Warriors vs. Lakers: The best player prop bets for opening night

At long last, the 2021-22 NBA season is here. And what better matchup to lead off the new NBA season than the latest showdown between Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors and LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Both teams enter the season with overhauled rosters that still rely on their top-end talent, and both have clear championship aspirations.

But what about right now? Which team and which players are going to be ready to produce during the very first game of the season?

Tonight’s game between the Warriors and the Lakers tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT, and we have the three best player prop bets below.

STEPH CURRY OVER/UNDER 33.5 POINTS

Steph Curry was ridiculous last year. He led the league in scoring with 32.0 points per game on comically high efficiency. And in case there was any hesitation that he’d slowed down since then, he casually notched a 41 point game in the preseason finale against the Portland Trail Blazers, seemingly because it amused him to do so.

Teams that don’t both have a rock-solid game plan and are prepared to follow that plan for a full 48 minutes are simply cooked against Curry. He’s well-known as the greatest shooter of all time, but that’s unlocked by the fact that he is also the best off-ball mover of all time.

It takes a complete team effort to guard Curry, and new Lakers' addition Russell Westbrook, for all his offensive virtues, is among the worst off-ball defenders in the NBA. He is given to ball watching and simply falls asleep much too often to have a hope against Steph. LeBron teams are typically more disciplined than most when it comes to defending Steph, but this early in the season I don’t trust Westbrook to change his stripes. Curry will flow around the court like a bird of prey, and any time Westbrook falls asleep - whether he’s directly involved in guarding Curry or not - Steph will punish the Lakers mercilessly.

PICK: OVER 33.5 POINTS (-113)

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LEBRON JAMES OVER/UNDER 2.5 3-POINTERS MADE

The Los Angeles Lakers traded away half their team to land Russell Westbrook, but that doesn’t mean it’s a clean fit. Westbrook and James are both used to having the ball in their hands, but at least one of them is going to have to make significant changes to how they play. I’m betting that at least in the early parts of the NBA season, that LeBron, the much better shooter of the two, is the one to move off-ball when he and Westbrook share the court. 

That means that James will likely see a sharp uptick in his 3-point volume this season, starting with opening night. James has made developing the longball a clear priority the last few years as a way of saving his legs and avoiding the punishment he eats inside. When he’s locked in, he’s an outstanding outside shooter.

PICK: OVER 2.5 3-POINTERS MADE (+125)

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RUSSELL WESTBROOK OVER/UNDER 9.5 ASSISTS

Building on the working theory that Westbrook was brought in to do what he does best, we should expect to see him primarily in an on-ball, playmaking mode any time he sees the court. And the man is a walking assist machine.

Not only did Westbrook lead the NBA in assists per game (11.7) and points created off assists (30.1) last season, he led the league in potential assists per game with an eye-popping 21.9 per game. The Lakers have shooters everywhere, and Westbrook is the best in the game at finding the open man. For anyone else, 9.5 would be a steep line, for Westbrook, it’s routine.

PICK: OVER 9.5 ASSISTS (+110)