If you haven’t been keeping up, the NBA has been a bit unusual this season. The preseason favorites have been average at best, two teams are running away with the western conference while the others scramble to stay above .500 and some surprise teams out East are looking like potential contenders.
Of those eastern conference surprises, the Washington Wizards are perhaps succeeding expectations more than any other team. The Wizards’ return to NBA competence has very much to do with some of its roster overhauls from the previous season to the current. Offseason trades have paid off and the Wiz are owners of the fourth-best record in the East.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans have been extremely disappointing. To be fair, Zion Williamson has yet to play a game this season and Brandon Ingram has been in and out dealing with injuries of his own. Still, New Orleans has been bad.
Both teams have been unimpressive in recent games and are in need of a win. Washington and New Orleans could use game-changing performances from key players, so we’ll take a look at which player props you should take advantage of.
All odds via Tipico Sportsbook.
Montrezl Harrell - Over 14.5 Points (-103)
(Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports)
As mentioned previously, the Washington Wizards are good again thanks to some offseason finessing. They traded away Russell Westbrook to the Lakers in exchange for a nice trio of players. Of the trio, Montrezl Harrell has arguably been the best. After an awkward fit in the purple and gold, Trezz has returned to his 6MOY form. He’s having a bounceback season as a scorer and is averaging a career-best 9.0 rebounds per contest.
Unlike last season, Harrell is emerging from the bench to become the second unit’s focal point on offense; an area he’s thrived in. He’s averaging 17.5 ppg and has scored at least 15 points in 12 of the 17 games this season. Harrell should be able to reach that 15-point mark again tonight barring any injuries or unforeseen circumstances. He also had 15 points last time these two squads met. Take the over.
Kyle Kuzma - Over 7.5 Rebounds (-125), Over 1.5 3-Pointers Made (-185)
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Another one of those quality returns from the Lakers trade has been Kyle Kuzma. Kuzma has been really good in his starting role and is playing more like the player he was during his first couple of seasons in Los Angeles before having to the backseat to Anthony Davis and others.
Like Montrezl Harrell, Kuz is also putting up some career-best numbers in a couple of categories. The first statistical category is rebounding, where he’s pulling in over 9.0 per outing. The other is 3-pointers, an area of the game in which he’s making 2.3 per game on 6.5 attempts. Furthermore, Kuz has made at least two 3-pointers in 11 of 17 games and eight or more rebounds on 12 different occasions.
And as he’s been great in those two parts of his game throughout the season, nothing should change tonight in New Orleans.
Josh Hart - Over 0.5 3-Pointers Made (-256)
(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
I’m not sure how we got here, but we’re onto the third former Laker of this game, which somehow features seven (by my count).
Anyways, Josh Hart is probably the most underrated of them all. He’s not super flashy and doesn’t have monstrous games but he plays hard and contributes to winning on a nightly basis.
Hart does a little bit of everything; he shoots, rebounds, defends, and play-makes at a solid level. He’s earned a starting spot and is playing more minutes than he ever has before. Knowing such, I think there’s a good chance he delivers on his 0.5 3-point-makes player prop at Tipico Sportsbook. Hart’s made one or more in 11 of the 15 games he’s played in and it could very well be the 12th occasion.
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