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Top 3 NBA Betting Picks for Tuesday, September 8th

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The NBA playoffs have been quite the treat. Monday gave us some interesting games. The Boston Celtics absolutely demolished the Toronto Raptors, while the Los Angeles Clippers exerted their late-game dominance over the Denver Nuggets. Monday was a bounce-back day for our picks (2-1), and we now sit 29-18 on the postseason.

Here are my top NBA betting plays for September 8th, 2020. You can also check out our daily NBA consensus game odds here.

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Jimmy Butler over 21.5 points (-118)

Jimmy Butler is going to need to step up for the Miami Heat this evening. They let the Milwaukee Bucks creep back into the series, and undoubtedly let the momentum shift to the shorthanded number one seed. Wesley Matthews has done a relatively good job covering Jimmy Butler, but as Game 3 showed us, Butler can still get his when he is on. He will need to be aggressive from the field to avoid letting the Bucks back in this series, and we can bet that the entire Heat team is wholly dedicated to ending this series in five games. Butler averaged just 19.9 points per game during the season but bumped that number up to 22.4 points per contest during the postseason. He has been even better during this series, posting 25 points per game. Butler has gone over in two of his last three contests and is a good bet to do so in this closeout game.

Jimmy Butler over 4.5 assists (-130)

Jimmy Butler listed at 4.5 assists when he averaged six assists per game during the season make this a prop worth considering. He has been more aggressive from the field in some games, something that has led to his assists average dropping to four per game during the playoffs. This can help to explain the line setting here. However, Jimmy Buckets has recorded five or more assists in two of his last three contests and is a strong bet to do so once again this evening. The juice here suggests that the sharps have been slamming the over at BetMGM. Butler should see his usage rise in this contest relative to Game 4, as he looks to be more aggressive from the field, but having the ball in his hands more should also help to get him to at least five assists this evening. His teammates will of course need to hit their shots, but Jimmy should have ample opportunity to hit this number even if the Heat end up shooting .440 from the field. A multi-unit play is tempting, but keep it to one unit at BetMGM.

Anthony Davis under 30.5 points (-111)

Anthony Davis was excellent in Game 2 and is a good bet to have another strong game for the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the question here is whether or not he can hit 31 points tonight. He has hit the total in two of his last three contests but went under in four of his seven playoff games overall. He has averaged 29.7 points per game during the postseason, but that is as much a function of him hitting 34 points and 43 points as it is an indication of his ability to consistently hit 31+ points. The winning gameplan is to pound it to Davis on the inside, but he will likely need to remain aggressive and take 20+ shots to hit 31 points. He has crossed 18 attempts just once in the last five contests. This means getting sent to the charity stripe may very well be the deciding factor that determines whether he has a 26 or 27 point outing versus a 31-34 point night. This prop can still go either way, so be sure to keep it to a one-unit play at BetMGM.

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Raju Byfield is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Raju, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyContext.