4 Best NBA Player Prop Bets for Tuesday, October 29: Draymond to Play Bigger Role Amidst Steph’s Absence
The 2024-2025 NBA season kicked off last week with little fanfare as the best basketball players in the world have returned to the hardwood. While the league will attempt to dethrone the Boston Celtics, the Dallas Mavericks – who made a surprise run to the NBA Finals – are the team to beat in the Western Conference.
One of the biggest offseason trades involved Karl-Anthony Towns moving from Minnesota to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle, while Dallas added Klay Thompson in a six-team deal and Golden State acquired Buddy Hield. Tonight, the Mavericks, Timberwolves, and Warriors will all be featured in contests around the league.
With all the player movement from this offseason, who should bettors observe in early-season action for their player prop bets? We’ve got you covered below for Tuesday’s NBA action.
Klay Thompson (DAL) OVER 3.5 3-Point Field Goals
It’s odd to see former Golden State stalwart Klay Thompson wearing another uniform, but Golden State moved on from half of the “Splash Brothers” to give Steph Curry one more run at a title.
Since arriving in Dallas, Thompson has been back to his “Splash” self, knocking down 45.5 percent of his three-point shots in three games. He’s made at 15 triples in three contests, so expect him to continue that run tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Nikola Jokic (DEN) UNDER 12.5 Rebounds
Last year’s MVP is off to a colder start than his usual triple-double self. Denver big Nikola Jokic has hit the points (32.3) and rebounds (10.3) portion of that stat line, but his assists (7.0) have fallen off to start the year.
While the Brooklyn Nets have been competitive in most contests this season, Denver has won five of the past six. Their only loss in the past three years came at home late in the 2022-2023 season.
With only Nic Claxton as a strong defender, Jokic should be able to have his way underneath. How long he’ll play in the contest, however, is debatable. I expect he’ll play less than the whole game and finish just under the mark needed to cover this player prop bet on Tuesday night.
DeMar DeRozan (SAC) OVER 22.5 Points
The Sacramento Kings have stumbled out of the gate, dropping two of their first three games. Sacramento – who acquired DeMar DeRozan this offseason – is still working out the kinks with their new “Big Three” players: DeRozan, guard De’Aaron Fox, and power forward Domantas Sabonis.
The most reliable scorer thus far has been DeRozan. The small forward has finished with 23 points or more in all three games, the mark necessary to cover this player prop bet. Expect him to do that tonight against the Utah Jazz.
Draymond Green (GS) OVER 5.5 Assists
Golden State’s run with Steph Curry will take a back seat temporarily. The 36-year-old point guard suffered an ankle injury, and he’ll miss his team’s next two contests. That means other players will need to step up for the Warriors on Tuesday.
Veteran forward Draymond Green is someone who can help facilitate the offense without Curry. The 6-foot-6 athlete has averaged over six assists per contest for the last nine seasons despite his slow start. Expect him to reach that figure tonight to cover the player prop bet.
Ernie Horn
Sports Betting Contributor
Ernie is a 25-year veteran of the newspaper industry. He spent those early years working as a sports reporter and editor, but made the move back to the digital world in 2022. Ernie covers college football and NFL betting for Hello Rookie.