Today’s NBA Player Prop Picks: Ayton Stuffs Stat Sheet, Harris and Bane Heat Up

Basketball betting is on the brink of “madness” but while the college kids sort themselves out, the NBA continues to roll with a busy Sunday slate of action.

There are eight games on the NBA betting board but for the sake of our favorite player prop picks, we’re going to pass on the matinee matchups and focus on the evening outings – just in case you’re splitting your focus between the pros and joes (college).

Here are our free NBA player prop picks and predictions for March 13.

NBA player props for March 13

• Harris Over 1.5 made threes
• Bane Over 18.5 points
• Ayton double-double: Yes

Picks made on 3/13/2022 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
The odds widgets below represent the best odds currently available for each betting market at regulated sportsbooks.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

Today’s best NBA player props

Role With It Baby

Tobias Harris has been the odd man out since the Philadelphia 76ers made the move to land James Harden at the trade deadline. 

Harris, who averages almost 18 points per game on the season, has seemed lost in this new-look Sixers offense, putting up just 12.4 points over the seven games with Harden at the wheel. However, he’s starting to find his role, which is more perimeter orientated than the heavy post-up work he was doing earlier in the season.

In Philadelphia’s embarrassing loss to Brooklyn last game out, Harris was one of the rare bright spots. He finished with 16 points and went 4 for 5 from beyond the arc – his best shooting day in a while. On the year, Harris is knocking down just 1.2 triples per game on 34.7% success.

Today’s opponent, the Orlando Magic, do a great job protecting the paint, allowing 44.6 points per game in the key (seventh lowest). Their focus will be on frustrating 76ers big man Joel Embiid, offering open space to Philly’s perimeter threats. The Magic allow foes to shoot better than 36% from long range (25th) and give up almost 13 3-pointers a contest. 

Harris is attempting four triples an outing this month and could have a couple extra looks on Sunday considering the spacing and Danny Green being sidelined with a finger injury. Harris has done well against his former club, averaging 20 points and 1.7 makes from distance in three matchups with the Magic.

He presents a pretty payout for making at least two from deep today.

Pick: Tobias Harris Over 1.5 made threes (+130)

Bane of OKC’s existence 

The spotlight shines on the Memphis Grizzlies Sunday, giving 14 points on the road at Oklahoma City. That light shines brightest for Ja Morant but another young star is primed for a big day against the Thunder — second-year shooting guard Desmond Bane.

Bane scores almost 18 points a game for the Grizz and has upped that production to 20.6 this month. He had a rough shooting day against the Knicks last time out – going 4 for 15 for only 12 points – but OKC is the proper fix for those woes.

Memphis is one of the more up-tempo attacks in the NBA (ranked seventh in pace rating) and thrives in transition when Morant and Bane are leading the charge. The former TCU standout ranks Top 20 in average points scored in transition (4.3) and is also a dangerous threat from deep, shooting at a 47.5% clip over five games in March.

The Thunder struggled against tempo teams (52.7% scoring frequency allowed to transition attacks) and allow the fourth-most 3-pointers in the NBA. In fact, Oklahoma City has been bombarded by triples in recent outings, watching foes knock down an insane 87 3-pointers in their last four games.

Bane has a point total of 18.5 for Sunday, which could easily fall if OKC keeps giving shooters space on the perimeter.

Pick: Desmond Bane Over 18.5 points (-110)

Deandre in the Desert

The Phoenix Suns welcome the listless Los Angeles Lakers to the desert on Sunday night, which means Phoenix center Deandre Ayton is ripe for a busy stat sheet. 

The Lakers are lost without Anthony Davis in the middle, ranking among the worst interior defense in the NBA. 

Los Angeles is giving up a league-high 56.3 points in the paint per game since Davis went down on February 17, watching opposing teams fire up more than 40 field goal attempts within eight feet of the hoop and connecting at a better than 60% rate. 

What’s more, L.A. ranks third worst in rebound rate during that span (47.6%) and has allowed foes to wrangle 46.8 rebounds per game, including 11 on the offensive glass. 

Enter Ayton, who’s averaging almost 19 points and nine rebounds per game so far in March. In his last run-in with the Lakers, the 6-foot-11 Arizona product scored 19 points and snagged 11 rebounds on December 21 – a game in which Davis was sidelined with injury.

You could take Ayton’s points + rebounds prop Over 28.5, which is priced as high as -122 at some books. But considering how bad L.A. has been and with Phoenix pegged as 8-point chalk, there’s an off chance the Suns roll and Ayton is limited in minutes. 

Or… you can simply bet on the Suns big man to hang a double-double which is as low as -140 at Bet365.

Pick: Deandre Ayton double-double: Yes (-140)

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