Randle Roundup: NBA Betting Trends of the Week (11/11)

Welcome back to the weekly NBA Roundup. We have completed about 15% of the regular season, and injuries have started to play a major role. There have been some incredible betting opportunities as a result, with several players seeing a huge increase in usage over the past week.

Here are a few betting nuggets from eight NBA teams as you place your side, total, and prop bets for the upcoming week.

Atlanta Hawks

Dejounte Murray is starting to catch fire. In seven games during the opening month of October, Murray posted modest per-game averages of 20 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.6 assists. Prior to last night’s comfortable win over Philadelphia, Murray was hovering around 24 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 10 APG. He is also a huge presence on defense, posting 2.6 steals per contest. Murray is also shooting 2.6 more attempts from deep and has yet to tally more than four fouls in any game.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, forward John Collins has slowed down. In October, Collins posted 13.7 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.7 BLG, 1.0 SPG, and tallied three consecutive double-doubles. In five November games, Collins’ averages have dropped to 11.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 0.8 BPG, 0.4 SPG, with just one double-double. His rebounds have been siphoned by center Clint Capela, who is averaging an insane 16 RPG in November. As long as Atlanta is winning, Capela appears to be a lock of double-digits rebounds. In the Hawks last six wins, Capela has posted an impressive 13.7 PPG.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics’ defense has struggled this year, allowing 114.2 points per game, which represents an 11 PPG increase from last season. As a result, Jayson Tatum’s production has been through the roof. Tatum is averaging a career-best in PPG (31.2), field goal percentage (49.8%), 3P attempts (9.4) and 3Ps made (3.5). Tatum has crested 30 PPG six times this season, and three of his past four matchups.
Al Horford had a poor October, treading water with just 8.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.8 APG. He has seen a huge improvement over the last four matchups, raising his averages to 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
Marcus Smart has seen an incredible increase in assists over the past three games. He has posted at least 11 assists in each of those matchups, which have all been Boston wins.

Brooklyn Nets

The absence of Kyrie Irving has affected his Brooklyn teammates in a positive way. The Nets have won three of the four matchups overall, led by Kevin Durant’s 28 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 7.5 APG in Irving’s absence.
Small forward Yuta Watanabe made two 3Ps in three straight contests, before injuring his ankle in Monday’s loss to Dallas. Watanabe was also averaging over 10 PPG without Irving in the lineup.
The Nets have continued to see strong production from 21-year-old Cam Thomas whenever called upon. He has posted 17 or more points in three of the last four matchups, while shooting 45.5% from 3P range during the month of November.

Charlotte Hornets

Charlotte anxiously awaits the return of LaMelo Ball, as their 3-10 record indicates. Their most reliable scorer in November has been guard Terry Rozier, posting 18 or more points in four straight games. The Hornets rely heavily on Rozier to generate offense and have let him rip 11.5 attempts from deep in their last four contests. He is hoisting 23 shot attempts per game while playing over 38 minutes every night.
Forward P.J. Washington has poor efficiency from deep, shooting just 26.7% in November. His 3PM prop is typically at 1.5, but he has failed to hit this number in six of the last nine contests.

Chicago Bulls

Center Nikola Vucevic has been one of the NBA’s most consistent producers over his 13-year career. While his scoring has dipped over the last three seasons, he is almost at a career-high in rebounds per game (11.9). He saw a streak of six consecutive games with 12 or more rebounds snapped against New Orleans, with the Pelicans grabbing 50 total boards, 15 more than the Bulls. Keep this in mind against Chicago’s next two opponents: Denver and the Pelicans again. Given Vucevic’s recent success, this could be an opportunity for two unders.
Guard Zach LaVine has been scalding hot from 3P range, despite a woeful 3-of-12 performance in Wednesday’s loss to the Pelicans. LaVine is hoisting over 8.0 3Ps per game, eclipsing the 40 percent mark for the first time in his career.
The production by LaVine and Vucevic has contributed to a three-point drop in DeMar DeRozan’s per-game average (24.5 PPG).

Cleveland Cavaliers

We need to take a moment and appreciate how great Donovan Mitchell has been for Cleveland. The 26-year-old shooting guard has posted career-highs in points (31.9), FG percentage (51.4%), 3P accuracy (44.8%), FT (86.3%), and assists (5.8). He has scored 30 or more points in five of Cleveland’s last six contests, easily beating his points prop.
Darius Garland has returned from an eye injury and has seen a meteoric rise in his assists per game. Garland is averaging 9.8 per game in his return, easily the highest mark of his career. Better yet? He is averaging over 38 minutes per contest.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks needed a new second scorer after the departure of Jalen Brunson in the offseason. Enter Spencer Dinwiddie, who has averaged 18.4 PPG in his 11 starts. Dinwiddie has been particularly fantastic from beyond the arc, hitting at a career-best 42.9 percent rate on an equally impressive 7.0 attempts per game. Besides his shocking two-point performance in a failed revenge spot against Brooklyn, Dinwiddie has posted over 25 PPG in November.
Center Dwight Powell has also boosted his numbers this month, posting 7.2 PPG and 5.2 RPG, at 22.6 minutes per contest. He has also used his quickness against opposing big men this month, to the tune of 1.2 steals per game as well.

Denver Nuggets

Denver is off to a strong 8-3 start, having won four straight games. However, the reigning two-time MVP, Nikola Jokic, has seen a substantial decline in his points and rebounds per game. Jokic is averaging just 21.2 PPG and 9.9 RPG with over a two-minute per-game decline. The Nuggets are clearly trying to rest Jokic early in the season, which has provided a getting under opportunity on his PRA props. Normally a staple for high-40s in PRAs, Jokic has failed to crest 45 PRA in his last six consecutive matchups.
The beneficiary of Jokic’s reduction in usage, has been guard Jamal Murray. After returning from a torn ACL injury, Murray was eased into the gameflow to start the season. In November, Murray started to cook, posting 15.3 FGAs, 3.5 3PAs, and 18.5 points on a nightly basis.