Two players performing well after returning from injuries headline Wednesday’s NBA prop recommendations.
Today’s NBA props narrative: Kawhi Leonard is on a roll for the Los Angeles Clippers, while Tyler Herro has resumed his stellar 3-point shooting with the Miami Heat. Both hold value to fill the basket tonight.
Check out my top NBA prop picks for Dec. 3, featuring a pick on San Antonio Spurs rookie Dylan Harper.
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NBA prop picks Dec. 3
Best bet: Leonard over 23.5 points (-118)
This line is way too light for Leonard, who has topped the 30-point mark in three straight games.
He’s taken 65 shots from the field over those contests and converted 50% of his jumpers from 3-point range.
James Harden was on a heater while Leonard was sidelined, but Kawhi remains the No. 1 scoring option when both stars share the court.
Leonard is averaging 26.9 points through 11 games, his highest total since his first season with the Clippers (2019-20).
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His injury history will always be a cause for concern. But as long as he’s out there, Leonard remains an upper-tier player.
The Atlanta Hawks have been a tough opponent, ranking top 10 in defensive rating, but I’d play Kawhi at this number against any team while he’s putting up 50/40/90-plus shooting splits.
Key stat: Leonard is 7-4 against this line.
Best NBA picks
Herro over 2.5 threes (-118): As long as we’re getting a 2.5 line on Herro in this price range, I’m going to play it.
This was a 3.5 line for much of last season, when the sharpshooter set career-best marks from beyond the arc.
Herro has missed the majority of this campaign recovering from offseason surgery, but he’s picked up where he left off.
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The guard has played four games, scoring 22-plus points in all of them. And he’s topped this line in three straight.
Herro drilled 13-of-22 shots from long range over that stretch after averaging 3.3 triples per game a season ago.
Herro has averaged at least 3.0 long bombs in three consecutive campaigns.
NBA player prop predictions
Harper over 13.5 points (-110): I recommended Harper over 11.5 points as my best bet last night, and I’m willing to bite on an even bigger number tonight.
The San Antonio Spurs rookie turned in another strong showing off the bench, pouring in 15 points in just 20 minutes vs. the Memphis Grizzlies.
He’ll see a tougher opponent on the back-to-back in the Orlando Magic, who are No. 9 in defensive rating.
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But Harper doesn’t need a lot of run to pile up points. He’s out there to score, averaging 10.1 shots in just 21.2 minutes of action.
Thanks to his efficiency, his per-36-minute-scoring numbers are impressive (22.8 points) despite a lack of a 3-point shot.
The 19-year-old No. 2 overall pick is shooting an impressive 50.5% from the field.
Harper has scored in double figures in nine of his first 10 NBA games, topped this line four times, and landed on 13 points in two others.
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Chris joined NorthStar Gaming from Covers.com where he was a publishing editor and wrote betting content. Before that, he was the sports editor at VICE Canada, worked for theScore and covered the Blue Jays for MLB.com. In addition to filling out the lineup card each day for the editorial team, Chris writes frequently himself, primarily on the NBA and MLB.