Jordan Hawkins looks to be avoiding the sophomore slump as he becomes a key player for New Orleans. Expect him to shine again tonight.
Jamal Murray is off to a slow start this season, but that means we can buy low on his NBA player props.
I’m betting on the Nuggets guard to find his groove while also backing a couple of young players in Walker Kessler and Jordan Hawkins, who have seen their stats rise along with their minutes.
Here are my best NBA picks in the player props markets for Tuesday, October 29.
Best NBA player props today
Picks made on 10-29 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
NBA player props for October 29
Prop bet #1: Jamal Murray Over 19.5 points
-115 at bet365
Surprisingly, the Denver Nuggets are near the bottom of the league in offensive rating. A big reason for that has been some uncharacteristic poor shooting from point guard Jamal Murray.
Murray is averaging 17.0 points per game despite shooting a pathetic 35.3% from 2-point range. He’s actually shooting an efficient 38.5% from deep and logging 38.3 minutes per game, so it’s likely his shots from inside the arc will see positive regression. Especially when you consider Murray shot 51% on shots inside the arc last season while putting up 21.2 ppg.
He has a favorable matchup tonight against the Brooklyn Nets who are 24th in the league in opponent 2-point percentage (55.8%), 21st in opponent 3-point percentage (37.4%) and send opponents to the line for a whopping 36.7 free-throw attempts per game.
Prop bet #2: Walker Kessler Over 9.5 rebounds
+110 at DraftKings
Walker Kessler averaged 8.0 boards in 23.2 minutes per game during his first two seasons in the league, and he’s expected to have a bigger role in Year 3 after replacing John Collins in the starting five.
Kessler pulled down 14 rebounds in the Utah Jazz’s season-opener against the Grizzlies and had nine boards in his second game before racking up 11 in his last contest. The nine-board performance came against a Warriors team that used small-ball lineups to force Jazz coach Will Hardy into getting more mobile players onto the floor, resulting in Kessler logging just 20 minutes.
Kessler logged 30 minutes in each of his other two games, and he should see plenty of the floor tonight as he matches up against Sacramento’s All-Star center Domantas Sabonis.
The Kings play at a fast pace and rank 28th in the league in rebounding rate (47.1%), which should lead to plenty of rebounding opportunities for Kessler.
Prop bet #3: Jordan Hawkins Over 16.5 points + rebounds
-115 at bet365
If you’re looking for a long-shot futures bet with a big payoff, you might want to consider New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins at +7,500 for Most Improved Player. But since this is a player props article, let’s focus on his points + rebounds prop for tonight.
Hawkins was drafted with the 14th pick in the 2023 draft after helping lead UConn to the national title. Hawkins averaged a modest 7.8 points in 17.3 mpg as a rookie but has become a major contributor this season.
In the Pels season opener, Hawkins scored 13 points while adding seven boards against the Bulls. With guard Dejounte Murray fracturing his hand in the fourth quarter of that game, Hawkins has seen his offensive role grow even more. He dropped 24 points with five rebounds in his second game before scoring 17 points with seven boards in a season-high 34 minutes the last time out.
The O/U for Hawkins pts + rebs today is sitting at just 16.5 despite Hawkins going well above that number in every game this year and the Warriors playing at the third-fastest pace in the NBA.
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