NBA Playoffs Player Prop Bets, Odds & Picks: Monday (5/5)
Two more conference semi-finals get underway tonight, as the Boston Celtics host the New York Knicks and the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Denver Nuggets. Both home teams are heavily favored to take a 1-0 series lead.
How will Isaiah Joe shoot from beyond the arc against a Nuggets' defense that doesn't defend the three well? Will Karl-Anthony Towns make it three consecutive games against the Celtics with at least 12 rebounds? Will Jayson Tatum drop 30 points for the fourth consecutive game?
Here are the three best NBA player props for Monday, May 5th.
Monday’s Best NBA Playoffs Player Prop Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Isaiah Joe Over 1.5 Three-Pointers Made (-115)
Isaiah Joe made at least two three-pointers in three of his four games against the Memphis Grizzlies. He ended the series with a 3-of-6 performance from beyond the arc, despite playing just 14 minutes in that contest. He also made at least one shot from beyond the arc in all of his games during the series.
Joe made at least one three-pointer in all four of his regular-season games against the Nuggets, but he only topped that number once. While that performance saw him make 3-of-9 attempts from deep, that game was played on November 6th, so it was a very long time ago.
Still, there is a lot to like about Joe tonight. He averaged 2.6 made threes per game during the regular season, and his performance against Memphis in the first round was promising. Additionally, the Nuggets are allowing 13.9 threes per game, 20th in the league.
Opponents have made 36.5% of their shots from beyond the arc, making them the seventh-worst three-point defense in the NBA. Despite what Joe has done against the Nuggets this year, this is a good matchup.
Karl-Anthony Towns Over 11.5 Rebounds (-115)
This number is going to go up as this series progresses, so take advantage of this Game 1 line while you can. Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 12.8 rebounds per game during the regular season, the second-most in the NBA. In his last two games against the Celtics, he pulled down a total of 32 rebounds, grabbing at least 14 in each game.
The reason this number is so low is that Towns didn't have a great series against the Detroit Pistons. He pulled down more than 11 rebounds just once, as he averaged 10 rebounds per game.
However, the 15-rebound performance he had was in the last game of the series, so he's entering this series on the rise after pulling down 26 boards in his last two games against the Pistons. Towns has two single-digit rebound games against the Celtics this year, but those were both early in the season. In his last two meetings against them, he performed well (14 and 18 rebounds), and that will continue tonight.
Jayson Tatum 30+ Points (+120)
Jayson Tatum scored 35+ points in his final three games against the Orlando Magic in the first round. That type of production would be impressive against anyone, but it was particularly impressive against the Magic's top-ranked scoring defense. Now, he takes on a team he's had a lot of success against this season, and I expect him to surpass the 26.8 points per game he averaged during the regular season.
Tatum scored at least 30 points in three of his four games against the Knicks this season. In the final regular-season meeting between these two, Tatum scored 32. In February, Tatum dropped 40. In the first game of the year, Tatum shot 77.8% from the field and scored 37 points. He still managed 25 points in his worst performance against the Knicks. With such a high floor, take him to drop at least 30 for a good price.
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.