Three NBA playoff games are on the schedule for Monday night and here are three-player prop picks from two of the matchups via BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review), one of BMR’s top-rated sportsbooks.
Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Monday, April 18, 2022 – 07:30 PM EDT at Wells Fargo Center
Tyrese Maxey and Fred VanVleet
- Over/Under 18.5 Points
- Over/Under 26.5 Points + Assists
TNT has Game 2 of this Eastern Conference series and let me say right off the bat that I highly recommend the 76ers on the moneyline. even at a steep price of -290. I don’t think there’s much chance they lose here.
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Philadelphia not only dominated Game 1 by a score of 131-111, but the Raptors may be down two starters on Monday, in Rookie of the Year candidate Scottie Barnes and Gary Trent Jr. as well as reserve Thaddeus Young.
Barnes sprained his left ankle in Game 1, Young has been diagnosed with a hyperextended left thumb and Trent wasn’t able to practice on Sunday because of a non-COVID illness. They are all listed as doubtful.
Devasting News
Just devastating news for Toronto, which will catch a break in Games 3-4 (and Game 6 if it gets there) because the Sixers will be without the unvaccinated Matisse Thybulle and he thus can’t play in Toronto, but that’s a story for another day.
Assuming those three are out, that’s going to put a much bigger offensive burden on Raptors All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet. He was pretty good in Game 1 with 18 points and six assists but almost surely will be taking many more than 12 shots this time with his team short-handed. He also dealt with foul trouble.
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During the regular season, VanVleet averaged 20.3 points and 6.7 assists, so all he needs to do is basically hit his averages and we will win this prop at the current NBA odds.
"I think that there was some game plan things maybe, but the game plan wasn't bad,” VanVleet said of the Game 1 loss. We just didn't execute it to the level that we needed to. We were a little soft, a little slow, and it's not a team that you want to get behind the eight ball and let them start feeling good.”
Surprise Star
The surprise star of Game 1 was the Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey with a playoff career-high 38 points on 14-for-21 shooting. Just for a point of comparison in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinal series loss to Atlanta, Maxey totaled 31 points in the seven games and was scoreless twice.
He’s definitely a much better player this season but he shot 14-for-21 in Game 1 and that’s obviously not sustainable. His 21 shots were a team-high and I fully expect Joel Embiid (only 19 points on 5-for-15 shooting) and James Harden (22 points on 6-for-17 shooting) to jack up more attempts in Game 2.
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During the regular season, Maxey averaged 17.5 points on 13.3 shot attempts per game.
Incidentally, Maxey's 38 points were tied for the fourth-most in a playoff opener in 76ers playoff history. In each of the other five instances of a player scoring 38 points, the 76ers went on to win the series. In two cases, they went on to win the NBA Finals (1967 with Wilt Chamberlain and 1983 with Moses Malone).
NBA Prop Pick: Fred VanVleet Over 26.5 Points + Assists (-125) at BetOnline
NBA Prop Pick: Tyrese Maxey Under 18.5 Points (-125) at BetOnline
Utah Jazz vs. Dallas Mavericks
Monday, April 18, 2022 - 08:30 PM EDT at American Airlines Center
Jalen Brunson
- Over/Under 22.5 Points
NBA TV has Game 2 of this Western Conference series with the Jazz up 1-0. This might be a sweep if Mavericks star Luka Doncic can’t get back from his strained calf soon. He missed the 99-93 loss on Saturday, and it’s definitely not a coincidence that the Mavs were held to so few points without the spectacular Doncic.
He hasn’t been ruled out of Game 2 as of this writing but is considered “unlikely” to play because he hasn’t even been able to take part in a full practice since suffering the injury in the regular-season finale (explain to me again why he was even playing that day?).
Without Doncic
Dallas is 8-10 without Doncic this season, including the Game 1 loss.
"If he can't play, we have to go forward," Coach Jason Kidd said. "We showed that already in Game 1. If it happens in Game 2, then that's the way we have to go. That's just the way sport can be sometimes.”
Dallas’ top offensive option without Doncic is Jalen Brunson, who could potentially make himself a boatload of money with a big series and unrestricted free agency on tap (he’s getting paid regardless).
The Prop Pick
During the regular season, Brunson averaged a career-best 16.3 points on 12.8 shots per game, but he hoisted 24 shots in Game 1 and had 24 points. He might have had 30-plus if not for only making nine shots. I expect a similar workload here for our last NBA pick.
NBA Prop Pick: Jalen Brunson Over 22.5 Points (+100) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
