Best NBA prop bets today for Nets vs. Hornets (Back LaMelo Ball, Fade Mikal Bridges)
By Peter Dewey
The Brooklyn Nets are in search of their first win of the 2023-24 season when they take on the Charlotte Hornets and LaMelo Ball on Monday night.
This game features some intriguing players like Ball, Mikal Bridges, Ben Simmons, P.J. Washington and others, which makes it a perfect matchup to bet in the prop market.
I have three plays for this contest, including a pair of points props on the stars for each team.
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Nets vs. Hornets best NBA prop bets today
- Ben Simmons OVER 16.5 Rebounds and Assists
- LaMelo Ball OVER 20.5 Points
- Mikal Bridges UNDER 25.5 Points
Ben Simmons OVER 16.5 Rebounds and Assists
Ben Simmons has been a stat-sheet suffer so far in the 2023-24 season, registering 10 rebounds in both of his two games while posting eight and nine assists in those matchups as well.
This prop has been adjusted big time after starting the season at 12.5, but I still like the OVER for Simmons, who played 32 minutes in Brooklyn’s last game.
If the minutes are there, Simmons should be all over the glass, especially with big man Nic Claxton being ruled out for this game.
We’re obviously putting some trust in the Nets to make shots off of Simmons’ passes, but this Charlotte team was 20th in defensive rating last season. I think Brooklyn can score enough to get Simmons over this number.
LaMelo Ball OVER 20.5 Points
One of the most important things to look at when betting player props is usage and opportunities – especially when it comes to scoring.
You don’t want to take players to go OVER point totals when they only have a few shots per game, but that isn’t the case with LaMelo Ball.
The Hornets star has a usage rate of 29.1 percent this season, and he’s taken 15 and 17 shots (including 18 total 3-pointers) over the team’s first two games this season.
The problem? Ball is shooting 8-for-32 from the field (25.0 percent) and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. He’s due for some positive regression in that department, so as long as the shot attempts remain in the teens, he should go over this number.
Mikal Bridges UNDER 25.5 Points
In the same discussion about usage, we’re looking at Mikal Bridges, who averaged over 25.0 points per game after being traded to the Nets last season.
However, he’s putting up just 19.0 points per game through two games this season, and I’m not sure there’s a ton of room for growth in this department at this current juncture.
Bridges has 29 shot attempts in two games (12 and 17 respectively), shooting 41.4 percent from the field.
He should see more shots with Cameron Johnson out for this game, but not enough to justify him scoring over 25.5 points. Bridges scored just 18 points on 17 shots in the team’s last game, and his usage rate has dropped from 30.3 percent with the Nets last season to 22.9 this season.
I’ll fade him in this prop on Monday.
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.