The NBA season is more than a quarter of the way in the books, and the action on the hardwood continues to heat up the winter nights. With most NBA teams getting a break before Friday’s jammed-pack schedule, tonight’s action will offer up teams looking to solidify their standings in the 2025 NBA playoffs.
What can bettors look for to profit off Thursday’s smaller schedule? We’ll cover that in our top four NBA player prop bets below.
Boston Celtics SG Jaylen Brown OVER 23.5 Points
The Boston Celtics are 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference heading into Thursday’s game. For the third time this season, the Celtics will look to defeat the Detroit Pistons to close that gap.
With Boston’s leading scorer Jayson Tatum ruled out for tonight’s game, the Celtics will be looking for offense from the remainder of their team. That’s where Finals MVP Jaylen Brown will come in handy tonight.
Brown was last week’s leading scorer when Tatum was injured during their previous matchup against the Pistons. Expect more of the same on Thursday as the 6-foot-6 guard will explode for at least 27 points to cover this player prop bet.
Sacramento Kings PF Domantas Sabonis UNDER 13.5 Rebounds
The Sacramento Kings are on the outside looking in for playoff seeding, needing a win to move into a tie with the San Antonio Spurs for the 11th spot in the Western Conference. They’ll have a prime opportunity to achieve that tonight when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans.
This is the first matchup of the NBA season between the Pelicans and Kings, but bettors should be primed for power forward Domantas Sabonis to have a big night on Thursday. Only twice in 25 games has Sabonis not achieved a double-double with points and rebounds this season.
Expect him to continue that pace tonight. Bettors should have confidence that he’ll achieve 10 or more rebounds against the Pelicans, but 14 rebounds are not in the cards. That’s especially true with the emergence of New Orleans’ first-round pick Yves Missi, a 6-foot-11 center who is collecting more than eight rebounds per outing this season.
Miami Heat PG Tyler Herro OVER 3.5 3-PT Field Goals Made
The Miami Heat are starting to come around, winning three straight games and seven of their past 10 contests. That’s due largely to finding a complementary scorer to Jimmy Butler now that Tyler Herro is starting to catch fire.
In December, Herro has shot over 50 percent from the three-point line in three games, winning all but one of those outings. He’s also posted over 31 or more points in every one of those outings.
Herro has had a field day against Toronto this season. In two previous outings, the 6-foot-5 guard has hit 10 three-point field goals, including six in the meeting to start December. Expect him to easily hit four trifectas on Thursday night to secure this player prop bet.
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