NBA Player Props Today: Best Bets & Predictions for Thursday (1/16)
What kind of performances can we expect on Thursday from Devin Booker, Darius Garland, and Deandre Ayton? Follow along as our NBA betting expert, Nick Galaida, breaks down three of his favorite NBA prop bets for today — Thursday, January 16, 2025. Get all of Nick’s picks, including more NBA player props, at ScoresAndOdds.
Thursday’s NBA slate features only 5 games, but basketball fans have one of the most exciting matchups of the year on tap, with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT. Both teams enter play on pace to win 69+ games – something that has been accomplished by only 4 teams in the history of the league.
As always, be sure to monitor the league’s injury reports throughout the day and utilize tools like CourtIQ and our NBA starting lineups page to help identify value opportunities in the betting and DFS markets!
If looking to target the player prop market today, we have three player prop leans worth considering for Thursday, January 16th!
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NBA Player Props Today – Thursday, January 16, 2025
- Devin Booker Over/Under 4.5 Rebounds
- Darius Garland Over/Under 19.5 Points
- Deandre Ayton Over/Under 11.5 Rebounds
Devin Booker UNDER 4.5 Rebounds (-127, Bally)
According to RotoGrinders CourtIQ, Devin Booker is averaging only 3.9 rebounds per 36 minutes this season with Bradley Beal off of the floor. In 10 games with Beal inactive, Booker has recorded 5+ rebounds only twice. Even more notable is that Booker has 7 rebound chances or fewer in 8 of those 10 games, indicating that he simply hasn’t had enough opportunities to warrant a market number this high. The Wizards are near the league average in terms of allowing rebounds to guards across their last 10 games. Booker is likely going to have to be unusually efficient with his rebound chances to hit the over at this number.
Darius Garland UNDER 19.5 Points (-105, DraftKings)
Darius Garland is in the midst of his best all-around season as a professional, averaging 21.0 points per game on 49.8% shooting, including a career-best 42.4% from 3-point territory. That being said, this is a tough matchup for him on Thursday, facing an Oklahoma City defense that saw him only a week ago.
The Thunder have one of the league’s best perimeter defenses, evident from the fact that they have held opposing guards to a league-low 42.6% shooting from the floor and only 28.7% from deep across their last 10 games. Garland also briefly exited Cleveland’s most recent game against Indiana due to an apparent knee injury. He isn’t listed on the official injury report ahead of tip off tonight, but this could be something to monitor and is one more reason to like the under if he’s bothered by that ailment in any way.
Deandre Ayton UNDER 11.5 Rebounds (-140, DraftKings)
Since Jerami Grant last played on December 28, Deandre Ayton is averaging 9.0 rebounds and 12.0 rebound chances per contest, which makes this a very interesting betting line. In Ayton’s last 7 games, he has 4 games in which he has posted 8 rebounds or fewer and only 2 games in which he has managed 12+ rebounds. The Clippers have been allowing a lot of rebounds to opposing centers in recent weeks, but the math still favors the under given how few opportunities Ayton has had on the glass of late.
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