Obi Toppin has looked great this month, and his point total highlights our NBA player prop picks for this evening.
The NBA took a break last night following the NBA Cup Final, but it jumps back into the action with a packed slate of 13 games on Thursday.
I dug through all the player props for today's games to bring you my best NBA picks, and tonight, I'm betting on Jamal Murray, Obi Toppin, and Miles Bridges.
Here are my favorite free NBA player props for December 19.
Miles Bridges is averaging 6.7 rebounds per game, and he's pulled down seven or more boards in six of his last nine contests.
Bridges returned to the Charlotte Hornets lineup last Friday after a three-week absence due to a knee injury. He logged 25 minutes in his first game back and 28 in the following, and he should continue to see his playing time ramp up. Especially since the Hornets could also be without wing Brandon Miller tonight.
The Wizards play at the fourth-fastest tempo in the NBA and are just 27th in rebounding rate (47.5%) so there should be plenty of opportunities on the glass for Bridges.
-115 at bet365
Obi Toppin has been on fire this month, averaging 15.4 points in just 22.3 minutes per game. The O/U on Toppin's points is set at 10.5, a number he's eclipsed in all seven games in December. He's coming off a 16-point performance against the Pelicans, and his eight field goal attempts in that contest were actually his lowest shot total this month.
Today, Toppin and the Pacers face the Suns, who are just 27th in the NBA in defensive rating over their last 15 games. Phoenix is 23rd in the league at defending the rim per ShotQualityBets while ranking 24th at giving up high-quality threes.
Toppin has been red hot from beyond the arc, knocking down 12 threes over his last four games, and he sits in the top 10th percentile of the league in efficiency at attacking the rim.
-125 at bet365
The O/U assists for Jamal Murray opened at 5.5, which looks too low when you consider his production and the juicy matchup he has tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers. Since coming back from a concussion in early November, Murray has racked up at least six assists in 12 of 14 games.
The Denver Nuggets point guard is averaging 6.6 assists per game during that span and today he takes on a Blazers side that plays at a fast tempo and is 26th in the league in defensive rating. That fast pace and poor defense has led to Portland ranking 24th in assists allowed per game (27.4).
This is the first time the Nuggets and Blazers are facing off this season but Murray played against Portland twice last season and dropped 10 dimes in each game. This is a four-s