NBA Player Props Today: Best Bets & Predictions for Wednesday (1/8)
What kind of performances can we expect on Wednesday from Malik Beasley, Tyrese Maxey, and Nic Claxton? Follow along as our NBA betting expert, Nick Galaida, breaks down three of his favorite NBA prop bets for today — Wednesday, January 8, 2025. Get all of Nick’s picks, including more NBA player props, at ScoresAndOdds.
Wednesday’s NBA slate features 8 games, highlighted by a marquee matchup between the Thunder and Cavaliers at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN. Both the Thunder and Cavaliers enter play on a 70-win pace, and neither team has lost a game against the opposing conference to date this season.
From a betting perspective, there are plenty of other exciting matchups on tap as well. 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 Wednesday, January 8th!
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NBA Player Props Today – Wednesday, January 8, 2025
- Malik Beasley Over/Under 17.5 Points
- Tyrese Maxey Over/Under 7.5 Assists
- Nic Claxton Over/Under 9.5 Rebounds
Malik Beasley OVER 17.5 Points (-105, bet365)
Beasley has a redemption opportunity in front of him tonight. He has been a popular target for bettors in his last 3 games, due to his expanded role with Jaden Ivey ruled out for the season. The unfortunate part is that he shot 5-for-16 against the Hornets on Friday and went 1-for-10 on Monday against the Trail Blazers – meaning he’s posted a pair of duds against only one strong performance in the past week.
The good news for Beasley, and for anyone who simply can’t quit him in the betting markets, is that he gets a very favorable matchup against the Nets. They enter play ranked 20th in defensive rating across their last 8 games, which includes ranking in the bottom third of the league in opponent field goal percentage and opponent 3-point percentage against guards.
Beasley should once again see near 30 minutes of playing time. We know he will have plenty of volume. It’s simply a matter of whether or not he can knock down enough shots to get the job done.
Tyrese Maxey UNDER 7.5 Assists (-110, bet365)
According to CourtIQ, Maxey is averaging only 6 assists per 36 minutes this season with both Joel Embiid and Paul George off of the floor. In 9 games this season with both Embiid and George unavailable, Maxey has managed only 3 games with more than 5 assists and only 1 game with more than 7 assists.
His opportunities simply haven’t been there either. In those 9 games, Maxey hasn’t posted more than 13 potential assists in any individual game, and he has 4 games with 11 potential assists or fewer. Washington has allowed the 9th-most assists per game to guards across their last 8 games, but this is still a tall number for Maxey. The math favors the under.
Nic Claxton UNDER 9.5 Rebounds (-130, bet365)
Claxton has gone under this market number in 21 of 30 games this season, including 11 of 15 home games. Though he’s been producing at a slightly higher rate in recent weeks, he still doesn’t have a single game with more than 16 rebound chances since the middle of December.
He draws a tough matchup against a Detroit team that ranks 4th in the NBA in rebound percentage across their last 8 games. During that stretch, they have allowed the 6th-fewest rebounds per game to the center position. Claxton is likely to have a difficult time cleaning up the glass tonight.
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