogdanovic Over 5.5 rebounds (+120 at DraftKings)

Houston, we have a problem

The Philadelphia 76ers have won six straight ball games and not surprisingly, Joel Embiid is a big reason why. The 76ers’ big man has put up more than 30 points in each of those wins and he’ll look to stay hot when the Sixers visit the Houston Rockets on Monday night.

Embiid looks as dominant as ever right now. He is averaging 33.2 points per game during this winning streak, shooting 56.2% from the field, which includes 44.4% from 3-point range. That includes going for 31 points against this same Rockets team back on Jan. 3. And he is primed to do it again. 

For starters, the Rockets are one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA, ranking dead last in defensive rating and 28th in opponent field goal percentage. They also really struggle to defend the paint, where they allow the third-most points in the Association. Which is not a recipe for success against Embiid.

And don’t worry about this being a blowout and the Sixers getting Embiid some early rest. Three of the six wins in this streak by the Sixers have come by 19 or more points. Bet on Embiid to top his point total once again.

Pick: Joel Embiid Over 30.5 points (-105 at FanDuel)

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