NBA player props: Betting on opening night jitters for Westbrook
We're mere hours away from the start of the 2021-22 NBA season. It's not a national holiday, but it feels like it should be. At least we'll get Jrue Holiday when the Milwaukee Bucks host the Brooklyn Nets in the first of two opening night games. The late game will offer us a peek at the revamped Los Angeles Lakers as they take on the Golden State Warriors in L.A. BetMGM has a list of player props for these matchups that's longer than Rajon Rondo's wingspan. Here are four props that I like tonight:
Patty Mills over 8.5 points
The new Nets point guard is one of the odds-on favorites to win NBA Sixth Man of the Year. That award isn't won by a lack of scoring. Mills averaged 10.8 points coming off the bench for the Spurs last season and his 23.3 points per game led the Australian national team to a bronze medal this summer at the Tokyo Olympics. Kyrie Irving's sabbatical means more playing time for the Aussie who should be able to take advantage of Brooklyn's faster pace of play to increase his scoring totals.
Russell Westbrook over 3.5 turnovers
Westbrook committed four or more turnovers in his first four games with the Wizards and in three of his first four games with the Rockets. He also turned the ball over 20 times in his first three preseason games with the Lakers, including nine times in his first home game. The other two games, incidentally, were against the same Warriors team he'll be playing against Tuesday. I'm betting that in this opening game he's going to do exactly what Tim Robinson does when he orders steaks: slop it up.
Kevon Looney over 5.5 rebounds
James Wiseman is still out following knee surgery, so Looney will be logging some decent minutes against the Lakers. The Warriors center had six or more rebounds in 14 of the final 20 games that Wiseman missed last season and notched double-digit boards in seven of those contests.
Jordan Poole over 2.5 made 3-pointers
Even without Klay Thompson last year, Golden State ranked in the top five in 3-pointers attempted. This is who they are. More than 55% of the shots Poole has taken in the NBA have been from beyond the arc. With starters Looney and Draymond Green projected for a combined 11 points tonight, the scoring has to come from somewhere. Poole will have an increased role with Thompson out and should see close to 30 minutes of playing time against the Lakers. In the nine games he played 30 or more minutes last season, Poole hit this prop seven times. I like him to hit it again tonight.
Stats provided by Basketball Reference and nba.com.
