NBA Player Props for Thursday, 3/12: Best Bets & Predictions Today
What kind of performances can we expect from Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ben Saraf, and Austin Reaves? Follow along as our NBA betting analyst, Nick Galaida, breaks down three of his favorite NBA prop bets for Thursday, March 12th. Get all of Nick’s picks, including more NBA plays, by subscribing to the RotoGrinders Props & Pick’em package.
Thursday’s NBA slate features 9 games, including a Prime Video doubleheader that begins with the 76ers against the Pistons at 7:00 PM ET and is followed by the Celtics against the Thunder in what could be an NBA Finals preview.
As expected this time of year, the NBA injury report is quite lengthy. Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey have already been ruled out. LeBron James and Victor Wembanyama are among the names listed as questionable as of this writing.
As always, be sure to use tools like CourtIQ and our NBA starting lineups page to evaluate how injuries impact usage and to search for inefficiencies in the player prop and DFS markets.
Below, you can find 3 of my favorite picks for Thursday, March 12th!
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Best NBA Player Props for Thursday, March 12th
Here are my top player prop bets for today, with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 PM ET on Thursday, March 12th:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo Over/Under 0.5 Double-Doubles
- Ben Saraf Over/Under 4.5 Assists
- Austin Reaves Over/Under 21.5 Points
Giannis Antetokounmpo OVER 0.5 Double-Doubles (-120, bet365)
BET365Giannis has failed to record a double-double in each of his last 3 games, creating a good buy-low spot heading into tonight’s action. On Tuesday, he played 32 minutes – his most in a game since returning from the injured list at the beginning of March.
Milwaukee is still only 4 games back in the loss column of the Hornets, so there should still be some level of desire for Milwaukee to win as they make a final push for the Play-In Tournament.
Miami hasn’t been an overly prohibitive matchup on the glass of late, either. Since the All-Star Break, they rank 12th in opponent rebounds per game. They have allowed the 6th-most rebounds per game to centers in that span. Though Giannis doesn’t play a true center position, he’s the same height as Myles Turner and should benefit from similar opportunities on the glass.
Ben Saraf UNDER 4.5 Assists (-112, bet365)
BET365Saraf is coming off consecutive games with 6+ assists, but prior to that, he hadn’t managed 5 assists in a game since November 29th. If we have learned anything about the Nets this season, it’s that nothing is stable. Their rotations, performance, and seemingly everything else associated with their on-court product appears to be in constant flux on a game-to-game basis.
Atlanta has permitted the 2nd-fewest assists per game to guards since the All-Star Break. This could be a negative regression spot for Saraf.
Austin Reaves UNDER 21.5 Points (-110, DraftKings)
DRAFTKINGSLeBron James is officially listed as questionable on tonight’s injury report for the Lakers, but he seems to be trending towards playing after missing the team’s last 3 games.
If James does play, this line for Reaves is likely too high. In 18 games with James and Luka Doncic active this season, Reaves has cleared this number in only 6 games – and in only 2 of the last 14 such games.
Chicago is aggressively participating in this season’s NBA tankathon, but that doesn’t mean they are completely futile across the board. Since the All-Star Break, they have held guards to the 4th-lowest field goal percentage and 6th-lowest 3-point percentage in the league.
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