We have a total of two NBA player props for this Sunday, and our staff of basketball betting experts is focused on some key players who could be in line for noteworthy performances to close the weekend.
Read below for our NBA player prop picks for Sunday, January 5.
NBA Props for Sunday, January 5
- Anthony Black
- DeMar DeRozan
Anthony Black Under 5.5 Assists (-115)
Jazz vs. Magic, 6:30 p.m. ET
Orlando will be without Jalen Suggs tonight in addition to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Suggs' absence will open up some assist opportunities for the remaining Magic, but I'm not expecting Black to be the main beneficiary. Cole Anthony should be the guard that steps up here. They have other capable options on the bench, too.
Most of the healthy Orlando players see usage rate bumps with all of Banchero/Wagner/Suggs off the floor, including Black, who gets a nice 3.1% increase. But, his assist rate hardly budges (+0.1%). It's Anthony who gets a hefty 6.7% assist rate boost without the main trio. Black has averaged just 2.4 assists on 6.6 potential assists since Wagner went down.
We've seen one game without Banchero/Wagner/Suggs. Anthony had one of the best games of his career, exploding for 35 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. Black dealt with foul trouble and barely played in the second half, finishing with 10 points and two assists. We can't take much from the results of a one-game sample, but the playing time was interesting.
Cory Joseph was unearthed for a season-high 24 minutes and Trevelin Queen entered the rotation in a legitimate way for the first time. Orlando's available backcourt playing time could be dispersed among all four players.
Utah is an excellent matchup. The Jazz are terrible on defense and give up plenty of assists. The books just seem too confident it'll be Black to benefit, specifically in the assist department. I'd even be interested in Anthony's assist prop if it's around this number, but I just don't expect Black to step into a much larger distributor role.
Pick: Anthony Black Under 5.5 Assists (-115)
