NBA Player Props for Friday, 12/26: Best Bets & Predictions Today
What kind of performances can we expect from Jaime Jaquez Jr., LaMelo Ball, and James Harden? Follow along as our NBA betting analyst, Nick Galaida, breaks down three of his favorite NBA prop bets for Friday, December 26th. Get all of Nick’s picks, including more NBA plays, by subscribing to the RotoGrinders Props & Pick’em package.
Friday’s 9-game NBA slate is headlined by a Prime Video double-header, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET with the 76ers against the Bulls, to be followed by the Clippers against the Trail Blazers.
Santa unfortunately didn’t bring magical healing powers to the NBA injury report yesterday, evident by the long list of injured stars still on the mend for this evening. Ahead of tip-off, Bam Adebayo is doubtful. Ivica Zubac, Tyler Herro, Jerami Grant, and others have already been ruled out.
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 Friday, December 26th!
Editor’s Note: Don’t live in a state with sports betting? Use our Underdog promo code & PrizePicks referral code GRINDERS to unlock generous sign-up bonuses for fantasy pick’em contests today.
Best NBA Player Props for Friday, December 26th
Here are my top player prop bets for today, with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 PM ET on Thursday, December 26th:
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. Over/Under 4.5 Assists
- LaMelo Ball Over/Under 7.5 Assists
- James Harden Over/Under 8.5 Assists
Jaime Jaquez Jr. OVER 4.5 Assists (-136, FanDuel)
According to our RotoGrinders CourtIQ tool, Jaquez has averaged 5.2 assists per 30 minutes this season with Bam Adebayo off of the floor. In 6 games with Adebayo inactive, Jaquez has yet to have fewer than 4 actual assists or fewer than 9 potential assists. When Adebayo was out of the lineup during the early part of November, Jaquez saw a clear facilitator role on the Heat, averaging 9.4 potential assists – trailing only Davion Mitchell.
Since Kristaps Porzingis last played on December 5, Atlanta ranks 1st in pace and 29th in defensive rating. They have allowed the most assists per game of any team in the NBA during that stretch, including the 4th-most assists per game to forwards.
There are a lot of reasons to think Jaquez could go over this number on Friday.
LaMelo Ball OVER 7.5 Assists (+102, FanDuel)
In 3 games without Ryan Kalkbrenner available this season, LaMelo has posted 10, 9, and 9 assists, respectively. He’s had at least 14 potential assists in 2 of those 3 contests.
According to our RotoGrinders CourtIQ tool, Ball has averaged 7.6 assists per 24 minutes this year with Kalkbrenner off of the floor, which makes this an appropriate number for his assists prop. However, it’s worth noting that Orlando ranks 21st in defensive rating and 25th in opponent assists per game since Franz Wagner last played earlier this month.
The plus-matchup is enough to justify the risk here at plus-money odds.
James Harden UNDER 8.5 Assists (-145, BetMGM)
According to our RotoGrinders CourtIQ tool, Harden has averaged only 7.4 assists per game this season with Ivica Zubac off of the floor. In the lone game that Harden has played with Zubac inactive, he had only 6 assists on 8 potential assists.
Since Jerami Grant last played on December 18, Portland ranks 7th in defensive rating. They have allowed the 2nd-fewest assists per game to guards during that limited sample.
Playing on the road the day after Christmas, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Harden struggle to rack up assists in this spot.
Image Credit: Imagn