Category: NBA

The Toronto Raptors host the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night.

The latest: Toronto snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday and is favoured to win again at Scotiabank Arena. The Grizzlies are without superstar Ja Morant, who has been suspended internally for conduct detrimental to the team.

Check out these Grizzlies vs. Raptors prop picks for the game on Nov. 2 in Toronto, featuring Immanuel Quickley and Jaren Jackson Jr.

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Grizzlies vs. Raptors prop picks

Best bet: Quickley 3+ threes (+138)

Long gone are the days of Memphis being a defensively sound powerhouse.

It’s far from it, actually. The Grizzlies are 21st in defensive rating, 18th in rebounding rate, and 25th in opponent points per game (122.0).

Morant was suspended after lashing out at coaches following a particularly tough loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, where they gave up 117 points and blew a 15-point lead.

-> Bet on Immanuel Quickley props at NorthStar Bets

With all that said, Quickley and Co. should be licking their chops as the dysfunctional Grizzlies roll into town.

Toronto’s point guard has had a rough start to the season, shooting 25.0% from deep while going 1-5 against this line.

But Quickley has big scoring upside, and is a career 37.3% three-point shooter. He has averaged 2.6 three-point makes on 6.9 attempts (37.9%) since joining the Raptors.

This seems like a perfect matchup for him to break out.

Key stat: Memphis is giving up the second-most 3s per game to point guards, per Fantasy Pros.

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Jackson Jr. prop bet

Jackson over 5.5 rebounds (-120): Jackson really should be a bigger factor on the glass, given his size.

The 6-foot-10, 240-pound power forward, aka “The Block Panther,” is a defensive menace, but has never averaged north of 6.8 rebounds in a season.

But he’ll be among the biggest players on the court on Sunday with Jakob Poeltl sidelined for Toronto and Zach Edey out for Memphis.

-> Bet on Grizzlies vs. Raptors player props!

The Raptors have the fourth-worst rebounding rate in the NBA, and won’t be starting a player above 6-foot-9.

JJJ should get a ton of run with Morant out, and I’m hoping that leads to many rebounding opportunities.

Grizzlies vs. Raptors prop picks made at 1 p.m. ET on 11/02/2025.

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Sunday’s NBA slate wraps up in Los Angeles when the Lakers host the Miami Heat.

The pregame narrative: Los Angeles has been rolling without LeBron James largely thanks to the stellar play of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The Lakers are favoured at home tonight against a 3-2 Heat squad beginning a California road trip.

Check out my Heat vs. Lakers SGP predictions for Nov. 2, featuring Reaves and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

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Heat vs. Lakers predictions

Parlay: Lakers moneyline | Reaves 6+ assists | Jaquez under 12.5 points (+310)

Lakers moneyline (-195): Los Angeles is missing LeBron, but Doncic is the new sheriff in town.

The Slovenian superstar is averaging 45.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 7.7 assists in three games. Granted, it’s only three games, but Doncic’s offensive ceiling is among the highest in basketball.

With him and Reaves — who is averaging 32.0 PPG — leading the back court, I’m confident backing Los Angeles against most teams.

That’s especially true at home. The Lakers went 32-12 at Crypto.com Arena last year, which was tied for the third-best mark in basketball.

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Miami has started strong without its top scorer, Tyler Herro, but it feels overmatched here.

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NBA SGP legs

Reaves 6+ assists (-167): Reaves went on a monster three-game heater when Doncic was sidelined, scoring 51 and 41 points, and netting a buzzer-beater in a 28-point outing against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Backing him as a scorer might seem tempting, but he takes far fewer shots when Doncic is in the lineup.

• With Doncic: 15.0 FGA/game
• Without Doncic: 22.6 FGA/game

Reaves averaged 8.0 assists in the three games with Doncic playing, and is 4-2 against this line on the season.

He’s playing a ton of minutes and should primarily be a facilitator this evening.

-> Bet on Reaves on Sunday night

Jaquez under 12.5 points (-125): Jaquez is off to a red-hot start with Miami.

The third-year guard is averaging 16.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists coming off the bench while shooting 62.3% at the field.

But I have good reason to fade him tonight.

Jaquez does the vast majority of his damage at the rim or in the short mid-range. Those are two areas of the court that Los Angeles defends very well, thanks to the acquisition of DeAndre Ayton.

