NBA Prop of the Day
Jake Silverman
The NBA playoffs roll on with two games Tuesday. The first is Game 2 between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat. The Heat won the opening in Madison Square Garden and may be able to steal another one here if Julius Randle remains out. Jalen Brunson and Jimmy Butler are also questionable in this game, so it’s tough to really nail down exactly what the projections should look like until we get more information.
We do have some things we can look at here and you will see what plays I like below. The second game of the day is the start of the Lakers and Warriors series. Both teams knocked off the higher seed in the first round. Both are playing well at the moment, and this should turn into an epic slugfest. Here are my three best bets for Tuesday’s NBA action.
Best NBA Points Prop Bet
Kyle Lowry Over 10.5 Points
The Miami Heat are in need of players to play minutes. I know that sounds oversimplified, but it honestly is. Victor Oladipo and Tyler Herro are out. That pretty much only leaves Gabe Vincent and Kyle Lowry. Lowry has been dealing with injuries that have limited him, but he’s played well the last couple games. He’s scored double-digit points in three of the last four games. More importantly he has averaged over 24 minutes, when he barely was able to get 20 the first few games of the Milwaukee series. He saw 30 last game and scored 18. If he gets 24-plus, he should top this number again.
Best NBA Rebound Prop Bet
Kevon Looney Over 12.5 Rebounds
Kevon Looney was a monster on the boards against the Kings. He went for 20, 14, 22, 13 and 21 rebounds in the last five games of that series. A last five games that saw the Warriors use more of the smaller lineup with Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins as the four out to Looney’s fifth as the in man. That left him the main responsibility of cleaning the glass. I am a little worried that matchups and adjustments for this series against different personnel may lead to a different outcome. With that said, you cannot go away from a guy who has consistently crushed expectations until he gives you a reason to think he will not do it again.
Isaiah Hartenstein Under 3.5 Rebounds
The Knicks rotation seems to have changed big time. Isaiah Hartenstein had climbed to equal minutes with Mitchell Robinson, but in the last few games Robinson is back to getting the bulk of the work. Hartenstein played just 18, 21, 12 and 14 minutes over the last four games. He had only one point and two rebounds in the last game vs. Cleveland and just 2 points and 2 rebounds in Game 1 of this series. He played only 12 and 14 minutes in those two games, even with Julius Randle sidelined. His rebound prop at 3.5 is higher than his scoring one at 2.5, but I like both unders. His minutes have tanked, and his production is down too. Outside of early foul trouble for Robinson or an injury, I don’t see how he gets enough court time or does enough with it to cash.