After a weird night with just one game on the schedule, the NBA is back in full swing tonight with 12 games on the board for hungry player prop bettors to sink their teeth into.
Today, we look at the surging Scottie Barnes as he and the Raptors look to bully LeBron James and the Lakers for the second time this week, and we’re getting a great price on a Rudy Gobert rebounding prop as the Jazz host the Clippers.
Check out our NBA player prop picks for Friday, March 18, as we bank on some of the NBA's best to do their thing.
NBA player props for March 18
Picks made on 3/18/2022 at 11:35 a.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.
If you're signing up for a new sportsbook for the 2021-22 NBA season, here are two of the best bonuses available:
USA: Nikola Jokic to record a triple-double + Nuggets win tonight BOOSTED to +525 (was +485) at Caesars! Claim Now
Canada: Bet $1, get $100 in free bets when you sign up with BetVictor! Sign Up Now
Today’s best NBA player props
Barnes is noble
Scottie Barnes is really making a strong push for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. The Toronto Raptors rookie was named Rookie of the Month for February and has been on a tear since the All-Star break. Barnes will look to keep that up when he and the Raps host the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
Barnes is doing it all at the moment. In 12 games since coming out of the break, he is averaging 18.8 points while shooting 55.7% from the floor. He is also contributing 8.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game over that stretch.
And if you watched Barnes in the last game against the Lakers on Monday, you know he was a problem for them. Yes, his stat line of 21 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks was great. But it’s the way Barnes just bullied the Lakers with his size and athleticism that was truly impressive. It was a total mismatch from the opening tip.
Meanwhile, the Lakers' defense has no teeth without Anthony Davis. LeBron clearly isn’t putting the effort in at that end of the floor right now and the Lakers just don’t have the depth to match the size and athleticism of the Raptors.
Expect another big game from Barnes, who has gone over this points + rebounds number eight times in the last 12 games.
Pick: Scottie Barnes Over 25.5 points + rebounds (-115)
CJ Premier
CJ McCollum has been enjoying his new digs. The New Orleans Pelicans shooting guard has been getting buckets since coming over from the Portland Trail Blazers and he’ll look to keep that scoring touch when he and his teammates visit the San Antonio Spurs.
McCollum is averaging 26.6 points while shooting 52.7% from the field, including 40.4% from 3-point range as a member of the Pels. So, getting a point total of 26.5 might not seem like much of an edge, but let me tell you why it is.
For starters, obviously, McCollum is playing well, and while he has only gone Over this number six times in his 13 games with the Pels, when he goes Over, he goes way Over, putting up 30 points or more in all six of those instances.
Next, there is the matchup with the Spurs. This is not a great defensive version of the Spurs. San Antonio ranks 19th in defensive rating and really struggles to contain opposing guards. The Spurs allow the second-most points to opposing guards per game, while ranking 22nd in the NBA when it comes to opponent 3-point shooting percentage.
And San Antonio had a tough time the last time they face McCollum, letting him go for 36 points when they last met back on Feb. 12.
With still no Brandon Ingram and now Devonte’ Graham questionable as well, there should be plenty of opportunities for McCollum to fill up the bucket in this one.
Pick: CJ McCollum Over 26.5 points (-105)
Rebounding Rudy
Any time you are going to give me plus money on a Rudy Gobert rebounding prop, it’s going to pique my interest. But if you do it when the Utah Jazz are facing a team as bad at rebounding as the Los Angeles Clippers, I can’t say no.
Gobert is obviously one of the best in the business, averaging 14.8 rebounds per game this season, and hauling down 14 or more seven times in his last 10 games. And now he gets to face the Clippers.
As we hinted at, the Clippers are not a good rebounding team. In fact, they rank 26th in rebounding percentage and 28th in opponent rebounds per game. And the last time Gobert faced L.A. back in mid-December, he grabbed 17 boards.
This is a big number. But like I said, the plus money in this matchup is too much to pass on.
Pick: Rudy Gobert Over 13.5 rebounds (+105)
Did you know that if you played today’s NBA props as a parlay, you could win $64.83 on a $10 bet?
Use our NBA parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.
