Kevin Durant sparkled in his debut with the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, as the team cruised to a 105-91 win over the Hornets
Even better, we hit all three prop bets, as Durant surpassed his over/unders on points, three-pointers made and rebounds.
And since we literally have never lost a Suns wager since Durant joined the team, it only made sense to go back to the well for Friday evening’s contest against the Chicago Bulls.
Here are three prop bets I like:
Devin Booker Over 24.5 Total Points (-125 at BetMGM)
Booker scored 37 points in Durant’s debut, taking advantage of the attention paid to his new superstar teammate. Booker shot 15-of-26 from the field and he won’t be that hot every night, but obviously there is plenty of room for error to still reach 25 points against Chicago.
Even though the Suns acquired a premium scorer, it does not feel like Booker’s scoring numbers are going to dip. Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson are no longer around to gobble up shots, and point guard Chris Paul seems happy to act as a facilitator, scoring only two points and dishing 11 assists against Charlotte.
It’s folly to act like the first game will be mirrored perfectly moving forward, but it does seem like Booker and Durant are going to be the prime options by a wide margin moving forward. Booker is averaging 26.8 points per game this season and taking the over is the easy choice to me here.
Kevin Durant Points-Assists-Rebounds Under 31.5 (-113 at FanDuel)
Durant had 23 points, six rebounds and two assists in his first game with the Suns, finishing with 31 points-assists-rebounds. However, he was also extremely efficient from the floor, hitting on 10-of-15 shots and 2-of-4 from downtown to get there.
Durant played 27 minutes, and considering this is another road game just two days later, I don’t think coach Monty Williams will want to stretch him much more than that.
So if the efficiency comes down slightly, I don’t foresee Durant reaching 32 points-rebounds-assists again in this game, especially considering the Bulls are a better defensive team than the Hornets.
Durant rewarded me for taking the ‘over’ on three of his prop bets last time out. It’s pretty rude of me to repay him by jumping on an under, but I do think it’s going to hit.
Chris Paul Under 9.5 Assists (-120 at DraftKings)
As mentioned, Paul had 11 dimes in Charlotte, and while he’s still going to be a maestro, this assist total looks high to me. The Suns’ trio of Durant, Booker and Deandre Ayton was extremely efficient against Charlotte, and that will regress.
Paul is averaging 9.0 assists per game this season, so finishing at his average would put us under the total.
With the way the Suns are now constructed, Paul is going to be doing less on the offensive side of the court.
Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson were good shot-up shooters who benefitted when Paul attacked a defense. Even though Booker and Durant can fill it up from long range, they are also very effective creating buckets on their own.
I don’t think the ball will be in Paul’s hands as much on offense with Durant now on the team, which is why I’m taking under 9.5 assists against the Bulls.
