Setting The Pick – Non-NBA Cup player props

Neophobia is a word I just learned – a dread of or aversion to novelty.

When it comes to the NBA Cup, don’t let your neophobia impair your judgment.

This tournament has been a value-added innovation.

With all things new, there are a lot of growing pains to go through before arriving at the desired conclusion.

The NBA Cup isn’t perfect.

Some of these courts simply need to go; our eyes can only colour correct so much.

The group stage can be ironed out better to create even more drama on the final slate.

But what the tournament has done well is create higher intensity basketball during a period of the NBA schedule that has traditionally fell flat.

Instead of massive 10 game slates, we’ve gotten a few days to focus on the top performing teams in the league – a nice break from the typical schedule.

The final four teams head to Vegas to wrap up the tournament while the other 26 teams play make-up games during this stretch.

With all the spotlights on the Thunder, Rockets, Hawks, and Bucks, some opportunities may be slipping through the cracks.

Here are three player props from tonight’s non-NBA Cup slate to consider.

Philly’s second full strength game

With the injury report clear, all signs point to the 76ers rolling out their big three for just the third time this season – the second time at full strength.

Last Sunday, Philly beat Chicago 108-100 with Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey all logging 30+ minutes.

Embiid dropped a 31 and 12 double-double while Maxey had a 25-11-14 triple-double.

Against a stumbling Pacers squad tonight, Philly has a chance to move one step further away from their disastrous start.

Indiana has lost 5 of their last 6 and are plummeting down the rankings on defence.

They own the seventh-worst defensive rating, allow the sixth-most points in the paint and fifth-most points overall.

All of this bodes well for Maxey to rack up dimes after coming through with 14 on Sunday.

In their first full strength game together, Maxey found Embiid for 10 of his 14 assists.

He was orchestrating the offence all night ending at 23 potential dimes.

Just like Chicago, Indiana grades poorly around the rim allowing the 6th-highest frequency of attempts at the net.

Maxey is one of the fastest guards in the game and is primed to get himself to the rim often.

So long as Embiid plays within restriction, the two could be in for another big night.

The Pick: Maxey over 5.5 assists (-135)

Filling in for the King

LeBron James was ruled out a full day ahead of their tilt with Minnesota tonight.

It’ll be just the second game missed for the King this season who’s about to turn 40 this month.

Whenever he’s out of the lineup, D’Angelo Russell takes a massive leap in production.

Last year, Russell averaged 18.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists on the season.

In the 11 games James missed, those numbers went up to 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 10.8 assists.

Of those 11 games, he finished with eight or more dimes in all of them.

Turning back to this year, LBJ sat out their most recent game versus Portland while Russell remained on the bench.

That didn’t stop him from producing.

D’Lo finished with 28 points and 14 assists (both season-highs).

Of his 14 dimes, 10 of them were finished by either Rui Hachimura or Anthony Davis.

Those two will be critical tonight against a Timberwolves defence that has been keen on taking away the three-point line.

Davis has had productive games versus Gobert in the past. He’s had three games of 30 or more points against Minnesota over the past two seasons.

The Pick: Russell over 7.5 assists (+120)

Free-range Miller

LaMelo Ball went down with a calf strain six games ago leaving Charlotte devoid of scoring.

Brandon Miller was left to carry the load and has been green lit to chuck shots from wherever he sees fit.

Over this stretch, he’s led the league with 4.7 three-pointers made per game on a whopping 13.3 attempts.

Stephen Curry was the next closest player at 10.8 attempts.

If you haven’t watched much film on Miller, the 2023 second-overall pick models him game to Paul George, who he famously called “My GOAT”.

Like PG, Miller isn’t shy about firing from deep; 58.5 per cent of his field-goal attempts come from beyond the arc.

With Ball still sidelined, he’ll be forced to up his usage.

Against Chicago, it’s a good opportunity for him to stat pad his numbers.

The Bulls allow the second-most points to opponents, own the fourth-worst defensive rating and allow the sixth-most attempts from deep.

Considering the line is 3.5 on FanDuel, I’d be willing to take his over coming off six games where he’s averaged 13.3 attempts.

The Pick: Miller over 3.5 threes (-120