January 13th NBA Player Props – Best Bets in Warriors vs Bucks & More

• Two of the title favorites matchup on January 13th as Milwaukee hosts Golden State
• Elsewhere, the young rosters of Memphis and Minnesota go head-to-head, while the depleted Clippers face the Pelicans
• Read below for Thursday night’s NBA player props and best bets

The Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks meet at Fiserv Forum in one of the biggest games of the season on Wednesday night. Golden State is three-point dogs in Wisconsin, and remains without Draymond Green and James Wiseman.

Tipping off 35 minutes later, it’s the Timberwolves in Memphis and the Clippers in New Orleans. Los Angeles is reportedly considering being a seller at the trade deadline, and games like these will inform their decision. For Memphis and Minnesota, it’s a duel of two of the NBA’s most exciting young cores.

To wrap up the night’s action, Brooklyn welcomes Oklahoma City. It’s the second night of a back-to-back for the title favorites, so it’s unclear if James Harden and Kevin Durant will be available. Denver and Portland tip-off at 10:50pm ET – Portland is looking at a lost season after news that Damian Lillard will have surgery on an abdominal issue.

NBA Player Props – January 13th

Odds as of Jan 13 at FanDuel

Looney Plays Big Minutes

The -134 on Kevon Looney’s rebounds over is too short. There’s better value to be found with the Warriors’ center given the circumstances. Draymond Green and James Wiseman are out, making Looney’s defense even more important than usual against Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Golden State needs Looney’s size and strength to matchup with Antetokounmpo. He’s averaging just 20 minutes per game in 2021-22, but he should go way past that figure as the Warriors look to contain Antetokounmpo.

Kevon Looney has a career-high 18 rebounds to go with six points and three assists.

— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) January 10, 2022

Looney is averaging 12 rebounds per 36 minutes, the best mark since his five games played as a rookie. His 18.2% rebound rate is also his best since then. In fact, he’s 13th in the league in that statistic, just behind Antetokounmpo and ahead of Jarrett Allen and Joel Embiid.

The former 30th overall pick has grabbed nine or more rebounds in two of his last three games, including 18 against Cleveland on January 9th.

Kevon Looney (@Loon_Rebel5) really played the piano, messed around, and dropped a 6-18-3–4-1 stat line 😂😂😂😂

Beast mode! pic.twitter.com/89eqtDvk13

— GSWdelivery (@GSWdelivery) January 10, 2022

Foul trouble is a concern – Looney averages 4.8 fouls per 36 and Antetokounmpo is a foul-drawing machine. Still, Looney’s rebounding numbers for the year suggest he can grab nine or more even if he’s limited to slightly fewer minutes than Steve Kerr would like. Kerr is going to have lean on Looney given the Warriors rebounding struggles when he and Draymond are off the floor.

When playing 25 or more minutes, Looney averages 10 boards per game. At plus odds, he’s great value to grab 8+ rebounds on Thursday night.

• Pick: Kevon Looney 8+ rebounds (+124)

Ingram’s Mid-Range Game

The Clippers and Pelicans might be a distance apart in the standings, but this should be a competitive game. New Orleans is favored by just three points. Their net rating for the season of -4.9 is only marginally worse than the Clippers’ mark of -4.6 over their last 10 games (the Pels are -2 over that period).

Brandon Ingram with 32, 11 and 6 on the Dubs tonight.

So smooth. So skilled. So gifted. He’s the future of the great wing talents in the NBA along with guys like Booker, Tatum, Edwards, Brown and LaVine. pic.twitter.com/1LDxiDb9Gl

— Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) January 7, 2022

So, this should be close into the fourth quarter. That means big minutes for the starters, including Brandon Ingram. The former Laker is averaging just 22.9 points per game this season, scoring 24 or more points in seven of his last 11 (excluding the eight minutes played against the Thunder).

Ingram’s points line is 23.5 for this game, which looks on the low side. He’s become more consistent in recent weeks, and just dropped 33 on the Timberwolves.

There is no Paul George or Kawhi Leonard to guard him. The Clips have still been a solid defense, but they are only middle of the pack in defensive rating over the last 10 games.

Ingram loves working his way to the mid-range – he’s an above-average shooter on such shots, and ranks in the 97th percentile in share of his shots from the mid-range. The Clippers give up plenty of shots from that area of the court, ranking 20th in the league in mid-rangers given up.

This is a good matchup for Ingram, who has hit this over in 17 of 32 games this season.

• Pick: Brandon Ingram over 23.5 points (-112)