A pair of all-star guards and a rookie centre round out Sunday’s NBA prop bets.
The pregame narrative: Cade Cunningham and Darius Garland both have plus matchups tonight despite playing on the road. Elsewhere, look for Kyle Filipowski to continue filling up the net from 3-point range.
Check out the best NBA prop bets for March 9.
NBA prop bets
Best bet: Cunningham over 27.5 points (-118)
Cunningham has put forth a strong effort during the Detroit Pistons’ West Coast road trip, and I expect him to end on a high note against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Here’s what Cunningham has accomplished so far on the trip:
- 29 points vs. Jazz (12-for-24)
- 37 points vs. Clippers (15-for-25)
- 31 points vs. Warriors (10-for-17)
That’s now five of his past six road games in which he’s cashed this bet. All told, he’s averaging a couple of extra points on the road this season (26.5 PPG) compared to at home (24.6 PPG).
On Sunday, Cunningham draws an enticing matchup against the Blazers. Portland allows the fifth-most points to opposing point guards (25.59), according to Betting Pros.
In his lone matchup against the Blazers this year, Cunningham had 32 points on 11-of-23 shooting (4-for-10 from 3-point range).
Detroit is playing on a back-to-back, but Portland will likely be feeling the effects of a seven-game road trip that just ended on Friday.
I’m not worried about a lack of rest for Cunningham, and I’m certainly not worried about the matchup tonight.
Key stat: Cunningham has gone over 27.5 points in four consecutive games when playing on zero rest.
Best NBA picks
Garland over 6.5 assists (-141): Usually, the Milwaukee Bucks are a team to target when you want to bet on the points prop for opposing point guards (shoutout Damian Lillard).
I’ll highlight Darius Garland’s assists prop on Sunday instead, though. Garland is averaging 6.7 assists this year and has cashed this bet in six of his past eight games.
Garland’s points prop is set at an attainable number (19.5) for a guy averaging 21.0 PPG on the year. So I don’t mind that option either, considering the Bucks allow the most PPG to point guards in the league.
His shooting has been a bit cold lately, though, and he has 23 assists over three games against Milwaukee this year (cashing this bet twice).
I prefer going the assists route for Sunday, but there might be more than one way to target Garland.
Filipowski over 1.5 threes (+117): Filipowski’s 3-point percentage is due for some regression, but I also think he’s earned the chance to get more shots up.
The second-rounder out of Duke should get the start for the Utah Jazz tonight with Walker Kessler (rest) ruled out. With an elevated role over his past 10 games, Filipowski has been superb beyond the arc:
- 2.2 3PM
- 4.2 3PA
- 52.4 3PT%
- 4+ attempts in 9 of 10 games
As long as he attempted four or more 3s, I’ll feel okay about Filipowski’s chances to cash this plus-money prop.
But hopefully he’ll be encouraged to shoot even more freely against the Philadelphia 76ers, who allow the fourth-highest 3PT% in the league (37.0).
Picks made at 8:52 a.m. ET on 03/09/2025.
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.