Best NBA Player Props Today: White's Efficiency Shines Through Against Utah

Prop bet #1: Winning White

When the Boston Celtics traded away Marcus Smart, not only was it a big bet on what they were getting in Kristaps Porzingis, but it was equally as big a bet on what they already had with Derrick White.

White has rewarded the Celtics’ brass faith by turning in his best season as a pro in response. The Celtics point guard is averaging 130.2 points per 100 shot attempts per Cleaning the Glass, 92nd percentile among combo guards, and one of the outright highest rates in the entire NBA.

He's also averaging career highs in 2-point percentage (59.1%), 3-point percentage (42.2%) and free throws (89.2%). White's 17 points per game are a career-high, and whenever one of the Celtics' star players goes out, he’s called to up his usage and has done so with aplomb.

While All-Star buzz is a step too far to my mind, White is about as good as you can be without being in that conversation in a real way, and it’s just ridiculous how good at play finishing he’s become. White is shooting 74% at the rim and 54% on corner threes. These are absurd marks.

The Utah Jazz are still the 24th-ranked defense despite a nice boost at home lately. With the Celtics at home, I think White's scoring odds continue to underestimate his growing role within Boston’s offense.

Derrick White prop: Over 16.5 points (-105 at SIA)

Prop bet #2: Quickley redux

Immanuel Quickley didn’t take long to become the apple of Toronto Raptors’ fans' eyes. After a muted debut due to foul trouble, IQ turned the game on its head against Memphis with his usual blend of defense, pick-and-roll play, and audacious perimeter shooting.

Mind you, the on-court chemistry between IQ and his new teammates is still a work in progress. There were plenty of possessions where one or both demanded the ball of IQ and he either didn’t get it to them.

That means that for now, the shooting will be a reliable fallback. IQ can put his imprint on the game with his 3-point shooting and his defense. His 5-8 shooting from downtown against the Grizzlies keyed Toronto’s victory.

The Sacramento Kings just don’t make opposing guards feel them on the perimeter. Orlando just hit a franchise record 25 threes against the Kings on Wednesday night, which included Jalen Suggs going 6-12 by himself.

Quickley is a much cannier shooter and off-ball mover than Suggs, and his 3-point odds remain at incredible value tonight.

Immanuel Quickley prop: Over 2.5 threes (+110 at SIA)

Prop bet #3: High post Allen

After suffering twin injuries to stars Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, some wrote off the Cleveland Cavaliers season as dead on arrival. However, they’ve persevered — and even improved — since that time.

A few players deserve the credit, but with the massive playmaking void left by Garland and Mobley’s absence, the Cavaliers are tilting their offense more toward the big man with the best Afro in basketball: Jarrett Allen.

Allen’s assist-to-usage ratio has been average to below average for most of his career. It just hasn’t been a focus of his workman-like game. But that’s flipped this season.

Allen is up to the 81st percentile in assist-to-usage ratio among all big men per Cleaning the Glass, and his 14% assist percentage nearly doubles his prior best rate as a Cavalier.

The way big men succeed as offensive hubs relies on a few factors. One is the passing skill and another is the other is the amount of defensive attention they draw just by having the ball in the post. But the last is the level of cutting the team has and how attentive the opposition is to that movement.

It’s the latter where the Cavs have had great success. Allen is serviceable post-passing big, but he’s developed a nice chemistry with Donovan Mitchell and Max Struss in particular, finding them cutting to the basket backdoor or working as a handoff hub behind the arc. Allen is also mixing in some stuff off the bounce, including some nice one-handed dishes to shooters in the corner when he rebounds under the basket.

And there is perhaps not a team I would expect to be more vulnerable to off-ball cutting than the Washington Wizards. Their collective attention span is surely in the Bottom-5 in the NBA, and Allen picked them apart on similar plays when they played on Wednesday when he had seven assists.

Allen is quietly averaging six assists per game over his last five and has had at least four assists in every game. The big man's assist odds remain unreflective of the kind of playmaking he’s asked to do on a game-to-game basis.

Jarett Allen prop: Over 3.5 assists (-141 at DraftKings) 50% boost available