We are in the conference finals round of the NBA playoffs. On Wednesday night, the Indiana Pacers take on the New York Knicks to open the Eastern Conference Finals. It should be a great game for what's been a great year, and I hope we continue that trend tonight.
As always, monitor any potential news and lineup announcements. The best way to stay informed about NBA player props is to stay up-to-date with the latest news. That's not as prevalent in the playoffs, but you never know what might happen. The second-best way is to shop around at different sportsbooks. Player props rarely have identical odds across platforms, so ensure you get the best value. Let's get to it.
Unless specified otherwise, each bet will be for a single unit.
Wednesday’s Best NBA Player Prop Bets
Last Time: 1-1 | Season: 164-119
Karl-Anthony Towns Over 23.5 Points + Assists (-120 at Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook)
I've been continuously going back to the well on Karl-Anthony Towns, but his props continue to be set too low. For this combo, he's been close with 22, 19, 24, 21 and 22 combined points + assists in his last five games. The total is at 224. Indiana ranks seventh in pace of play, so there will be a big increase in possession rate for the Knicks.
New York is coming off facing the second-slowest team in Boston with the fourth-best league defense on the season. Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam are going to be solid down low, limiting Towns, but his pure opportunity with his 28% usage rate in the playoffs will be enough to get him over the hill for this combo prop.
Andrew Nembhard Under 21.5 Points + Assists + Rebounds (-115 at Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook)
I don't want to say I'm necessarily fading the Pacers to open the series, but I will trust that New York will command the pace and limit Indiana's momentum. Everything fell apart for Cleveland in the last series, and the Knicks have a lot of momentum. New York was the second-slowest ranked team to round out the year with a top-half league defense.
Andrew Nembhard has played well in the playoffs, but his minutes have been all over the place. He's covered this line in 36% of games this year, but hasn't exceeded it once in Indy's three matchups against the Knicks this year. The BettingPros Prop Bet Cheat Sheet projects this line closer to 18, and I am ride or die with the Cheat Sheet. I highly recommend using it for all your betting needs if you aren’t already. I'm finding avenues to the under and don't expect Nembhard to get a high usage to start this series.
Ryan Coleman is a featured writer at BettingPros. Follow him on Twitter @ryancoleman_98. For more from Ryan, check out his archive.