2023-24 NBA Player Props, Breakdown, Odds, and Picks (Jan 15)

• We’ve got three NBA player props for you for Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
• Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant are expected to score a lot of points tonight.
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might not score as much as bookies think.

There are just three NBA games on the program today, but they’re all real bangers. The first game of the evening – Denver Nuggets vs. Philadelphia 76ers – is a duel between two serious NBA MVP candidates, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.

The second game of the night – Sacramento Kings vs. Phoenix Suns – will see De’Aaron Fox try to score more than Kevin Durant.

Finally, in the last game of the day, the Los Angeles Clippers will try to stop the points leader of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s reportedly having some fitness issues.

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Nuggets vs. 76ers

How to Watch

• When: Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. ET
• Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania   
• Channel: TNT

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Prop Pick

Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid is the NBA points leader with a PPG of 34.6. However, over the last couple of weeks, the Cameroonian center has been struggling with injuries.

First, he missed four games due to an ankle injury. He returned at the start of 2024, scoring 30+ in each of the two games he played before suffering a knee injury.

Embiid made his comeback yesterday, scoring 41 points against the NBA’s second-best defense, the Houston Rockets. Roughly 24 hours later, he’s supposed to play against the reigning champions who’ve been doing alright defensively lately.

Injury Report heading into tomorrow's matchup against the 76ers.

Questionable:
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Right Cervicothoracic Strain
Aaron Gordon – Right Heel Strain
Nikola Jokić – Left Hip Strain
Jamal Murray – Bilateral Tibia Inflammation
Michael Porter Jr. – Left Knee… pic.twitter.com/JEbdkL6V1T

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 16, 2024

The Nuggets, however, haven’t been scoring too much, especially not their superstar Nikola Jokic. The Serbian center has only gone over 30 points once in his 11 games. Plus, there are reports that he’s struggling with a hip injury, so we might not see him spend too much time on the floor tonight.

This is why we’re almost 100% certain Embiid will score more than him. We think this is a prop bet that’s going to win easily. The bad news is that bookies think so as well, which is why the odds aren’t great. The good news is that we’ve got another two NBA player props for you, which come with more attractive odds.

NBA Player Prop	Odds
Nikola Jokic vs. Joel Embiid More Points: Nikola Jokic

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Kings vs. Suns

How to Watch

• When: Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at 9:00 p.m. ET
• Where: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona           
• Channel: NBA League Pass

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Prop Pick

Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox is the NBA’s seventh-highest scorer this season with a PPG of 27.8. Phoenix’s Kevin Durant is fifth on that list with 29.0 points per game.

Knowing this, you’d think that the odds are favoring Durant to score more than Fox, but it’s actually the other way around. This time, however, we don’t agree with oddsmakers. We think Durant will have a brilliant game this evening.

Sure, he’s not in great shape at the moment, scoring a total of 92 points in his last four games, after coming off a hamstring injury. But we do believe it’s time for him to start impressing again.

NBA Player Prop	Odds
Kevin Durant vs. D’Aaron Fox More Points: Kevin Durant

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Thunder vs. Clippers

How to Watch

• When: Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at 10:00 p.m. ET
• Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California             
• Channel: TNT

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Prop Pick

Oklahoma’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is reportedly struggling with a knee injury. He will probably play tonight – as his team can’t do much without him – but he might get limited time on the court.

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Even if he was 100% fit, we think he’d struggle to score a lot against the Clippers, who are conceding just 111.9 points per game. Not only that, but the Canadian hasn’t been in much of a point-scoring mood lately. His season average is 31.5 PPG, but we saw him go under that number in three of his last four games.

On top of everything, his points margin for this game is set real high. It’s 30.5 points, which we don’t think he’s going to reach.

NBA Player Prop	Odds
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Under 30.5 Points