NBA Prop Picks and Predictions for Thursday August 6

VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert

5 minute read

NBA Thursday Prop Plays

Odds per DraftKings Sportsbook
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Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Clippers Player Props

Luka Doncic Over 47.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-112)

After dropping 2 out of 3 games to open the NBA’s restart, Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers will take on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in a primetime matchup on TNT.

Luka has been incredible in his first 3 games back, averaging 34 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 11 assists, spite the Mavericks 1-2 start. Typically, the Clippers are a stout defensive team and handle opposing stars defensively well, but that hasn’t been the case so far in Orlando. They lost to the Lakers in the first game of the restart, in a game that they were torched by Anthony Davis for 34 points. In Kawhi and company’s most recent matchup, they lost on a Devin Booker buzzer-beater, which capped off a 35-point, 8-assist night for the young superstar. To make things worse, the Clippers will be facing another young superstar tonight, and if they thought they had their hands full with Booker and AD in their first couple of games, they are really going to have their hands full with Luka Thursday night.

The Mavericks were able to capture their first win in the bubble against the Kings in OT Tuesday night, in a game that Luka might have recorded the most impressive triple-double of his career, grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds to go along with 34 points and 12 assists. Tuesday night was Doncic’s 2nd triple-double in 3 games since the restart. In Dallas most recent game against the Clippers, Luka was so close to that triple-double mark, tallying 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. The Mavericks have been shaky as a unit, dropping their first 2 games, then almost losing to the Kings in their 3rd game.

I won’t back the Mavs to pull off the upset tonight, but I am going to back Luka to have another big night, and go over 47.5 total stats against a Clippers team that has been susceptible to star power so far within the bubble.

Denver Nuggets at Portland Trail Blazers Player Props

Carmelo Anthony Over 18.5 – Points + Rebounds (-122)

The Portland Trail Blazers are feeling good coming into Thursday night, coming off a win against James Harden and the Houston Rockets to cap off a 2-1 start to this shortened regular season.

The story for Portland hasn’t been Damian Lillard’s dominance though, it has been more about this team coming together as a unit so they can beat teams like the Rockets; and play in closely contested games with teams like Boston. A lot of that can be attributed to the Blazers getting their big man back, Jusuf Nurkic, and the resurgence of Carmelo Anthony to relevance. Melo has proven that he is capable of coming through against his old squad, recording a 20-point, 9-rebound game in the Blazers first meeting with Denver this season.

While the return of Nurkic was originally thought to damage Melo’s volume stats, it has actually benefitted him so far. Nurkic runs screen-and-rolls with Lillard and McCollum constantly throughout the game, and teams tend to direct the majority of their defensive attention to stopping that.

The bad news for opposing teams is that the Blazers still have guys capable of creating their own shot outside of Lillard, and that has shown so far in Orlando. In Portland’s first game in the bubble, Anthony recorded 21 points and 7 rebounds in the Blazers win over the Grizzlies, and has followed that up with 13 and 15 point outings in his last 2. Partner that with his 6 rebounds per game he gets on average (which he has gone over in 2 out of 3 games in ORL), and that should be an over against his old team who he typically fares decently well against.

Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers Player Props

LeBron James Over 43.5 – Points + Rebounds + Assists(-113)

I love it when the media swarms LeBron James with negativity right before a late night, nationally televised matchup against another really good team. The Lakers are now 2-2 since entering the bubble, following their 105-86 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. This also makes the Lakers the only team since the restart to be averaging under 100 points per game.

The Rockets are 4th in pace in the NBA (103.71), compared to the Lakers who rank just 11th (101.21), which leads me to believe that the inflated volume statistics should lead to the Lakers scoring well over 100 in this one. Houston plays the majority of the game with a run-and-gun, small ball lineup, which should typically leave LeBron with the ball in his hands leading fast-breaks. In the Lakers only game against Houston this season, LeBron scored 36 points, along with 12 assists, and 5 rebounds in the Lakers 124-115 win in Houston.

Whenever the Lakers appear to be in a slump, you always have to look to King James to pull them out of that slump. Los Angeles will get that opportunity against a Rockets team that just stumped the Bucks (120-116) less than a week ago. Back LeBron to put an end to the criticism, and have a big night as the Lakers try to bounce back from one of their most miserable offensive performances as a unit against Houston in a nationally televised matchup.

Ayton is on the fringe of becoming an elite big man in the NBA, and this opportunity in the bubble might just be when he decides to assert that presence. He is averaging 19.2 points and 12 rebounds on the year, and has scored 20+ points in 5 of his last 7 contests.