The Western Conference Finals begin tonight, as the Oklahoma City Thunder hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves. These two teams boast two top-five scoring defenses in the NBA, so it wouldn't be too surprising to see a lot of less thans hit tonight.
Will Julius Randle be able to find his teammates at the same rate as he was during the Western Conference semi-finals? Will Isaiah Hartenstein grab at least 10 rebounds? Can Jalen Williams build off his Game 7 performance from beyond the arc?
Here are the three best NBA PrizePicks player predictions for Tuesday, May 20th.
Our PrizePicks Cheat Sheet helps bettors by comparing lines from PrizePicks vs. our daily NBA projections >>
The Western Conference Finals begin tonight, as the Oklahoma City Thunder hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves. These two teams boast two top-five scoring defenses in the NBA, so it wouldn't be too surprising to see a lot of less thans hit tonight.
Will Julius Randle be able to find his teammates at the same rate as he was during the Western Conference semi-finals? Will Isaiah Hartenstein grab at least 10 rebounds? Can Jalen Williams build off his Game 7 performance from beyond the arc?
Here are the three best NBA PrizePicks player predictions for Tuesday, May 20th.
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: 82-69-2
Julius Randle averaged 4.7 assists during the regular season, and he just put together a great series against the Golden State Warriors. Despite averaging 25.2 points per game in those five games, Randle still managed to find his teammates plenty, averaging 7.4 assists per game. He dished out at least five in all but one contest.
Randle only faced the Thunder once this season, so we don't have much to go on for this matchup. However, he did dish out six assists in that game. The Thunder are allowing the fourth-fewest assists per game, but this number is still too low for Randle. This is a player who's finding teammates with ease right now. Even in this matchup, I'd take this up to 5.5.
Isaiah Hartenstein struggled in the final three games against the Denver Nuggets. In those three contests, he never pulled down more than seven rebounds, though in Game 7, he managed to grab seven in just 17 minutes. Hartenstein grabbed nine or fewer boards in five of the seven games against the Nuggets, as he averaged just 8.7 rebounds per game.
While all of this is a bit concerning, taking Hartenstein to clear his more than is the right move tonight. He grabbed at least nine rebounds in three of his four games against the Timberwolves this season. The only time he didn't, he played just 16 minutes on the second day of a back-to-back. The Timberwolves allow the fifth-fewest rebounds in the league, but Hartenstein hasn't been bothered by that. Take advantage of getting this number lower than it should be because of the last series.
The Western Conference semi-finals were up and down for Jalen Williams. While he made at least two three-pointers in four games, he also had three games where he didn't make a single shot from beyond the arc.
In the regular season, Williams faced the Timberwolves four times. He made at least two three-pointers in two of those games. But the Timberwolves are allowing just 12.7 threes per game, which ranks fourth-best in the league. Williams has been so inconsistent that it's hard to trust him in such a difficult matchup.
Williams averaged 1.8 made three-pointers per game during the regular season, but in the postseason, he's averaging just 1.3. Considering the Nuggets weren't a very good three-point defense and he struggled anyway, taking his less than is the right move until he proves he can be consistent against solid defenses.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Tuesday:
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.
