With just two games left to play in the regular season for most teams, NBA lineups on Friday night will be filled with backups and role players. After sifting through the muddled injury reports, I’m eyeing a few NBA player props from Warriors vs. Kings and Hornets vs. Rockets. Draymond Green and the Warriors travel down I-80 for a matchup with the Kings in Sacramento at 10 p.m. ET. The Warriors are favorites with a point total set at . Earlier on the slate, Svi Mykhailiuk and the Hornets host the Houston Rockets in Charlotte at 7 p.m. ET. The Hornets are favorites in the game, which features a point total set at .
Let’s jump into why I like Draymond to big-boy the Kings backups and Charlotte’s new starting point guard to go over his assists prop on Friday night.
Find NBA odds here and use our player props search tool to find the best odds for NBA props on your favorite players.
Josh Lander is 28-9 and up 19+ units betting NBA player props over the last month. Check out the NBA Coast 2 Coast podcast each and every weekday with co-host Nate Weitzer and give him a follow on Twitter, @jlboogy. Click on the odds below to bet now.
Editor’s Note
Warriors At Kings
Below are the available NBA player props for the game between the Warriors at Kings. Eight of Sacramento’s top nine players are listed as questionable at the time this article was written. Regardless who plays for the Kings, I like Draymond’s props tonight. Note that the odds board below won’t populate until markets become live. That won’t happen until the Kings’ playing time becomes clarified.
Draymond Green Over 14.5 Rebounds And Assists (+100 FanDuel | 1u)
Here are Green’s core points, rebounds and assists props for the game against the Kings:
- Points: Over/Under /
- Rebounds: Over/Under /
- Assists: /
- Rebounds and Assists Combo: /
We’re at the point of the NBA season when we usually know which teams are in the playoffs and even their seedings. That is not the case in the Western Conference in 2023.
Golden State currently holds the coveted six-seed, allowing them a spot directly into round one of the playoffs and avoiding the play-in Tournament. It needs to keep pace ahead of the Lakers and Pelicans so, thankfully we can depend on them trying to win this game. Golden State will play its starters as long as necessary to get the win in Sacramento. And one could argue no one tries harder than Draymond Green regardless of the situation in which he and his team find themselves.
I’m grabbing the over on Green’s rebounds and assists combo prop on Friday night.
King of the Kings
Draymond and the Warriors have made a point of beating up on their division rivals since the dynasty began winning championships in 2014. Since that time, Golden State has been particularly dominant against Sacramento, winning 29 of 37 matchups.
Scale it back to the last seven meetings between these two teams and Draymond has played a noticeably huge role in that dominance. Over those seven games, he’s averaging 10 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in 32 minutes per contest.
He particularly seems to enjoy matching up with his former teammate and Kings starting power forward, Harrison Barnes. Barnes is the only starter or rotational player not listed on Friday’s injury report, setting up another clash between he and Green.
Draymond is +74 against Barnes the last nine times they’ve squared off.
There’s No “D” In Sacramento
The Kings have been awful on defense all season long, but it’s gotten even worse since the All-Star break, especially at home. They have the second-highest defensive rating at home over that period (remember that high is bad in this stat).
They’re also allowing the most assists per game to opponents at more than 30 a night.
I hate picking on Harrison Barnes again, who is one of the most likable people in the NBA. But his inability to defend his position has been a key reason for Sacramento’s troubles on defense.
The Kings allow the seventh-most points to power forwards and the most assists per game on the season.
- Follow TheLines.com on Twitter for more NBA betting content.
Rockets At Hornets
Svi Mykhailiuk Over 4.5 Assists (+115 DraftKings | 1u)
Here are Mykhailiuk’s core points, rebounds and assists props for the game against the Rockets:
- Points: Over/Under /
- Rebounds: Over/Under /
- Assists: Over/Under /
There’s a good reason most people reading may not even know Svi Mykhailiuk’s name. He only appeared in 17 games for the Knicks earlier in the season before they waived him and he signed with the Hornets.
In his first 13 games with Charlotte, Svi only averaged 10 minutes per game. Then, seven games ago, Hornets starters and backup players started dropping out of the rotation and Svi became the Hornets’ minutes leader with 34 a night.
I’m fully expecting Svi to get the same amount of burn on Friday night. As long as guard Dennis Smith Jr. stays out of the lineup as expected, I’m taking the plus money and going over on his assists prop against the Rockets.
Starting Point Guard, Svi Mykhailiuk
Svi has been known as a lethal 3-point shooter since his Kansas University days, but never a playmaker. When point guard Dennis Smith Jr. went down with a toe sprain four games ago, however, Hornets coach Steve Clifford had no choice but to turn to Svi.
Since then, Svi has rewarded his coach and teammates with more than six assists per game. He’s also recorded at least five in every game.
Houston’s defense is one of the worst in the league and is particularly ripe for point guards to abuse. It allows the most points and assists per game to opposing point guards on the season. The Rockets allow the fifth-most assists per game overall, regardless of position.
Dennis Smith Jr. is still questionable and has yet to be officially been ruled out of Friday night’s game, but I’m getting ahead of the news and hitting Svi’s assists prop now.
Obviously, DSJ’s presence on the floor decreases Svi’s chances to put up assists, but he’s still capable of getting there. Especially after flashing his improved playmaking skills the last four games.
One way to buffer against DSJ’s potential return to the lineup is simply taking Svi’s points and assists combo prop at . He’s just as likely to score with or without Smith Jr. on the floor.
