It is a loaded slate of games on this Tuesday night to kick off the month, including a critical Game 5 matchup between the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets. Today’s NBA player props column analyzes the NBA betting odds today and features picks and predictions for all three games on the card. Among them is a prop for the MVP favorite himself, Nikola Jokic.
NBA Betting Prediction: NBA Player Props | June 1
Bruce Brown Under 5.5 Rebounds
Even in a limited role, Bruce Brown has made an impact rebounding for the Nets both in this matchup and throughout the season. For the year, Brown averaged 5.4 boards per contest. Granted, he saw increased minutes on a number of nights due to injuries further up the depth chart. In this series, Brown has not played more than 24 minutes in a game. That high mark came in Game 4, which went down as a blowout win for Brooklyn. It is hard to imagine the Boston Celtics go down without a fight this evening.
After grabbing seven rebounds on Sunday, Brown has now exceeded tonight’s NBA player props line of 5.5 twice this postseason. In fact, both times it has happened when his minutes total exceeded 20 (Games 2 and 4). Given that it is far from a guarantee he will see that much playing time tonight, including the under among today’s picks makes sense. With Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Joe Harris all ahead of him, it would take a complete blowout for Brown to see any extra minutes. In a close game, the Nets would likely shorten up their rotation in an effort to close out this series at home. With the line essentially reflecting Brown’s season average in the category, under makes for a prudent play.
Nikola Jokic Over 5.5 Assists
Jokic has had the award wrapped up for some time, closing as a massive favorite to take home the hardware after nearly averaging a triple-double on the season. Even as his Nuggets sidekick Jamal Murray went down for the season, Jokic continued to produce and powered Denver to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. He averaged 8.3 assists, 26.4 points and 10.8 rebounds a game for the season. That assists average is nearly three whole assists higher than his props total of 5.5 tonight.
Given that Jokic hasn’t finished with more than five assists in any playoff game thus far, it’s not a huge surprise to see the line dipped down. What is a surprise are the odds on this prop to go over. Earlier in the day, over 5.5 assists for Jokic sat at even-money odds. The Awesemo NBA Player Props Tool loved that sort of value. Although the lines have shifted since, the fact that the market has moved so quickly serves as another vote of confidence in this prediction. Jokic has to carry the shorthanded Nuggets in more ways than one if they are to survive this series and advance. As the Trail Blazers adjust to try and contain his scoring, more opportunities figure to open up for him to feed his teammates. At the end of the day, this pick’s value speaks for itself.
Jae Crowder Under 10.5 Points
After three brutal shooting performances to begin the playoffs, Jae Crowder finally showed up for the Suns in Game 4 on Sunday. He shot 50% from the floor overall and connected on a trio of 3-point attempts to finish with 17 points. It marked the first time he had scored in double digits this entire series. Crowder averaged 10.1 points per game on the season, making tonight’s NBA player props line of 10.5 a reasonable one. There are a few angles to reference in suggesting a play to the under.
The first and primary reason for including this among tonight’s featured NBA betting picks is the Lakers’ defense. Not only did the defending champs rank second in points allowed per game on the season, but they also finished top five in 3-point defense. With the long ball being Crowder’s primary offensive weapon, it’s perhaps no wonder he has struggled in the majority of games in the series. The other motive for taking this under is Crowder’s reputation as a scorer. He has long been known to be streaky throughout his career. After sailing over his per-game average on Sunday, a hard regression is almost expected given his tendencies. Plus-money odds certainly make this bet even more enticing.
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