NBA Player Props & Expert Picks: Kyrie Irving, Jakob Poeltl Lead Top Plays (January 15)

NBA Player Props & Expert Picks: Kyrie Irving, Jakob Poeltl Lead Top Plays (January 15) article feature image
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Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images. Pictured: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets

  • Our NBA prop betting analyst looks to stay hot with a pair of plays on Sunday.
  • He's backing Kyrie Irving and Jokob Poeltl to go over their scoring totals today.
  • Find Tyler Schmidt's picks and analysis below.

After hitting two of our three NBA props last night, we look to stay hot with two player props that look fantastic in our Action Labs Prop Tool. Kyrie Irving and Jakob Poeltl's point props lead the way on this five-game NBA slate. Both are in fantastic matchups with a lot of opportunity working in their favor.

NBA Player Props & Picks

Kyrie Irving, Over 29.5 Points (-114)

SpreadNets -5
Time | TV6 p.m. ET | NBA League Pass
Best LineFanDuel

The Nets' first game without Kevin Durant did not go as planned as they lost to the Celtics by double digits and only scored 98 points. They will get a much easier game at home against the Thunder as five-point favorites. The Thunder are just 7-14 on the road this season as the Nets have a 117.5-point implied total.

Durant is out for the foreseeable future, which will give Kyrie Irving more space to work his magic. With Durant off the floor this season, Irving has a 36.4% Usage Rate. Last game Irving attempted 24 field goal attempts, but against the Celtics' elite defenders he only made nine of them.

This is a much different matchup against the Thunder who are allowing 116.4 points per game, which ranks 22nd in the league. They also play at the third-fastest Pace (102.4) entering tonight's games. Expect Irving to thrive against the young Thunder backcourt with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey.

Scoring 30 or more points is a tall task for any player, but our prop model has Irving projected to score 34.4 points, which is nearly five points more than this prop line. Last game was the first game all season Irving has played without Durant, and he scored 24 points while shooting inefficiently. He is shooting 48.4% from the field this season, so expect Irving to bounce back.

Pick: Kyrie Irving Over 29.5 Points



Jakob Poeltl, Over 11.5 Points (+105)

SpreadKings -7
Time | TV7 p.m. ET | NBA League Pass
Best LineFanDuel

The second player prop worth getting exposure to has juice attached to it. That would be Jakob Poeltl to score over 11.5 points against a Kings frontcourt that has been hemorrhaging points in the paint all season. Over the last eight games, Poeltl is averaging a double-double on 11.1 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.

Poeltl's playing time has been consistent at 26 to 30 minutes recently, which will pave the way for plenty of opportunities to reach this over. This game is going to be an absolute track meet as the Spurs and Kings both rank among the top eight in Pace this season. This game total is set at a ridiculous 247 points!

Domantas Sabonis has been incredible offensively for the Kings with four triple-doubles and leads the team in rebounds and assists. Defensively, Sabonis and his frontcourt-mates have struggled. They are allowing 54.6 points per game in the paint, which ranks fourth-highest in the league.

Our model has Poeltl projected to score 13.8 points tonight, which is well over this 11.5-point prop line. FanDuel has juice on the over, but I would consider taking this line even at 12.5 points given our projection. Playing in the high 20s in minutes with a 247-point total, Poeltl should easily reach this over by dominating in the paint.

Pick: Jakob Poeltl Over 11.5 Points


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Sean Treppedi
Mar 28, 2024 UTC