Best NBA Prop Bets Today (Predictions for Klay Thompson, Brook Lopez and Nikola Vucevic)

Breaking down the best prop bets for the NBA action on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
Dallas Mavericks sharpshooter Klay Thompson is an interesting target in the prop market tonight.
Dallas Mavericks sharpshooter Klay Thompson is an interesting target in the prop market tonight. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

With seven NBA games on Tuesday night, there are a ton of player props to choose from, especially in the national TV games between the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets. 

I have a pick for the Nuggets-Mavs matchup, as well as a trio of centers that I’m eyeing for various props on Tuesday night. 

Should you fade Brook Lopez against Domantas Sabonis? Could Nikola Vucevic have a big game against a weak New Orleans defense?

Let’s break down plays for those players and more for tonight’s action. 

Best NBA Prop Bets for Tuesday, Jan. 14

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

  • Klay Thompson UNDER 16.5 Points (-125)
  • Isaiah Hartenstein OVER 11.5 Rebounds (+105)
  • Nikola Vucevic OVER 17.5 Points (-135)
  • Brook Lopez UNDER 5.5 Rebounds (-160)

Klay Thompson UNDER 16.5 Points (-125)

Should bettors trust Dallas Mavericks sharpshooter Klay Thompson tonight against the Denver Nuggets? I’m not sold on it. 

Even though he’s coming off a 25-point game on Sunday, I’m fading Klay Thompson with his points prop rising from 14.5 to 16.5 points. 

Klay has failed to score over 16.5 points in 10 of his last 11 games, dropping his season average to 14.2 points per night. If Kyrie Irving (back, questionable) returns tonight after practicing fully on Monday, it may eat into Klay’s workload after he got up 19 shots on Sunday. 

Isaiah Hartenstein OVER 11.5 Rebounds (+105)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein enters this matchup averaging 12.0 rebounds per game, and he picked up 12 boards in OKC’s win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

Now, he gets a favorable matchup with a Philadelphia 76ers team that is dead last in the NBA in rebounding percentage this season and down starting center Joel Embiid and backup center Andre Drummond.

The Sixers don’t have anyone to really match up with Hartenstein, who has at least 12 boards in 13 of his 23 games in the 2024-25 campaign. 

Nikola Vucevic OVER 17.5 Points (-135)

This season, Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic is averaging 20.2 points per game, yet he’s set at just 17.5 points against the No. 28 defense in the NBA.

Vuc should eat in the paint, as the New Orleans Pelicans are 29th in the NBA (only the Bulls are worse) in opponent points in the paint per game this season. In his 38 games, Vucevic has 18 or more points in 28 of them. 

He’s an absolute steal at this number on Tuesday night. 

Brook Lopez UNDER 5.5 Rebounds (-160)

Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez is averaging just 4.8 rebounds per game this season, and now he has a brutal matchup against Domantas Sabonis – the NBA’s leading rebounder – on Tuesday.

Lopez has just 16 games (out of 37) where he’s picked up six rebounds, and he has just four boards over his last two games against two elite rebounding teams (New York and Orlando).

 I expect him to struggle on the glass against Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings tonight.


Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.


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Peter Dewey
PETER DEWEY

Peter is a senior editor for Sports Illustrated Betting. He has worked as a writer and editor for BetSided, NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering the NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, and more. A New York City resident, he is a hoops fanatic with a soft spot for his New York Knicks.