NBA Player Props Today: Best Bets & Picks for Tuesday (12/17)
What kind of performances can we expect on Tuesday from Khris Middleton, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Damian Lillard? Follow along as our NBA betting expert, Nick Galaida, breaks down three of his favorite NBA prop bets for today — Tuesday, December 17, 2024. Get all of Nick’s picks, including more NBA player props, at ScoresAndOdds.
This evening, the Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder will meet in Las Vegas for the Emirates NBA Cup Championship. The Bucks, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, have more playoff experience than the young and ascending Thunder, but anything can happen in a winner-take-all environment, which should lead to an entertaining game.
Each player on the winning team will receive $514,971. The losers will each take home $205,988. Suffice it to say, there is plenty of motivation for both of these teams, beyond just the pride of winning the league’s In-Season Tournament.
If looking to target the player prop market today, we have three player prop leans worth considering for Tuesday, December 17th!
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NBA Player Props Today – Tuesday, December 17, 2024
- Khris Middleton Over/Under 3.5 Assists
- Isaiah Hartenstein Over/Under 11.5 Rebounds
- Damian Lillard Over/Under 3.5 Made 3-Pointers
Khris Middleton UNDER 3.5 Assists (+130, BetMGM)
In 4 games since returning from injury, Middleton is averaging 5.8 assists in only 21.3 minutes. However, in those 4 games, he’s had only 7, 6, 9, and 5 potential assists, so the underlying metrics suggest that he could see some regression in this department. The Thunder have allowed the fewest assists per game this season to forwards, which makes this a tough matchup for Middleton as well. At significant plus money, the under could turn out to be a worthwhile risk.
Isaiah Hartenstein OVER 11.5 Rebounds (-106, FanDuel)
The Bucks have allowed a number of strong rebounding performances to centers of late, including 17 rebounds to Clint Capela, 10 rebounds to Nic Claxton, and 14 rebounds to Goga Bitadze in December alone. Tonight, they will be tasked with trying to keep Hartenstein off of the glass, who has posted 20+ rebound chances in 7 of his last 8 games. Hartenstein has seen as many as 37 minutes during NBA Cup play and should face no workload restrictions this evening. He could have a big night on the boards if he is able to stay out of foul trouble.
Damian Lillard UNDER 3.5 Made 3-Pointers (-140, bet365)
Conventional wisdom suggests that star players will show up in a big way in winner-take-all situations, but this is an extremely difficult matchup for Lillard. The Thunder lead the NBA in defensive rating this season and have held guards to the 3rd-lowest success rate on 3-point attempts. In December, Fred VanVleet is the only point guard who has managed to make more than 3 shots from beyond the arc in a single game against Oklahoma City. Lillard could struggle to make a significant impact as a scorer this evening.
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