After a weekend filled with hoops, there is just a four-game slate on Monday night. However, I am eyeing a pair of NBA player props in tonight's Pistons-Knicks game. Cade Cunningham may need a big scoring game to help the Pistons stay competitive at Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile, Josh Hart will look to contribute in all areas once again.
In the final game of the night, the Kings picked up a key victory over the Clippers and moved into the fifth seed in the West. They will return home tonight to face a shorthanded Miami team following a fourth quarter melee in Friday night's game against the Pelicans. The Heat will need to rely on their All-Star center Bam Adebayo as they look to keep pace in the East.
Let's break down my top three NBA player props for Monday, February 26.
Cade Cunningham has scored 22 points in four of his past six games. In each of those games, Cunningham played at least 30 minutes. When playing at least 30 minutes this season, Cunningham is hitting this line at a 64% clip while averaging 24.2 points per game. He has upped that average coming out of the All-Star break, scoring 30 points against the Pacers and 26 against the Magic.
The Magic have a top-10 defense this season and so do the Knicks. However, that did not stop Cunningham from scoring 31 points in the first meeting against the Knicks. That was despite the game being on the second leg of a back-to-back. Cunningham knocked down four of his nine 3-point attempts in that game and he has made four 3-pointers in each of his last two games.
Tonight, Cunningham will not have to worry about OG Anunoby. The standout defender remains out of the lineup with an elbow injury. Luka Doncic, Tyrese Maxey, and Jaylen Brown have all taken advantage of that recently as each of them went over 30 points against the Knicks. In addition to Anunoby, the Knicks also remain without Julius Randle. Despite that, they are still 11-point favorites.
The spread, in anticipation of a blowout, is why I believe this line is juiced to the under. However, the Pistons are the healthier team in this game. I am not predicting an outright victory, but I like the Pistons to hang around and possibly cover. If this game is still a battle in the fourth quarter, that likely means Cunningham played 30 minutes. If so, 22 points will be within his grasp tonight.
Pick: Cade Cunningham Over 21.5 Points (-106)
ESPN Bet is now live! Make sure you're ready for all the action with our exclusive ESPN BET promo code TANBONUS.
Filling in quite admirably for Anunoby has been guard Josh Hart. The do-it-all wing has scored 15 points in four of his past six games. However, as usual, he has been a factor on the glass as well. Hart has pulled down at least eight rebounds in nine of past 10 games and he has had 10 rebounds in eight of those games.
Hart also has dished out four assists in seven of his last 10 games, including six games with five. He is averaging 5.4 assists per game in that span. The Pistons are 27th in scoring defense and 24th in 3-point percentage defense. That means Hart should be in line for at least four to six assists tonight and possibly more
As a result of his all-around play, Hart has hit this line in nine of his last 10 games while averaging 15.1 rebounds + assists. At -130, that is tremendous value for a prop with a 90% hit rate. The one game he went under, he played just 29 minutes. Between the Knicks injuries and Tom Thibodeau's rotations, Hart is averaging 39.2 minutes per game over his last 10 games and surpassed 40 in six of them. That means he will have a lot of opportunity to fill up the stat sheet.
We last backed Hart a few weeks back against the Jazz. Not only did he smash this line, he also had his first career triple-double. Tonight, he may be going for triple-double No. 3 and he is +4500 to do so on DraftKings. Just in case, he finishes with nine in one of the categories, you can also back him for a double-double at +180 on DraftKings.
Pick: Josh Hart Over 13.5 Rebounds + Assists (-130)
While the Knicks are without a few significant pieces right now, their injury list does not compare to what the Heat will be dealing with tonight. They have been without Terry Rozier for the last two weeks and Josh Richardson is out. Rozier may return tonight and is listed as questionable along with Tyler Herro. However, Miami will still be without Jimmy Butler, Thomas Bryant, and Nikola Jovic, who will be serving a suspension following Friday night's incident.
Miami may be without three of their top facilitators and their top two leading scorers in Butler and Herro. That means other players will have to step up to orchestrate the offense and tonight I am looking at center Bam Adebayo. Adebayo is already averaging 4.1 assists per game, so an average game will work here. This line may move to 4.5 soon and it is already there on FanDuel, but that works.
Without Butler, Adebayo is averaging 4.7 assists per game and has cleared this line in eight of his last 10 games and 13 of his last 17 games this season. Without Butler and Herro, he is averaging five assists per game in six games over the last two seasons. He has cleared this line in five of those games and finished with three in another. Tonight, he gets a favorable matchup against a Kings team that is traveling back home for a back-to-back.
The Kings are 22nd in both scoring defense and assists allowed per game. Adebayo has had four assists in each of his last three games against the Kings. He also had six against them in a game without Butler last season and 11 when Butler did not play against Milwaukee two weeks ago. Adebayo is +290 for six assists and +1000 for eight assists on DraftKings tonight.
Pick: Bam Adebayo Over 3.5 Assists (-145)
