Here, we'll focus on utilizing daily fantasy basketball projections and a slew of other tools to help make money betting player props. For this article, we are focusing on the NBA odds at FanDuel Sportsbook to pinpoint spots where value can be had tonight.
The prop-betting experience on FanDuel Sportsbook is getting even more fun. You can track your player props with real-time updates and place in-game props with ease.
Please note that betting lines and our daily fantasy basketball projections may change throughout the day after this article is published.
Jabari Smith Over 1.5 Made Threes (+124)
This is a good plus-money prop to take a shot on.
Jabari Smith is facing the Miami Heat, and it's a nice spot for him to fire off some treys. Miami has allowed a three-point attempt rate of 43.5% this season, the second-highest mark.
Smith takes 5.1 three-point shots per game as is, so given the matchup, we could see him jack up a bunch of threes on Friday.
We project the rookie to go 1.8 of 5.8 from deep. If this prop was priced more evenly, I'd look elsewhere, but with a +124 price on the over, it's worth a roll of the dice.
Pascal Siakam Under 1.5 Made Threes (-142)
On the opposite end of the three-point D spectrum, the Utah Jazz have done a great job preventing three-point attempts this season, and that has me on the under on Pascal Siakam's made threes.
Utah is giving up a three-point attempt rate of 35.5%, the second-lowest. Power forwards are hoisting just 5.8 three-point tries per game against Utah, tied for the second-fewest.
Siakam has gone 5 for 9 from beyond the arc over his past two games, including 3 for 3 last time out. He's been hot. But prior to those two contests, Siakam had made one or fewer trifecta in five straight. One of those games was an outing against the Jazz in which he played 39.5 minutes and took zero threes.
Our projections have Siakam hitting 1.3 of 3.8 three-point tries tonight.
C.J. McCollum Under 21.5 Points (-115)
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a tough matchup for point guards, putting C.J. McCollum in a difficult spot today.
Cleveland has limited the point-guard position to only 22.6 points per game, the second-fewest. Against the Cavs, floor generals are taking just 18.7 shots (third-fewest) and 7.2 threes (tied for second-fewest) per night.
On top of that, the Cavaliers play at the league's slowest pace.
The New Orleans Pelicans recently got back Brandon Ingram, and that's a blow to McCollum's scoring. With Ingram on the floor, McCollum logs a 21.8% usage rate and nets 17.9 points per 36 minutes, according to CourtIQ. That's a usage-rate drop of 2.5 percentage points and it's 2.2 fewer points per 36 minutes.
McCollum has gone for fewer than 22 points in three of his past five games, and we have him doing it again, forecasting him to score 20.5 points.