I’ve got one prop bet from each of Tuesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal games.
The pregame narrative: Jalen Suggs should take control of the shorthanded Orlando Magic offence against the Milwaukee Bucks. Later, Kyrie Irving is my pick to clear a modest point total against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Check out the best NBA prop bets on Dec. 10.
NBA prop bets
Go to full NBA betting markets.
Best bet: Suggs over 20.5 points (-122)
All the stars are aligning for Suggs to have a monster night.
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are out, which has thrust the point guard into a leading role. Those two averaged a combined 53.4 points per game for the Magic and neither has a concrete timeline to return.
When Orlando was fully healthy, Suggs was the definitive No. 3 guy. Now he’s the guy and goes up against a Bucks team that is awful at defending point guards.
- Milwaukee is allowing 28.3 points per game to PGs, which is the most in the NBA, according to Fantasy Pros.
- Last year, Milwaukee allowed 25.9 PPG to PGs, the third-most in basketball.
- The Bucks are also allowing the third-most 3s per game to PGs (3.6) and Suggs has attempted 38 threes in his last four games.
Damian Lillard is a bonafide bucket with a Hall of Fame resume, but his defence isn’t anything special.
Suggs is the only player outside of Banchero and Wagner to be averaging north of 10.0 field goal attempts per game, and those numbers are going to go way up.
He dropped 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday and had 22 the game before that (with Wagner in the lineup).
Key stat: Point guards are averaging 32.2 points against Milwaukee in the last seven days.
Quick picks
Irving over 21.5 points (-121): Luka Doncic is back in the lineup, which will naturally take some opportunities away from Irving.
But I still expect Dallas’ point guard to go over this line.
With Doncic playing, Irving is coming off 29 and 25-point outings while shooting north of 62.0% from the field in both games.
To be fair, those outings were against the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards. Things won’t come as easily tonight against the defensively elite Thunder, but that would also explain why this line is so low.
Irving has cleared this mark in 10 of 16 games with Doncic in the 2024-25 season, landing on exactly 21 points once.
Picks made at 12:02 p.m. ET on 12/10/2024.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.