After a thrilling opening round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, it’s time to turn our eyes back to the NBA. Several teams are making a serious playoff push down the stretch, and bettors hunting out NBA player prop picks, especially for Bulls-76ers and Kings-Jazz, should tail the predictions below. BetMGM and Caesars have left too much value on the Nikola Vucevic and Domantas Sabonis player prop markets, respectively. Make sure to check out OddsShopper’s tools for other sharp plays, including our Parlay Builder!
Best Bulls-76ers NBA Player Prop | Nikola Vucevic
Nikola Vucevic O/U 1.5 3-Pointers
The Chicago Bulls are playing desperate basketball. With the season winding down, Chicago finds itself just 2.5 games inside the play-in tournament — and stuck all the way down as the Eastern Conference’s 10th seed. Considering the Bulls briefly led the East last year, this year’s performance has marked a serious step back. Chicago’s coaching staff has recently responded by leaving the starters in for nearly playoff minutes.
The extra workload should benefit Vucevic’s odds of cashing this prop, but so should the matchup. Vucevic is averaging a whopping 1.9 3-pointers per game on 4.5 attempts against Joel Embiid. He has sunk at least a pair of triples in eight of their last 10 meetings. The 76ers have allowed the seventh-most 3-pointers per game to centers this year (0.9). They allowed the second-most (1.2) last season.
Embiid has played better perimeter defense of late, but Vucevic has played so well against him that I’m willing to turn a blind eye. Vucevic shot 5-for-7 from beyond the arc against Embiid back in October. More importantly, Pinnacle, a sharp book, has the over priced at -126. Bettors can still buy the +100 at BetMGM. OddsShopper’s betting model also has this play listed as one of today’s best for that reason. Readers yet to register at BetMGM can get up to $1,000 worth of first-bet insurance!
Best Bulls-76ers Player Prop: Nikola Vucevic Over 1.5 3-Pointers (+100 for 0.75 Unit) at BetMGM
Best Kings-Jazz NBA Player Prop | Domantas Sabonis
Domantas Sabonis O/U 0.5 Blocks
The Jazz have struggled with shot selection lately. Utah ranks a respectable 20th in blocks allowed per game (4.9) but is tied for 29th over the last three games (6.7). The Jazz have allowed opposing centers to swat the eighth-most shots per game this year (2.2) as well. With Lauri Markkanen questionable and Jordan Clarkson already ruled out, Kelly Olynyk and Talen Horton-Tucker will have to lead the way on offense.
Domantas Sabonis isn’t the most aggressive defender, but he has started to step up lately. Sabonis is averaging 0.8 blocks per game since the All-Star Break, up from the 0.5 he was averaging before that point. Sabonis has recorded at least one swat in eight of his last 13 games (61.5%), so getting this play with odds of +112 (47.2%) via Caesars Sportsbook feels sharp.
Some other data points suggest that value exists on the over. Sabonis averages 0.62 blocks per game on the road, 0.17 more than what he averages at home. DraftKings also has this prop at only +100 (50%), so we’re getting a pretty solid deal at Caesars. Readers yet to register at Caesars can get their first bet on the house up to $1,250!
Best Kings-Jazz Player Prop: Domantas Sabonis Over 0.5 Block (+112 for 0.75 Unit) at Caesars
