Part of our PrizePicks NBA card for Wednesday involves Zach LaVine.
The Hawks and Lakers have clinched a berth in the first round after victories in the Tuesday night play-in games, and tonight’s action will determine the matchups for Friday’s decisive play-in finales.
Miami trailed for nearly the entire game as five-point home favorites against Atlanta, and their loss now relegates them to a must-win situation against the winner of the Chicago-Toronto game. The Raptors are favored by 5.5 points against the Bulls, and we laid the points in our best bet column.
The Timberwolves, who fell to the Lakers Tuesday, will play the team that emerges from Oklahoma City and New Orleans' matchup. The Pelicans are also favored by 5.5 points, and you’ll find a bet for this game in our best bets too.
As for the side action, we’ve got a PrizePicks card ready to roll for Wednesday night's tandem of NBA elimination games. Those best bets are presented next.
LaVine’s only playoff experience to this point was Chicago’s first-round exit against the Milwaukee Bucks last season. His best single-game scoring performance in that short series was 24 points, as the Bulls struggled to eclipse the 100-point mark in the series.
The Raptors were fifth in the NBA this season in opponent scoring average and took both games from the Bulls when playing at home in Toronto. LaVine missed the first of those two road matchups and managed just 17 points in the second. In fairness, he did score 30 in their home date with the Raptors in October.
LaVine’s three-point shooting has been inconsistent lately, including a recent three-game stretch where he made 3-of-20 to end the regular season. We expect LaVine to be held to fewer than 25 points on Wednesday.
Jonas Valanciunas OVER 11.5 Rebounds
During his first playoff action in New Orleans last season, the Pelicans’ center was a force in the paint, averaging 14.3 rebounds per game in their six-game loss to the Suns. Valanciunas secured 13+ boards in four of those games, including performances of 14, 15, and 25 rebounds.
The big man has averaged 12.3 rebounds per game in two years of playoff action in the Western Conference, significantly higher than his career playoff average, accumulated mainly during his time in Toronto.
Oklahoma City allowed the most rebounds among all NBA teams this season and had a net rebounding margin of -3 per game. We expect Valanciunas to take advantage of a team without a true center to battle with under the basket.
Brandon Ingram UNDER 7.0 Assists
Ingram set a new career high this season with 5.8 assists per game and wrapped up his second straight year of averaging more than 22 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
The second overall pick from Duke in 2017 missed 37 games this season, including 29 straight, due to a toe injury that impacted him more than anticipated.
In the 45 games where Ingram appeared, he managed to dish out eight assists or more in just 11. He finished with one assist in his lone matchup with the Thunder this season, giving us more confidence in tonight’s play. Take the under on Ingram’s assists total on Wednesday night.
Follow EatWatchBet on Google News to stay updated with our latest stories! Click the icon, and our betting picks and tips will be added to your Google News feed.
Nicholas Berault is a proud Penn State alum whose past work has been featured on FantasyPros. He is an avid golfer and a collector of pin flags and sneakers. As a senior writer at EatWatchBet, Nicholas serves as an NFL, CFB, and NBA betting analyst.
