NBA Player Props for Friday, 1/2: Best Bets & Predictions Today
What kind of performances can we expect from Keldon Johnson, Egor Demin, and Jarred Vanderbilt? Follow along as our NBA betting analyst, Nick Galaida, breaks down three of his favorite NBA prop bets for Friday, January 2nd. Get all of Nick’s picks, including more NBA plays, by subscribing to the RotoGrinders Props & Pick’em package.
Friday’s NBA slate features 10 games, including a double-header on Prime Video that will feature the Nuggets against the Cavaliers at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the Thunder against the Warriors.
Per usual, there are a number of notable names on the NBA injury report. Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic, and Michael Porter Jr. have already been ruled out. Trae Young, Stephen Curry, and Karl-Anthony Towns are 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 Friday, January 2nd!
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Best NBA Player Props for Friday, January 2nd
Here are my top player prop bets for today, with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 PM ET on Friday, January 2nd:
- Keldon Johnson Over/Under 21.5 Points + Rebounds
- Egor Demin Over/Under 3.5 Assists
- Jarred Vanderbilt Over/Under 5.5 Points
Keldon Johnson OVER 21.5 Points + Rebounds (-106, FanDuel)
This season, Johnson has played 1 game without Devin Vassell – he scored 19 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 31 minutes against the Knicks on December 31st. He’s played 12 games without Victor Wembanyama this season, and only once has he logged fewer than 22 minutes. Thus, it seems reasonably safe to project Johnson for 24+ minutes this evening.
According to our RotoGrinders CourtIQ tool, Johnson has averaged 15.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per 24 minutes this season with both Vassell and Wembanyama off of the floor.
Tonight, he draws a favorable matchup against the Pacers, who rank 23rd in defensive rating, 8th in pace, and 30th in rebound% across their last 8 contests. If Johnson is even somewhat efficient shooting the basketball this evening, he should have a great chance to clear this number.
Egor Demin OVER 3.5 Assists (-135, bet365)
Demin was the No. 8 overall selection in this past summer’s draft, so it makes sense that the Nets would feature him in an expanded role, with both Michael Porter Jr. and Cam Thomas unavailable.
Denim is averaging 3.4 assists per game overall this season. When Porter is off of the floor, he’s averaged 4.3 assists per 30 minutes, per our RotoGrinders CourtIQ tool. On November 28th, with both Porter and Thomas inactive, Demin had 5 assists on 15 potential assists against the 76ers.
On Friday, he draws a good matchup against the Wizards – a team that ranks 21st in defensive rating and assists allowed per game across their last 8 contests.
Jarred Vanderbilt OVER 5.5 Points (-104, FanDuel)
Vanderbilt has played 2 games without Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves this season – logging 27 minutes in both contests. According to our RotoGrinders CourtIQ tool, Vanderbilt has averaged 6.3 points per 24 minutes with both players off of the floor this season.
Tonight, Vanderbilt gets a good matchup against the Grizzlies, a team that doesn’t defend the restricted area or corner 3-point attempts particularly well. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him find some success on the offensive end of the floor here.
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