The Lakers have the 10th-best rim defence and 11th-best short mid-range defence, per Cleaning the Glass.

Heat vs. Lakers predictions made at 3:30 p.m. ET 11/01/2025.

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Sunday’s top NBA prop prediction is a fade on Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker’s point total.

Tonight’s NBA prop narrative: Phoenix is a 5.5-point home underdog against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, an elite defensive squad. Elsewhere, I expect Tyrese Maxey and Mikal Bridges to keep stuffing the stat sheet.

Check out my favourite NBA player prop predictions for Nov. 2.

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NBA prop predictions

Best bet: Booker under 27.5 points (-107)

Booker has been on fire to start the season.

The guard is averaging 30.3 points on 49.2% shooting and is 5-1 against this line. With Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal gone, his volume is at a near-career high.

So, why fade him?

Booker has beaten up on a few bad teams (Kings, Jazz twice) and has landed between 31-32 points three times. He’s not smashing this total, and now faces arguably the best defensive team in basketball.

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San Antonio, led by Wembanyama, is second in defensive rating (104.2) and plays with the fourth-slowest pace, per NBA.com.

That means Booker will have fewer opportunities to score than usual, and his looks will be more challenging.

I think this is a good spot for some regression.

Key stat: The Spurs are giving up the fewest PPG (17.37) to opposing point guards, per Fantasy Pros.

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More prop picks

Bridges over 8.5 rebounds and assists (+100): Bridges had a mediocre first season with the New York Knicks, but is looking like a bona fide stud right now:

• 19.0 PPG
• 6.2 RPG
• 4.8 APG

The forward is 4-1 against this line, and just logged 10 R/A against the Chicago Bulls on Friday. That’s also the team New York is hosting tonight.

Bridges is leading New York with 36.8 minutes a night. He should turn those opportunities into another big night.

Maxey 4+ threes (+100): Maxey has been rolling, and is once again without Joel Embiid, who has played sparingly through the first few weeks of the season.

The Sixers guard tops the league in PPG (35.2) and is making 4.2 threes a night on 9.4 attempts (46.8%).

-> Bet on Maxey to clear his 3-point total

I’m happy to back him at this number if he’s going to shoot with that type of volume.

Maxey and Co. take on the Brooklyn Nets, who have allowed the seventh-most 3s per game to opposing point guards.

NBA player prop predictions made at 9:20 a.m. ET on 11/02/25.

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Two of Friday’s top NBA prop bets for Halloween night take us to the desert in Arizona.

Tonight’s NBA prop narrative: Lauri Markkanen and Devin Booker both went off when the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz met earlier in the week, and I expect the surging stars to do so in the rematch.

Check out my favourite NBA player prop predictions for Oct. 31, featuring a pick on the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic.

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NBA player prop predictions

Best bet: Markkanen over 25.5 points (-120)

The Suns are a mess, allowing 126.0 points per game and ranking 28th in defensive efficiency.

They’ve dropped four straight, including an overtime game to the Jazz on Monday.

Markannen lit Phoenix on fire that game.

• Career-high 51 points
• Six three-pointers
• 17-of-17 from the line

It’s safe to say Markkanen’s 34.0-point-per-game average (fifth in the NBA) won’t last. But he was probably due for some positive regression.

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In last year’s injury-filled season, he averaged 19.0 PPG on the tanking Jazz. That came after he scored 23.2 points the year before, and a career-high 25.6 in his first season in Utah (2022-23).

Markkanen’s volume is sky-high to start the season, and he’s converting efficiently. Don’t expect this to be the game that he falls off.

Key stat: Markkanen has scored 30-plus points in three straight.

NBA prop bets

Booker over 30.5 points (-117): Sticking with the Jazz vs. Suns game, I’m all in on Booker as a scorer early on.

He has no Kevin Durant to compete with or Bradley Beal, to a lesser extent, and offseason acquisition Jalen Green remains out.

There are as many shots available to Booker as he wants.

-> Bet on Suns star Devin Booker tonight!

• Booker has taken 26 shots in back-to-back games (one of them being the OT loss to Utah).

• He’s attempted double-digit shots from long range in both those contests.

• The Suns guard is averaging 10.0 free-throw attempts per game, a career-high mark.

