Today’s NBA Player Prop Picks: SGA Torches Chicago's Reeling Defense

We hope you have all recovered from that crazy weekend of NFL Playoffs because we want to keep on rolling into the new week with some winning NBA player prop bets.

Today, we focus on a pair of big men who should dominate on the boards and can even the offensively challenged Thunder take advantage of the suddenly struggling Bulls?

Check out our NBA player prop picks for Monday, January 24, as we bank on some of the NBA's best to do their thing.

NBA player props for January 24

• Jarrett Allen Double-Double - Yes (-120)
• Jonas Valanciunas Over 13.5 rebounds (-120)
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Over 24.5 points (-120)

Picks made on 1/24/2022 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

Today’s best NBA player props

More double-double magic

The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to play good basketball. The Cavs have won six of their last seven games and currently sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. They’ll look to stay hot when they host the New York Knicks on Monday night.

The Knicks are in a tough spot. They managed to secure the victory over the Los Angeles Clippers yesterday but are playing their second game in as many days and took some hits to their frontcourt as both Nerlens Noel and Mitchell Robinson are questionable for this game.

That could mean a big day for Cavs’ big man Jarrett Allen. Allen has been a force on the inside for the Cavs this season averaging 16.3 points and 11 rebounds per game and he has been a double-double machine since the calendar flipped over to 2022.

Allen has recorded a double-double eight times in his last 11 games averaging 14.5 points and 11.7 rebounds over that stretch. He also went for 18 points and 17 boards in his only other meeting against New York this season. Allen looks like a great bet to record another double-double against a tired and batter Knicks squad.

Pick: Jarrett Allen Double-Double - Yes (-120 at DraftKings)

Cleaning Indy's glass

Welcome to the “let’s pick on the Indiana Pacers” portion of the article. The Pacers, despite surprising wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, appear to be winding down the clock to the trade deadline when the much-rumored selloff will begin.

For now, they’ll head into tonight’s matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans shorthanded once again. Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, and Malcolm Brogdon will all miss this matchup while Caris LeVert is questionable.

Missing Sabonis and Turner is a big blow to a team that is normally strong on the glass. But without those two on the floor, there should be little resistance on the boards for Pelicans’ center Jonas Valanciunas.

The Pels’ big man is averaging 12 rebounds per game this season and sportsbooks know this is a juicy matchup for him, so they’ve bumped his rebounding Over/Under up to 13.5. But that still isn’t high enough to deter us.

JV has hauled down 14 or more boards four times over his last eight games and grabbed 13 in his previous meeting against the Pacers this season. Let’s not overthink this, Valanciunas shouldn’t have trouble cleaning up the glass in this one with the Pacers down several of their best rebounders.

Pick: Jonas Valanciunas Over 13.5 rebounds (-120 at FanDuel)

Insult to Chicago's injuries

The injury bug has bit the Chicago Bulls and it has no doubt hurt them. The Bulls have lost six of their last seven games and fallen out of first place in the Eastern Conference. So, even a matchup with the offensively challenged Oklahoma City Thunder could be tougher than normally imagined.

The Bulls will be without Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, while Zach LaVine remains questionable and while their offense has been missed, it’s the defense that is really struggling. Over this seven-game stretch, the Bulls rank dead last in defensive rating and 28th in opponent scoring.

But what has really killed the Bulls has been opposing guards. Chicago ranks dead last when it comes to opponent guard scoring, and next-to-last in opposing guard field goal percentage.

Now, that may not seem like an issue against the Thunder, but guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in a groove right now.

SGA is averaging 27.9 points on 47.9% shooting over his last seven games. Gilgeous-Alexander has also done a great job of getting to the charity stripe, attempting 7.9 free throws per game over that span. 

With less experienced guards tasked with slowing down SGA, going Over on his point of 24.5 total looks like a solid bet, particularly when you consider he has gone Over that number five times in his last seven games.

Pick: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Over 24.5 points (-120 at DraftKings)

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