Rockets vs. Thunder Player Prop Bets: NBA Picks & Best Bets for Tuesday

The NBA season will get underway when the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Houston Rockets to town for ring night at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday at the Paycom Center on NBC and Peacock.

Although this is a matchup between the top two teams in last year’s Western Conference, both teams have some question marks. The Thunder could be without Jalen Williams, while the Rockets are missing Fred VanVleet and have added Kevin Durant to their lineup. With Oklahoma City favored by 7.5 points, my Rockets vs. Thunder player prop bets try to captilize on some uncertainty in the season opener as part of Tuesday’s NBA picks.

🏀 Rockets vs. Thunder player prop bets: Tuesday

NBA player prop bets for Tuesday; odds subject to change.

• Amen Thompson Under 21.5 points + assists (-125 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Kevin Durant Under 9.5 rebounds + assists (-130 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Chet Holmgren Over 1.5 assists (-105 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

💰 Best player prop bets for Rockets vs. Thunder

Our NBA player prop odds tool shows the best odds for every market across legal sportsbooks in your area.

⬇️ Amen Thompson Under 21.5 points + assists (-125) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Someone on the Rockets will have to step up in the absence of VanVleet this year. The market believes that Amen Thompson is the obvious answer, listing him as the betting favorite by the NBA Most Improved Player odds.

Thompson’s assists prop is up to 5.5 and his points prop is 15.5. He averaged 14.1 points and 3.8 assists per game last year, so this is clearly a reflection of him having the ball more this season as the starting point guard.

I’m skeptical of Thompson’s PG debut against the best defensive team in the league, considering how difficult it is to learn the position. I project roughly 14 points and four assists, which is why I like this Under at 20.5 or better. 

Most of the market is already at 20.5, indicaitng the deal at DraftKings to net $8 profit on a winning $10 wager.

⬇️ Kevin Durant Under 9.5 rebounds + assists (-130) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Rockets have such absurd length on their roster that Kevin Durant is listed as the starting shooting guard. Let that sink in.

Now that it’s sunk in, my theory is that Durant’s rebounding production will dip while being further from the rim in this big lineup. He averaged six rebounds per game last year, marking his worst average since his rookie campaign.

Rather than pay the -150 price tag on Under 5.5 boards, I prefer the -130 value on this combo prop at bet365, earning $7.69 on a $10 bet. I project about four rebounds and three assists for Durant on Tuesday.

⬆️ Chet Holmgren Over 1.5 assists (-105) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Given the matchup against Houston’s size, I expect the Thunder to start both of their bigs between Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren. That was the case in their final preseason game.

I also don’t expect Williams to play for the Thunder, so there is value in finding his production elsewhere on the team. For my money, Holmgren recording multiple assists is the best way to bet on just that.

Holmgren averaged two assists per game last year, clearing this prop in 17 of his 32 regular-season games. Caesars’ -105 offering gives us a chance to make $9.52 on a $10 bet, but it’s also an outlier compared to FanDuel’s -142 price for the same Over.

📊 Rockets vs. Thunder odds

Latest NBA odds updated live in real time.

📺 How to watch Thunder vs. Rockets

• Date: Tuesday, Oct. 21
• Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
• Where: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
• TV: NBC/Peacock