The NBA Playoffs continue Saturday when the Dallas Mavericks host the Oklahoma City Thunder in a second-round matchup. Dallas evened the series Thursday night, pulling off a 119-110 victory over Oklahoma City in surprising fashion.
Can the Mavericks continue their run and gain an edge as the series shifts to the Lone Star state? Or will the Thunder roll into American Airlines Center and cause a permanent delay in the Mavericks’ playoff aspirations? We’ll cover the three best NBA Playoff player prop bets as well as our best bet below.
Dallas evened the series by using a 22-6 run to end the third period and take a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter. Tim Hardaway Jr scored 10 consecutive points during that run to blow open a one-point game and help the Mavericks even the series. Star guard Luka Doncic tied for the team lead with 29 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting.
Doncic – who led the league in scoring at 33.9 points per game – has dipped slightly in the playoffs. The 6’ 7” guard is scoring 28.4 points per playoff contest, and he’s went three straight games without breaking the 30-point mark.
While Doncic is always a threat to score, expect the Thunder to continue focusing their defense on him and keep him from covering this prop bet.
The Thunder’s Thursday night loss is not on the shoulders of MVP vote-getter Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 2018 NBA lottery pick has been dominant this series, scoring 31.0 points, grabbing 10.5 rebounds, and dishing out 8.5 assists per game.
Numbers like that are what Oklahoma City will need to win their this pivotal road contests against Dallas.
Expect Gilgeous-Alexander to cobble together another terrific outing and cover this player combo prop bet Saturday.
Despite being snubbed for NBA Rookie of the Year honor, Thunder forward Chet Holmgren is a different player than the league has known.
At 7’ 1” and 208 pounds, the first-year player out of Gonzaga can score from any place on the court and outrebound the guards and forwards tasked with guarding him.
In his first-ever playoff series, Holmgren is thriving, averaging 15.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. While shooting just under 30 percent from the three-point line, the forward is taking nearly six three-point field goals per game. That’s enough to hit two long-range shots and cover this player prop bet Saturday.
In the six games these two teams have played, only once – the series opener for this playoff series – has the two teams combined for less than 218 points.
With two teams that look to light up the scoreboard, picking the under is foolish. Expect the final score to be above 115-108 at the worst, giving whichever team has the hot hand the victory Saturday afternoon.