It’s week two in the NBA, and three NBA Finals hopefuls and one winless team will take the court on Thursday. We are targeting two games for same-game parlays tonight: the Dallas Mavericks vs. Brooklyn Nets and the Memphis Grizzlies vs. Sacramento Kings.
Three of these teams – Dallas, Brooklyn, and Memphis – are looking to make deep playoff runs, while Sacramento is just looking for its first win of the season and first playoff appearance since 2006.
Below we break down a few players to target for prop bets during tonight’s NBA slate. Mavericks vs. Nets tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV, while the Grizzlies and Kings begin at 10:00 p.m. ET.
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Thursday NBA player prop picks
Grizzlies vs. Kings parlay: Ja Morant and De’Aaron Fox each score 30+ points (+315, FanDuel)
These two young point guards have come out of the gates red-hot. Morant, who appears to be gunning for the scoring title, is second in the NBA in points per game (35.3) behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo (36.0).
Fox looks to be on his way to a career year of his own, averaging 31.7 PPG on 45.0% three-point shooting and 59.4% shooting overall. Those numbers are bound to come back down to earth, but the 24-year-old clearly has come into the season with a fresh focus.
It should be a high-scoring affair in Sacramento Thursday night. The Grizzlies are still without shot-blocking center Jaren Jackson Jr. and have given up at least 124 points in each of their last three games. The Kings, meanwhile, are coming off a 130-125 loss to the Warriors on Monday. Sacramento is also playing at the fourth-fastest pace in the NBA thus far. It should be an up-and-down shootout with Morant and Fox running their respective offenses. Neither of these point guards are known for their defense, so expect the counterparts to exchange a ton of baskets. Â
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Mavericks vs. Nets parlay: Christian Wood over +19.5 points and +8.5 rebounds (+243, FanDuel)
After losing in Milwaukee Wednesday, the Nets are off to a disappointing 1-3 start. And it doesn’t get any easier Thursday night with Luka Doncic and the Mavericks coming to Barclays Center on the second night of a back-to-back for Brooklyn. It’s not the Mavericks’ superstar we’re looking at today, though. It’s their sixth man, Christian Wood.Â
Wood is off to a solid start in Dallas, averaging 24.2 points and 8.7 rebounds while coming off the bench. He’s scored at least 23 points in each of his first three games, and Wood’s easiest offensive assignment will be Thursday night. The Nets’ defense has been uninspiring to date, and they don’t really have a defensive option to stop athletic big men like Wood. On Wednesday night, for example, Antetokounmpo dropped 43 points on 64% shooting against Brooklyn. Ben Simmons will be more preoccupied with Doncic, leaving Wood to feast on their hapless back line.
Wood should also get his fair share of boards tonight. The Nets rank as the worst rebounding team in the NBA during the early going. If Wood gets his usual 25 or so minutes off the bench, he should easily flirt with 20-10 tonight.