NBA Player Prop Bets Tonight for Wednesday, January 17, 2024

You are hereby excused if you did not realize the hottest team in the NBA right now is the Utah Jazz. They are taking a six-game winning streak into tonight’s home game against the dumpster fire also known as the Golden State Warriors.

Feel free to make a side bet with your buddies on Draymond Green’s technical foul total. We will set that over/under at 1.5 for the league’s biggest loudmouth/rabble-rouser.

The rebuild in Utah following the Donovan Mitchell trade was expected to take several years after Danny Ainge traded his superstar to Cleveland for Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, three first-round draft picks and two first-round pick swaps. While nobody is predicting a title any time soon for the Jazz (they are +25000 to win the championship on the Betway board), they have strung together victories against the Sixers, Bucks, Nuggets, Raptors, Lakers and Pacers to move up to ninth place in the Western Conference. They are favored by 3.5 points against Steve Kerr’s Golden State Warriors, who are languishing in 12th place in the West and are likely coming to the realization that their championship window, which was open for the better part of the past decade, is closing.

Young teams including the Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans are showing more promise at this stage of the season than many would have predicted. Now the Jazz are crashing that party as coach Will Hardy is riding Markkanen, Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and Walker Kessler, especially at home where Utah has gone 15-5.

Tonight’s game against a Golden State team that can rightfully be described as desperate will be a litmus test of whether the Jazz can sustain a terrific January in which they have gone 8-1. Another test comes Thursday when the Thunder come to town.

We like riding hot players on hot teams, so that is how we shall begin today’s best player prop bets article. Let’s have at it…

Warriors at Jazz Preview (Game Postponed)

NBA Schedule Today, January 17, 2024 – Game info
2023-24 NBA Regular Season Game
Warriors (11-11 home; 7-11 away) vs. Utah Jazz (15-5 home; 7-15 away)
Time: TBD
TV Channel: NBA League Pass, NBC Sports California
Live Stream: NBA App, KJZZ.

This is the first meeting of the season between the teams, with the Warriors having lost eight of their last 11 games as they rode out Green’s indefinite suspension and Andrew Wiggins’ slump, which has forced Coach Steve Kerr to mix and match his lineups, depriving the team of any continuity and chemistry. Green is back after going through a meeting with Commissioner Adam Silver and receiving yet another warning that his antics have crossed the line one too many times. The only guarantee for the Warriors is that Steph Curry will be ready to play and will be jacking up as many 3s as he can, which is what he has done better than any player in NBA history. But will Klay Thompson return to being the Splash Brother that made these guys such a dangerous team? He has attempted 36 3s over the last three games and made 14, which included a 6-for-17 outing against Milwaukee.

Warriors vs. Jazz Injury Report

Chris Paul (broken hand), Gary Payton II (hamstring strain) and Moses Moody (calf strain) are out for Golden State. Utah is not reporting any injuries to its regulars.

Best Warriors vs. Jazz Player Prop Bet

Collin Sexton over 2.5 3-pointers made (+260)

Markkanen has been Utah’s most consistent offensive performer, but Sexton is not far behind and is coming off a 4-for-5 3-point shooting night against Indiana. He has made at least three 3-pointers in three of the past five games, and his 3-pointers made line is more enticing than Markkanen’s.

The Pick: Collin Sexton to make at least three 3-pointers (+260)

Timberwolves vs. Pistons Preview

2023-24 NBA Regular Season Game
Timberwolves (16-2 home; 12-9 away) vs. Detroit Pistons (2-17 home; 2-19 away)
Time: 7 p.m. EST; Little Caesar’s Arena, Detroit, MI.
TV Channel: NBA League Pass, Bally Sports North; Bally Sports Detroit
Live Stream: NBA App

The Pistons are coming off a rare win, just their third of the season, and a small roster shakeup after they dealt Marvin Bagley III and Isaiah Livers to Washington for Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala. The Pistons got a season-high 34 points from veteran Alec Burks and 24 from Jaden Ivey, defeating the Wizards by 12 on Monday night as 6-point underdogs. Minnesota comes in with the West’s best record, 28-11, and are favored by 11.5.

Timberwolves vs. Pistons Injury Report

Anthony Edwards is questionable for Minnesota with left knee tendinitis, while Bogdan Bogdanovic is probable with left calf soreness. Cade Cunningham is out with a strained left knee and Gallinari and Muscala are questionable because the trade has not yet been finalized.

Best Timberwolves vs. Pistons Player Prop Bets

Jalen Duren 18+ points (+265)

Jalen Duren 15+ rebounds (+500)

The second-year center from Memphis was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field against Washington and had 20 points and a season-high 19 rebounds. He has had at least 15 rebounds five times this season and has been one of the few bright spots for the league’s most dismal team. He has also recorded a double-double in six of eight games this month. Coach Monty Williams has the largest coaching salary in the NBA and he will ride this kid as much as he can in a lost season. Duren and Ivey are building blocks, while Burks is a likely trade candidate because he could help a playoff-bound team.

The Picks: Jalen Duren to score at least 18 points (+265) and to grab at least 15 rebounds (+500)

Hornets vs. Pelicans Preview

2023-24 NBA Regular Season Game
Charlotte Hornets (4-13 home; 4-16 away) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (12-8 home; 12-9 away)
Time: 8 p.m. EST; Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA.
TV Channel: NBA League Pass, Bally Sports
Live Stream: NBA App.

Charlotte comes into this game on a five-game losing streak in what is quickly becoming a lost season. This means that anyone aside from LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller is now a trade candidate, with Miles Bridges, Gordon Hayward, P.J. Washington and Terry Rozier all having value as Mitch Kupchak is forced to pivot to an all new three-year plan for the franchise that Michael Jordan bought and then sold. The Pelicans are sixth in the West and have gone 3-3 since having a season-high four-game winning streak. They are favored by 11.5 points.

Hornets vs. Pelicans Injury Report

Hayward is out with a left calf strain, center Mark Williams is out with a lower back injury, and Miller is questionable with a lower back contusion. The Pelicans are reporting no injuries to any of their regulars.

Best Hornets vs Pelicans Player Prop Bet

Zion Williamson 30+ points (+500)

Zion has scored 30 in each of the last two games, and the injury to Miller will likely deprive the Hornets of one of the few players with the size to defend him. Williamson has scored 30 only five times all season but appears to be shaking off the rust. Last season, he scored 30 or more nine times in 29 games before he was lost for the season with a hamstring injury. This price is especially enticing.

The Pick: Zion Williamson to score at least 30 points (+500)

Odds are subject to change* 

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