NBA Player Prop Bets & Picks: 3 Picks for Stephen Curry, Karl-Anthony Towns & Nikola Vucevic (January 11)

Tuesday night's NBA slate features a few star studded players in action and there are a few spots where I expect guys will have a big night for their teams. Tonight, we'll focus on stars of varying degrees across the six-game slate.

As always, we'll be using the Action Labs Player Prop tool to compare our NBA projections to the prop lines posted at a variety of sportsbooks. Below, I have laid out three prop-bets that I'm playing, the case for each bet and the best books to find odds on those player props.

NBA Player Props & Picks

Karl-Anthony Towns Over 36.5  PTS + REB + AST (-115)

The Minnesota Timberwolves head to the Big Easy tonight to take on the New Orleans Pelicans. This is already the fourth matchup between these two teams and through three games, Towns is averaging 28.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Wolves. In fact, Towns has scored 25 or more points in each of the three matchups this season.

The Pelicans' defense is allowing opposing centers to average 23.7 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. Additionally, Towns has gone over this projection in six of the past eight games for the Wolves.

I expect New Orleans center Jonas Valanciunas to continue to struggle guarding Towns because KAT is a not traditional big man. Towns makes the opposing defenders to come out and guard him on the perimeter because of his ability to knock down the 3-point shot. The prop tool projects Towns to clear this number with ease, and I like his success to continue tonight against the Pelicans.

Stephen Curry, Over 4.5 3-Pointers (+115)

Stephen Curry, the greatest shooter in NBA history, needs no introduction. Tonight, the Golden State Warriors visit the Memphis Grizzlies for an important matchup of top Western Conference teams. This the third matchup between these two teams this season and in the two previous games, Curry is averaging 41 points while shooting 44.1% from beyond the arc.

Curry has knocked down a combined 15 3-pointers against the Grizzlies defense so far this season. In fact, Curry has made six or more 3-point shots in both games against the Grizzlies and has hit five or more 3s in his last four career games against the Grizzlies.

Additionally, I believe Curry should have an easier time finding his shot tonight since the Grizzlies will be without their best wing defender, Dillon Brooks, for several weeks due to an ankle injury. Typically, Brooks defends the opposing team’s best player, but his absence gives Curry one less defender to worry about.

The Grizzlies' 3-point defense ranks tied for 26th in percentage allowed, per NBA Advanced Stats. Some of that can be attributed to shooting luck, but even against tight defenses, Curry has the most made 3s of any player in the NBA and is shooting 44.2% on such shots. I love this prop for Curry and expect him to continue his success against the Grizzlies from behind the arc tonight.

Nikola Vucevic, Over 11.5 Rebounds (-145)

The Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls meet tonight for the third time this season and Nikola Vucevic has put up some huge numbers on the boards in their two previous matchups. In those games, Vucevic has recorded 15 and 19 rebounds respectively.

The Pistons' starting big man, Isaiah Stewart, is 6-foot-8 and their overall lack of height is allowing centers to have success on the boards. In fact, the Pistons are allowing opposing centers to grab 18.5 rebounds over the past seven days, per Hashtag Basketball.

This number feels conservative considering the success opposing centers and Vucevic is having against the Pistons this season. Among players who have played at least 20 games, Vucevic ranks eighth in Defensive Rebounding Percentage and I love his chances to hit the over this rebounding prop.