NBA Player Props and Best Bets for February 3: Fade Towns and Banchero Tonight

As the dust settles around the news of Luka Doncic, De'Aaron Fox, and Zach LaVine being traded to new homes, the NBA returns to courts across America on Monday.

Jayson Tatum dropped 35 points and 11 assists to lead a 26-point comeback against the Philadelphia 76ers, while Jaren Jackson Jr.’s 37 points helped the Memphis Grizzlies sans Ja Morant take down the Milwaukee Bucks on the road.

Here are our best NBA betting picks for Monday.

Best NBA Prop Bets for Monday, February 3

Keon Ellis Under 9.5 Points

Despite the flurry of trades that saw Fox moved for Zach LaVine and Malik Monk presumably taking over the starting point guard role, Ellis should remain a backup playing about 20 minutes per night. He only scored three points in his last game and went under in five of his last six outings, so there’s a well-established precedent of him going under this line.

Ellis averaged 7.5 points on 46.3 percent shooting in 21.5 minutes per night. He’s about to face a Minnesota Timberwolves squad that ranks fourth in points allowed per game and that has several great perimeter defenders, including his projected matchup, Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Karl-Anthony Towns Under 39.5 Points+Rebounds+Assists

Towns failed to score 20 points in three of his last four games and only had 11 points, six rebounds and three assists his last time on the court in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Now, he gets to face off with the Houston Rockets, who rank second in rebounds, third in points, and fourth in assists allowed per game to opposing centers.

Towns had 17 points, 19 rebounds, and no assists in his only previous matchup with Houston, meaning he’s 1-0 to the under against this opponent. Strangely, Towns has also been worse across the board at home compared to on the road and is in arguably his “worst” stretch of the season. 

Malik Beasley Over 15.5 Points

Beasley is up to 16.3 points per game in his first season with the Detroit Pistons, the most he averaged since his 2020-21 campaign with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He also scored 19 points yesterday and went over in six of his last seven outings.

Beasley has one of the greenest lights from three in the entire league, while the Atlanta Hawks rank fourth-worst in three-point percentage allowed and third-worst in made threes allowed per game. They also lost their best defender, Jalen Johnson, to an injury, which should free up Beasley to add another over to his resume.

Paolo Banchero Under 28.5 Points+Assists

Banchero hasn’t found his rhythm since he returned from a torn oblique and had just nine points, six rebounds, and six assists in his last game. He also went under this line in nine of his last 10 games and averaged 21.1 points and 4.4 assists per game in January.

The Orlando Magic are going out west to take on the Golden State Warriors, who are 11th in points and 12th in assists allowed per game to opposing power forwards. Until Banchero consistently finds his scoring touch, this line feels too high to back him against.

Bennedict Mathurin Over 17.5 Points+Rebounds

Mathurin, a third-year player from Arizona, averaged 16.4 points and 5.8 rebounds and just put up 17 points and two rebounds in 25 minutes in his last game. He also went over this line in six of his last 10 outings and has been more productive and more efficient at home.

The Indiana Pacers are facing the Utah Jazz, who are ninth in rebounds and 21st in points allowed per game to opposing shooting guards. Utah also allowed the fourth-most points per game overall and lost eight of its last nine games.

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