Yesterday was opening night for the 2022-2023 NBA season but it was just an appetizer. We get a full buffet on Wednesday, with 12 games on the NBA betting board.
The big slate gives us hundreds of NBA player prop options to sift through. We dig through all of those numbers to find the best angles and tonight we're backing a pair of former teammates while fading Karl-Anthony Towns on the glass. Here are our best free NBA player prop bets for October 19.
NBA player props for October 19
Picks made on 10/19/2022 at 10:40 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Today’s best NBA player props
The odds widgets below represent the best odds currently available for each betting market at regulated sportsbooks.
Point to prove
Although C.J. McCollum played shooting guard when he was sharing the backcourt with Damian Lillard in Portland, he shifted to the point after being acquired by the Pelicans last season.
If you eliminate the meaningless regular-season finale where McCollum played just six minutes, he averaged 25.2 points and 6.0 assists per game in 25 contests with New Orleans. He also logged at least five assists in 17 of those 25 games.
Pelicans forward Zion Williamson announced that he would start tonight despite sitting out the final preseason game due to an ankle sprain. Williamson missed all of last season with a foot injury but dropped 27.0 ppg in 2021. McCollum will no doubt see a drop in his field goal attempts and scoring with Zion in the lineup but his assists numbers should stay steady or even see a slight uptick if he feeds the big man.
With the Pels facing off against a Nets team that struggled on the defensive end of the floor last season and will likely play at a fast pace, I'm taking the Over 4.5 on McCollum's assists total.
C.J. McCollum Prop: Over 4.5 assists (+100)
The return of the king
Let's check in on McCollum's former running mate Damian Lillard, who missed more than 50 games with an abdominal injury last season. In the 29 games that Lillard played, he averaged 24 ppg on a career-worst 40.2 field goal percentage. Lillard looked like his old self in the preseason and scored 21 points on 6-10 shooting in 24 minutes of action against the Jazz two weeks ago.
Although the offseason addition of Jerami Grant and last year's emergence of Anfernee Simons could cut into Lillard's field goal attempts, he's still the unquestioned top dog in Portland. While his shot attempts might slightly tick down, his efficiency should get back to what it was in the 2020 and '21 seasons, when he averaged 29.4 ppg with a 45.7 FG%.
With the Over/Under on his points total sitting at a modest 23.5 against a Kings team that was 29th in the league in scoring defense last season, I'm betting the Over.
Damian Lillard Prop: Over 23.5 points (-108)
This KAT doesn't scratch
Karl-Anthony Towns put together another high-scoring season last year but didn't have the greatest numbers on the glass. The big man averaged a career-low 9.8 rebounds per game and that number should be even lower this season after the Timberwolves traded for Rudy Gobert.
Gobert has been one of the league's top rebounders for years and is coming off a season where he led the NBA with a career-high 14.7 rpg. It will be interesting to see how the 7-foot-1 big man fits alongside Towns in the front court.
Not only will Towns be competing with The Stifle Tower for available rebounds but he'll also play even more away from the basket, where he will look to exploit defenses with his perimeter shooting. With that in mind, I'm playing the Under 9.5 on his rebounds total.
Karl-Anthony Towns Prop: Under 9.5 rebounds (+110)
