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Best NBA Player Props Today: Predictions for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Giannis Antetokounmpo on Wednesday

Payton Pritchard and Michael Porter Jr. have been playing smaller roles on their teams as of late, but these two stats show why they're in great spots on Thursday night.

By Gage Bridgford

Payton Pritchard shoots a 3-pointer
Payton Pritchard shoots a 3-pointer / Eric Canha-Imagn Images
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After taking the first half of the week off due to the weird scheduling, we’re going with a pair of plays for tonight’s 13-game slate. The first will be targeting Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics off of the bench against the Chicago Bulls, and we’re going back to Michael Porter Jr. of the Denver Nuggets for our second play of the night.

We went 1-0 to start last week, but we ended on a loss when Michael Porter Jr. came up a bit shot on the boards on Friday night. Granted, he can’t be faulted too much. His team shot 54.5 percent from the field, and he played just 29 minutes in the blowout win over the LA Clippers. We’re nearing the end of our first year in the column, so let’s try to build some positive momentum heading into next year.

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NBA Best Bet Today

  • Payton Pritchard O3.5 3s (-110) - 1 Unit FanDuel
  • Michael Porter Jr. O8.5 Rebounds & Assists (+105) - 1 Unit Bet365

Payton Pritchard O3.5 3s (-110) FanDuel

I have largely avoided the Boston Celtics in this column, but we’re in a weirdly good spot for the reserve Pritchard tonight against the Bulls. Pritchard has cleared this line in seven of his last 10 games, and he’s hit five or more in all seven of those contests. On the year, he’s cleared this line 14 times out of 26 games, and he’s attempting an average of 8.9 3-point shots per game while shooting a sparkling 43.5 percent from 3-point range.

One of the teams that Pritchard cleared this line against this season was the Chicago Bulls near the end of last month when he drilled 7-of-11 attempts from beyond the arc for a season-high 29 points. In the Bulls’ last game, they allowed Toronto’s bench point guards Jamal Shead and Davion Mitchell to go 3-for-3 from 3-point range with Josh Giddey exiting early with an ankle injury. The Bulls have struggled on defense all year with the fourth-worst field-goal percentage allowed, and I think Pritchard can take advantage of that tonight due to his high volume.

Michael Porter Jr. O8.5 Rebounds & Assists (+105) Bet365

MPJ let us down in the boards department last week, and we’re going to a line that is even higher today. However, there is still logic there for this play. Since Aaron Gordon returned from his injury, Porter has cleared this line in six of those seven games, and he finished with eight in the other start. He’s averaging 11.7 potential rebounds to go with 4.1 potential assists. He’s been chipping in contributions from everywhere, and I don’t see that changing in this matchup.

The Nuggets are heading West to take on the Portland Trail Blazers for the first time this season. Portland has struggled out of the gate to the tune of an 8-18 record, and they find themselves in 13th place in a loaded Western Conference. Against small forwards, they’re allowing the most rebounds per game at nine per game, and they’re combining that by allowing the fourth-most assists per game to small forwards at 4.58. MPJ cleared this line twice against Portland last year, and he ended with eight in only 24 minutes of a blowout in another meeting. MPJ has been active all over the stat sheet recently, and I think that will continue in a strong matchup tonight.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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