Booker can hurt teams from anywhere, and he’s a sure bet to continue piling up big point totals. His 3-point shooting could really drive up his scoring tonight.

Utah allows an NBA-high 17.3 threes per game.

The 29-year-old is 4-1 against this big number through five games.

Jokic under 27.5 points (-118): It’s not easy fading Jokic, but this is still a big number for any player to hit.

And it’s not a number Jokic has hit once this season.

• Vs. NO: 21 points
• @ MIN: 25 points
• Vs. PHX: 14 points
• @ GS: 21 points

-> Bet on Jokic & the Nuggets on Halloween night

His rebound and assist production have been there — he’s triple-doubled in four straight — but the shot volume has been extremely light.

The three-time MVP’s shot attempts over the last three games: 15, 10, 8.

He’s going to continue struggling to get this number if that doesn’t soar soon, especially with such low volume at the line (3.8 attempts/game).

Jamal Murray has been lighting it up, and the Portland Trail Blazers have been steamrolled by point guards, allowing the most points to the position in the game.

So this could be another game where Jokic takes a back seat and Murray does the heavy lifting for Denver.

NBA player prop predictions made at 3:20 p.m. ET on 10/31/25.

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The Toronto Raptors get a Halloween date with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

The pregame narrative: Toronto has been struggling, entering on a four-game skid due to porous defence. I expect plenty of points tonight and for Evan Mobley to continue his productive start to the season.

Check out my Raptors SGP predictions vs. the Cavaliers on Oct. 31, featuring a prop pick on Scottie Barnes.

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Raptors SGP predictions vs. Cavaliers

Parlay: Mobley over 33.5 PRA | Over 233.5 points | Barnes over 18.5 points (+330)

Mobley over 33.5 PRA (-159): Mobley’s shooting hasn’t been great to start the young season, but it hasn’t affected his scoring. 

His rebounding production remains as strong as ever, and he’s dishing out a career-best assist number. 

Mobley is staring down a monster Halloween night against the Raptors, who have been shredded defensively.

• The Raptors are second-last in the NBA in defensive rating.

• They’re third-last in opponent points per game, allowing a whopping 127.8 on average.

• Toronto has been carved up by opposing bigs, surrendering the seventh-most points/game to centres and second most to power forwards, per Betting Pros.

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Mobley could also benefit from some key absences to the Cavaliers’ starting five, though I don’t think he’ll even need that to hit this PRA number.

Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen are both questionable.

Mobley has big scoring upside tonight and should thrive on the glass against the Raptors, who are second-last in the NBA in rebounding rate.

He’s double-doubled in two straight games and notched 30+ PRA in four of five contests.

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NBA SGP legs

Over 233.5 (-180): It’s hard to envision this turning into much of a defensive match. 

Raptors games have been lighting up the scoreboard, and they play at the fourth-fastest pace in the NBA.

That leads to extra possessions, which their defence has struggled to turn into stops, leading to more opportunities to put the ball in the basket. 

Toronto’s offence hasn’t been half bad, either.

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The Raps are scoring the ninth-most points per game and getting strong efficiency out of their three best scorers.

Scottie Barnes (22.2 PPG), Brandon Ingram (22.0) and R.J. Barrett (19.2) are all shooting above 53% from the field.

Here are the totals from Toronto’s five games:

• @ ATL: 256
• Vs. MIL: 238
• @ DAL: 268
• @ SA: 224
• Vs. HOU: 260

Barnes over 18.5 points (+102): Barnes and Ingram have put up nearly identical production across the board through five games.

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It’s early, but Ingram’s influence on the offence hasn’t forced Barnes to take a step back.

-> See all of Barnes’ props for tonight’s game vs. Cleveland

• Barnes is above the 20-point-per-game mark for the first time in his career.

• His shot volume hasn’t decreased with Ingram in the mix, but his efficiency has soared. Barnes is shooting 53.8% from the field, the first time in his career more than half his shots are falling.

• The former Rookie of the Year has been exceptional from long range, drilling 2.2 per game on 55% shooting.

Barnes has topped this number three times and hit the 30-point mark twice. He has nightly upside against a sub-20 point line.

No team allows more points to power forwards than the Cavs, who are giving up the third most threes per game.

Raptors SGP predictions vs. Cavaliers made at 1:20 p.m. ET 10/31/2025.

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