Best NBA Prop Bets for Suns vs. Warriors on Opening Night (Kevin Durant should thrive)
By Peter Dewey
The Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns face off on opening night in the 2023-24 NBA season, and there will be plenty of star power on the floor.
The Suns are showcasing their trio of stars with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal while Golden State will debut its new-look lineup with Chris Paul playing alongside Klay Thompson and Steph Curry.
With that in mind, one of the best and most exciting ways to bet on this game may be in the player prop market.
Betting on player props in the NBA is a great way to avoid betting on the spread or moneyline – which can be volatile – and instead focus on specific players that you believe will perform well – or poorly – in the matchup.
It’s one of my personal favorite ways to bet on the NBA, and I have a few plays lined up for this Warriors-Suns matchup:
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Suns vs. Warriors Best Prop Bets for NBA Opening Night
- Kevin Durant OVER 25.5 Points
- Andrew Wiggins OVER 4.5 Rebounds
- Jusuf Nurkic OVER 8.5 Rebounds
Kevin Durant OVER 25.5 Points
Draymond Green is out on Tuesday night with an ankle injury, and that should be a huge boost for the Suns’ offense – including Kevin Durant.
Golden State’s defensive rating went from 114.8 with Green to 118.4 without him last season. Now, we get to take Durant to score 26 or more points after averaging 29.1 per game last season?
Sign me up.
Durant’s shots may fluctuate this season depending up on how Beal and Booker are playing, but he’s also – Kevin Durant.
Durant cleared this in eight of 11 playoff games and four of his eight regular season games (despite injury) with the Suns last season.
Andrew Wiggins OVER 4.5 Rebounds
Andrew Wiggins may have to play some more power forward on Tuesday night with Green out, and that’s a good sign for him hitting some higher rebound numbers.
Wiggins averaged 5.0 rebounds per game last season, but he grabbed 10 boards in the lone game that he played without Green last season.
Also, Wiggins put up 5.6 rebounds per game in the playoffs when he returned from a healthy personal absence. I think this total would be too low for him even if Green was suiting up.
Jusuf Nurkic OVER 8.5 Rebounds
Deandre Ayton averaged double-digit boards per game as Phoenix’s starting center last season, and Nurkic should have very little competition for starter-caliber minutes with the Suns this season.
The big man averaged 9.1 boards per game for the Portland Trail Blazers last season, and now he takes on a Golden State team that doesn’t have a ton of size and is down one of its best rebounders in Green.
The Warriors also played at the fastest pace in the NBA last season, so there should be plenty of possession to go around for both teams on the glass.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.