The NBA schedule might be light on the action with just four games on the board, but a couple of those matchups are fascinating and give us some great options in the NBA player props market.
Giannis Antetokounmpo & Co. take on the Warriors, where an unheralded guard could do some extra scoring. At the same time, a Darius Garland prop highlights the nightcap where the Cavaliers will attempt to start a new streak against the Clippers.
Here are my NBA picks for Tuesday, March 18.
Best NBA player props today
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Young Over 3.5 rebounds (+125 at bet365) -
Moody Over 12.5 points (-115 at bet365) -
Garland 7+ assists (+140 at bet365)
NBA player props for March 18
Trae Young Over 3.5 rebounds (+125 at bet365)
The Atlanta Hawks are firmly in the play-in picture in the Eastern Conference thanks to the development of their young roster. Plus, Trae Young is still kicking around.
While Ice Trae may still not be the most efficient player in the NBA, the Hawks rely on him for 24 points and 11.5 assists per game. I’m looking at another category for tonight’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets.
That’s right. I like Young to put some work on the glass. He's averaging 3.2 rebounds per game this season, and not surprisingly, his rebounding prop is sitting at 3.5, but I like him to grab a couple more than that on Tuesday night.
He's been a little more active on the glass lately, upping that rebounding average to 5.3 over the last four games, grabbing at least four boards in each.
Then there's the matchup with the Hornets. Yes, they have Mark Williams, but this team has been bad at rebounding outside of him lately. Charlotte ranks 22nd in rebounding rate and 28th in opponent rebounds per game since the All-Star break.
Part of that is because the Hornets are putting up a lot of bricks. Charlotte ranks dead last in the NBA in effective field goal percentage since the break. This means lots of rebounds are up for grabs.
Young has also gone Over this number in all three matchups against the Hornets this season, including hauling down seven boards when they last met on March 12. Yet, the NBA odds are still giving us a great price on the Over. Sign me up.
Moses Moody Over 12.5 points (-115 at bet365)
Moses Moody finally had a bit of a down night when it came to scoring, putting up nine points in last night’s 114-105 loss to the Nuggets.
I still feel like oddsmakers are not putting enough respect on Moody’s breakout for the Golden State Warriors, and he should have a nice opportunity to bounce back tonight when they host the Milwaukee Bucks.
Moody enters tonight’s matchup averaging 10 points per game this season, but he’s taken his game to the next level. The 22-year-old has upped that average to 12.6 points over his last 27 games, which includes 16 starts. And he had put up 17+ points in three straight games prior to his 9-point performance last time out.
Despite this, Moody’s point total continues to sit at a modest 12.5.
While the Bucks haven’t been terrible defensively this season, they do allow a ton of 3-point attempts per game, which is the sixth-most per game in the NBA. Moody is shooting 45.5% from beyond the arc over his last six games and has hit 2+ threes five times over that stretch.
On top of that, Moody could see a few extra minutes tonight as the Warriors are considering resting Steph Curry in the second half of a back-to-back.
Darius Garland 7+ assists (+140 at bet365)
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ tremendous 16-game winning streak finally came to an end last time out, but they’ll try to start another one when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
The Cavaliers have been so good because they're getting peak performances from all over the floor. Oh, you want to stop Evan Mobley? Well, here’s Jarrett Allen. You’re going to focus on shutting down Donovan Mitchell? Here comes Darius Garland.
It’s Garland I want to focus on in this matchup.
The two-time All-Star can be a little overlooked at times with Spida getting most of the attention, but he shouldn’t. He's having a great season, averaging 21 points while shooting 40.8% from 3-point range. He’s also a fantastic playmaker, averaging 6.7 assists per game and I like him to keep dishing out the dimes tonight.
Garland has been even more pass-happy lately, handing out 7+ assists eight times over his last 12 games, and the matchup against the Clippers is better than you might expect. L.A. has seen its defense dip a bit. The Clippers rank a middling 15th in defensive rating and 17th in opponent assists per possession since the All-Star break.
Garland’s assist number opened at 6.5 with the Over at plus money. It has since moved down to 5.5 with the Over heavily juiced. I’m still going to grab 7+ assists from Garland on his alternate line, which you can get at +140.
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NBA odds today
Here are the full NBA odds for all of today’s matchups.
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