- Demarcus Cousins props are served — I’ll tell you how to play his PRA prop of 31.5
- He and the Houston Rockets travel to New Orleans to face the Pelicans — tip-off at 4:30 PM ET
- The Rockets are five and a half-point underdogs in a game with a 224-point total
Another nice Tuesday night NBA slate gives us seven games, and this Demarcus Cousins prop is my favorite of the bunch. I’ll key in on the Rockets’ mercurial center and tell you what makes it such a standout.
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Demarcus Cousins
Under 29.5 PRA (-110 @ Prop Builder)
The NBA is certainly more fun with Boogie Cousins than without; however, it’s easy to forget he’s less than two years removed from three major lower-body injuries.
While it’s been great to see him playing meaningful minutes, he’s still struggling with efficiency. The 30-year-old is averaging 8.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on 35.8% shooting.
In 20 games this year, the former Wildcat has only topped this total twice. On the second half of back-to-back games on the road, this is a tough spot for Cousins to produce big numbers.
The Matchup
The Pelicans present a difficult matchup for an array of reasons.
- They play at the sixth-slowest pace, while the Rockets have also playing been much slower since James Harden was traded
- New Orleans surrenders the third-fewest rebounds to opponents per game.
- They are a terrific rebounding team with a 52.9% rebound rate, while the Rockets check-in at 48.5% which is the 4th worst percentage in the league
An additional component that I like is the Pelicans allow the fourth-fewest opponent points in the paint per game, giving up just 43.4. That should force Cousins to rely on three-point attempts, where he’s been very inconsistent — shooting just 33% on the season.
He also has had a propensity to get into foul trouble, fouling out three times this season, while finishing with four or more in six of eight games.
With Zion Williamson being one of the premier rim rockers in the NBA, I could see Cousins getting into early foul trouble, potentially costing hum crucial minutes.
Conclusion
With Cousins facing a tough opponent, on the road, on the second half of a back to back, it will be an uphill climb for him to reach this total.
With the return of Eric Gordon and John Wall, Cousins will find fewer scoring chances and I project him to finish closer to 25 PRA.
