Austin Reaves, Amen Thompson, & 3 Other Underdog Player Props For Rockets vs. Lakers
In this story:
The Los Angeles Lakers are in danger of staring at an even series at 3-3 against the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA playoffs, after leading 3–0. Game six will be played this Friday. Here are five of the best player props on Underdog Fantasy for the matchup.
LeBron James Over 22.5 Points
LeBron James, for the third time in game five of this series, covered the over on 22.5 player points prop for Friday. He scored 25 points, shooting 9-20 from the field. He posted this stat line amid one of the Lakers' better offensive players returning, Austin Reaves. Reaves played 34 minutes, and him being back may actually be a positive, in taking more of the focus off of James on offense, which gives James a better chance of covering the over on his points prop in game six.
Although dating back to the 2022-2023 season, the last time James was in a game six, he scored 30 points and closed out the series.
Luke Kennard Over 8.5 Points
Guard for Los Angeles, Luke Kennard, was one of the standout players early in this series. With the Lakers needing help offensively with Reaves and Luka Doncic out, he answered the call. In the first three games, Kennard scored 27, 23, and 14 points. However, in his last two games, his production on offense has dropped drastically. In games four and five, he scored a combined eight points, dropping a series low one point in game five, where he went 0-4 from the field. Despite his struggles, his over on his 8.5 points line is a great play.
Kennard, even with Reaves back in the fold, got significant playing time in game five. He logged 31 minutes. This is more than enough time for Kennard to hit the over on his prop that is on a discount with his recent struggles at 7.5. Going back to the regular season, in the last two games, Kennard played 30 or more minutes he scored 15 and 14 points.
Alperen Sengun Under 20.5 Points
Alperen Sengun has played a big role in bringing this series back from the dead for Houston. One thing that has stood out in these past two games is Sengun’s shot-taking. In games four and five, Sengun took the fewest amount of shots that he has all series, taking nine and 12 shots. With this in mind, Sengun’s under on his 20.5 points looks to be a great play.
Sengunn has hit the under on this points prop line in four out of five games this series.
Amen Thompson Over 12.5 Rebounds+Assists
Guard for the Rockets, Amen Thompson has hit the under on his combined rebounds and assists prop line for Friday at 12.5 in both of his last two games. It feels this prop is discounted because of this, making the over on it for Friday extremely intriguing.
In games one through three, Thompson had covered the over on the line every time. Also, in three regular-season games against the Lakers, he covered the over twice. The one time he did not, he had a combined 12 rebounds and assists. In those games, he averaged 38.3 MPG; in this playoff series, he is averaging 44 MPG. With the increased playing time, the likelihood of him covering the over on this prop increases.
Austin Reaves Over 5.5 Assists
The Lakers played Reaves a significant amount in his first game back after missing nearly a month of action due to an injury. He played 34 minutes and, despite going 4-16 from the field, looked like himself on the court. One area in which he shined and has so most of the regular season was his playmaking. Reaves in game five had six assists. He should be able to cover the over on his prop line at 5.5 again in game six.
Reaves in games during the regular season, when Doncic was not available, averaged 8.0 APG.
More NBA Fantasy News On SI
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Gray Deyo is a Nashville-based sportswriter who graduated with a sports management bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has covered prep sports, college sports, the WNBA, and the NBA for the past four years. In addition to writing for SI, Gray also currently contributes to Prep Girls Hoops