January 21st NBA Player Props – Friday’s Picks and Available Lines for All 11 Games

• There are 11 NBA games on the schedule for January, 21st
• The Lakers, Heat, Celtics, Bulls, Bucks and Nets are all in action
• Read below for the latest NBA player props on Friday night

Friday, January 21st is a loaded night in the NBA. From a tantalizing Eastern Conference duel between Miami and Atlanta, the slate builds up with Washington hosting Toronto and the depleted Chicago Bulls taking on the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee is favored by 8.5 points for the matchup with Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, Javonte Green and Derrick Jones Jr all sidelined for Billy Donovan’s team.

The Kevin Durant-less Brooklyn Nets are on the road against San Antonio with both Kyrie Irving and James Harden expected to play. Utah is unsurprisingly heavy favorites over Detroit, while MVP candidate Nikola Jokic leads the Nuggets against the impressive Memphis Grizzlies.

The night’s action is wrapped up as the slumping Warriors host the rebuilding Houston Rockets – Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are out for the Dubs.

NBA Player Props – January 21st

Odds as of Jan 21 on FanDuel Sportsbook App

After going for 50 points in 27 minutes the other night, Joel Embiid’s point total has been set as the highest of the night at 30.5 points. The 76ers vs Clippers odds have Embiid’s team as heavy favorites.

Rudy Gobert’s Defensive Player of the Year odds continue to shorten, and he’s projected to have a monstrous night against Detroit, with a point total of 18.5 and rebound line of 14.5.

Brown Keeps Contributing

Portland give up the fourth-most assists per game. With Cody Zeller, Larry Nance and Nassir Little out, the Blazers are forced to run a lot of undersized lineups in non-Jusuf Nurkic minutes. They are an ideal team to put up big numbers against.

Jaylen Brown has been playing complete basketball of late after complaints about his score-first mentality. He’s recorded 10 or more assists and rebounds in five of his last seven. The averages of 7.8 boards and 3.9 dimes per contest in January represent a step forward for Brown. While his potential assist numbers have remained relatively consistent, Brown is creating more three-point shots for his teammates thanks to better vision and execution on his drives.

Brown’s 0.86 assist to turnover ratio in December has leapt to 1.3 in January. Part of this is teammates knocking down shots, but it’s clear he has made strides as a playmaker. Similar improvements can be seen in his rebounding rate.

While the assists and rebounds line has responded to Brown’s increased overall production, this number is still a bit low. Given the plus-odds, it’s a no-brainer to back Brown to hit this over against a small Portland team with one of the league’s worst defenses.

• Pick: Jaylen Brown over 9.5 assists and rebounds (+100)

Kuzma’s Shooting Woes

While playing well for the Wizards this season, Kyle Kuzma’s three-point shooting has been inconsistent at best. The former Laker is below 33% from downtown, and he’s made just eight threes from his last eight games.

Kuzma is at 32% from deep in January, and 23.5% over the last eight. He faces a Raptors team which ranks among the best in the NBA defensively, sitting eighth in defensive rating across their previous 10 games.

Toronto is equipped with as much length as any team in the league. The 2021-22 Raptors are able to harass shooters with Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Chris Boucher. Even apparently wide-open looks are quickly contested by this ultra-mobile and lengthy defense.

The vast majority of Kuzma’s three-point attempts come above the break – 31% of his field goal attempts are such shots compared to just 8% from the corner. Toronto has excelled at limiting non-corner threes this season.

Washington has struggled to generate threes as a team at times this season, ranking in the bottom six in three-point attempts per game over the last 10.

Kuzma has impressed as a smallball big, and that’s a role that the Wiz could use him in against the Raps on Friday night given the unusual balance to Nick Nurse’s rotations, which can lead to more work inside rather than stretching the floor.

While Kuzma will get a few shots up from deep, the defense of Toronto and his recent cold shooting makes us feel good about this under.

• Pick: Kyle Kuzma under 1.5 threes (-106)