NBA Player Props and Best Bets: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Amen Thompson & More Picks for Friday, Jan. 23

The work week is over, but my NBA player prop picks are coming back in full force for the Friday slate. 

The Philadelphia 76ers took down the Houston Rockets in overtime last night behind a 32-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double from Joel Embiid. Stephen Curry also went for 38 points, but the Golden State Warriors were defeated by the Dallas Mavericks.

The best matchup tonight, and one of the best matchups of the year, is the Rockets against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons, which headlines an eight-game schedule.

Here are my best NBA player prop picks and bets for Friday, Jan. 23.

Best NBA Prop Bets for Friday, January 23

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Amen Thompson Over 4.5 Assists (-146) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Thompson is having a great season, averaging 18.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game for the Rockets. He went over this line in three straight games and just handed out nine helpers in the overtime loss to the 76ers last night.

Thompson and the Rockets are taking on the Pistons, who allowed the fewest assists per game in the entire league. However, Thompson’s downhill style is perfect for forcing help and rotations and opening up gaps in the defense, and he still found success against many of other teams who rank highly in assists allowed per game.

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Egor Demin Over 9.5 Points (-106) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Demin is showing signs of improvement, headlined by his shooting 49.1 percent from beyond the arc to start the New Year. He also went over this line in seven of his last 10 games while playing about 25 minutes per game.

The Brooklyn Nets are facing the Boston Celtics, who are among the stingiest teams in the league on defense. However, the C’s allowed the third-most made threes per game over the last few weeks, and Demin scored 12 points in both of their previous matchups, and his hot hand from three leads me to believe that he will go over this line.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Under 32.5 Points (-114) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Gigleous-Alexander is playing at an MVP level, just as anyone would expect—but he still went under this line in seven of his last 11 games, despite averaging 32.0 points per game for the year. I also have a hunch that he won’t be on the floor long enough to make it over this total.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are whopping 16-point favorites against the Indiana Pacers, indicating that this could easily become a blowout. That would mean that the reigning MVP and Finals MVP wouldn’t spend a ton of time on the court, putting him at risk of going under this line.

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Jalen Johnson Under 6.5 Assists (+116) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Johnson’s assist numbers took a noticeable hit when CJ McCollum began to suit up for the Atlanta Hawks. He logged exactly six assists in four of their six games sharing the court, and he went under this line in five of those six.

The Phoenix Suns are a strong defensive team, having allowed the fifth-fewest assists per game for the year and the second-fewest over the last few weeks. Until Johnson gets back to dropping dimes and controlling the rock like he was before, there’s a lot of potential value here.

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Jeremiah Fears Under 0.5 Threes (+164) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Fears, the seventh pick in the draft, didn’t make a three in three of his last five games and shot 28.6 percent from deep in January. Even bigger than that, he played 10 and 20 minutes in his last two outings, showing that he has fallen in the New Orleans Pelicans’ rotation.

Fears and the Pels are taking on the Memphis Grizzlies, who are 22nd in made threes allowed per game, yet 10th in three-point percentage allowed, over the last few weeks. They might give up lots of attempts, but they don’t make them easy for their opponents, and Fears is only a 32 percent three-point shooter who took 3.2 attempts in 26.4 average minutes.

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