
We were treated to an excellent overtime affair between the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers in the opening week of the season, and after some encouraging starts to the season from both teams Thursday's game should once again deliver.
(Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Clippers may stand at just 2-2, but they've held the lead late in the fourth quarter of every game and have gotten some meaningful contributions from everyone on the roster. What can we learn from last week's game, and the first four contests for each team, as we look to bet some NBA player props on Thursday?
Let's build a same-game parlay for Suns vs Clippers on Thursday, October 31st, and lay out a few props that will work well as standalone straight bets as well.
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The first part of the equation here is Ivica Zubac, who is coming off a tough showing against the Portland Trail Blazers less than 24 hours ago.
Well, Ty Lue only played Zubac 31 minutes with a focus on the second night of this back-to-back against Phoenix, and the bigman also had to deal with some good pick-and-roll defense from an experienced Portland frontcourt.
Zubac's floater should very much be in play here against a Phoenix defense which has allowed the bulk of shots from opponents to come in the mid-range, and with even more minutes here the veteran should rack up plenty of boards against a Suns team which struggles to rebound.
He went for 21 points and nine rebounds against Phoenix in the Clippers' opener and has now hit the over on this by a good margin in every game except for Wednesday's loss to Portland. I like him to roar back with a big game on Thursday.
The Clippers have really struggled to defend the outside shot now that Paul George has gone to Philadelphia and Kawhi Leonard has once again fallen victim to the injury bug.
The onus should be on this Suns backcourt to rise and fire, and I'm looking to Booker -- who has taken eight or more 3-pointers in his last three games after a 4-for-5 showing from deep on opening night in L.A.
Bradley Beal is questionable for this tilt, but wasn't relied upon to score down the stretch against the Lakers in Monday's win, and the combination of his physical limitations and Booker's growing role in the offense should mean plenty of attempts from deep against a team that's watched a ton of 3-pointers fall.
I'd love to take James Harden's rebounding prop here, which is a sneaky bet these days, but it would appear oddsmakers have caught up to his prowess on the glass.
One thing that does seem to be flying under the radar, however, is this market. Harden has gone over this total in every game except for Wednesday's loss to the Trail Blazers, but like Zubac he had his minutes heavily managed on the front end of a back-to-back and played a season-low 32.
Harden has been the lone man to make this offense go, and he should have plenty of opportunities to exploit the Suns' rather soft interior defense in the pick-and-roll with Zubac. Phoenix has also struggled in defending the 3 like L.A., and Harden's enjoyed plenty of help in racking up assists with the shooting ability of Norman Powell this year.
The veteran didn't seem to have his shooting touch a night ago, and he may opt to take fewer shots here and run as a playmaker in such a big game.
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