Tuesday features Game 2 of three NBA playoffs first-round series. First, the Indiana Pacers will look to take a 2-0 lead over the Milwaukee Bucks. Shortly after, the Memphis Grizzlies will attempt to be remotely competitive against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then the Los Angeles Lakers will look to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Which players will play key roles in Tuesday's games?
Here are the three best NBA PrizePicks player predictions for Tuesday, April 22nd.
Our PrizePicks Cheat Sheet helps bettors by comparing lines from PrizePicks vs. our daily NBA projections >>
Tuesday features Game 2 of three NBA playoffs first-round series. First, the Indiana Pacers will look to take a 2-0 lead over the Milwaukee Bucks. Shortly after, the Memphis Grizzlies will attempt to be remotely competitive against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then the Los Angeles Lakers will look to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Which players will play key roles in Tuesday's games?
Here are the three best NBA PrizePicks player predictions for Tuesday, April 22nd.
Our PrizePicks Cheat Sheet helps bettors by comparing lines from PrizePicks vs. our daily NBA projections >>
Tuesday’s Best NBA PrizePicks Player Predictions
This Season: 74-54-1
After his 36-point performance in Game 1, Giannis Antetokounmpo's total is set at 33 for Game 2. Does this mean PrizePicks thinks he will perform worse than he did on Saturday? Or are they just worried about setting this number too much higher than Antetokounmpo's average of 30.4 points per game? I think it's the latter.
Antetokounmpo has scored at least 30 points in nine of his last 11 games, and he's scored at least 34 points in three of his five games against the Pacers this season. In Game 1, he accounted for more than 33% of the Bucks' scoring. The Pacers may be willing to let Antetokounmpo score while focusing on shutting down the rest of the Bucks. But even if that's not their plan, it's clear Antetokounmpo is unbothered by the Pacers' 17th-ranked scoring defense.
Ja Morant finished Game 1 with just 17 points and four assists, as his Grizzlies lost historically. He shot just 35.3% from the field and went just 1-of-6 from three-point range. Yet, PrizePicks is expecting Morant to bounce back on Tuesday, as his combined points + assists number is set at 28.
If you were just looking at his regular-season stats, this would be a no-brainer. Morant averaged 23.2 points and 7.3 assists per game, well above this number. And while Morant never hit those averages against the Thunder, he did manage a combined 30 points + assists in one of his two games against them. He went for a combined 21 in the other, which was better than Sunday's performance.
The Thunder are going to dominate every game of this series, but Morant should see a significant jump in playing time, as Game 2 remains closer than Game 1 ever was. After all, Morant only played 26 minutes in Game 1, despite averaging 30.4 per game this season. More playing time means a better result for Morant, even if his team loses by 20+ points.
Despite having an off-shooting night, Anthony Edwards managed to knock down four of his nine three-pointers in Game 1 against the Lakers. The performance marked just the second time this season Edwards made at least four threes against the Lakers.
While his previous performances against Los Angeles are a bit worrying, Edwards averaged 4.1 made threes per game during the regular season. He's made at least four threes in three of his last four games, including seven in two of those contests.
The Lakers rank 11th in opponent three-point shooting percentage, but they're just 17th in threes allowed per game. Edwards averages over 10 attempts per game, so he'll be able to put up enough shots to hit this more than against a solid three-point defense.
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.
