The semifinals of the In-Season Tournament are upon us and the slate of superstars to bet on begins with Tyrese Haliburton. While betting on the Pacers/Bucks matchup to become a shootout, expect CJ McCollum to outshine Zion Williamson in the Pelicans/Lakers matchup in Vegas.
G Tyrese Haliburton (IND) OVER 28.5 PTS
Tyrese Haliburton has single-handedly made the NBA In-Season Tournament a “thing”. Hali dropped a triple-double against Boston to advance to the next round and has hit this over in 7 out of 13 games in November.
With the Bucks allowing over 118 PPG to opponents and Lillard one of the poorest perimeter defenders in the league, look for Tyrese to make his mark as the best PG in the East in this matchup.
F Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) OVER 6.0 AST
Expect this to become a shootout as Indiana allows the 2nd-most PPG this season. Giannis has become a key playmaker this season for the Bucks, hitting the 5-assist mark in nine of the past ten games including two back-to-back 10-assist games this month.
While Lillard is still playing as a true PG, when Indiana goes on a scoring run early, don’t be shocked if Giannis takes this game over with drives to the basket leading to kickouts to Middleton or Dame resulting in a handful of dimes.
G Bruce Brown (IND) OVER 20.5 PTS+REB+AST
Finally, our Swiss-army knife has to get a shout-out in a big game. Last playoffs, we witnessed Bruce Brown become an integral part of a championship run. The same should happen tonight when Indiana takes the floor.
Bruce has hit this mark in each of the last three games, while playing 32 MPG for Carlisle’s squad. Again, with a high over/under, expect Brown to stuff the stat sheet.
F Zion Williamson (NOP) UNDER 28.5 PTS+AST
Moving on to Lakers vs Pelicans, it might be smart to bet against Zion Williamson in this one. First off, he might face some tough matchups down low in James, Davis, and Hachimura.
Secondly, the Lakers are allowing just 111 PPG in their last three, and under 110 PPG at home this season. While not technically at home, expect this game to be much more defensive-minded than the Eastern Conference matchup.
With CJ McCollum back in action and getting his footing within this lineup once again, expect Zion’s playmaking to be limited in this low-scoring affair making the 29 PTS+AST mark hard to reach.
G CJ McCollum (NOP) OVER 22.5 PTS+AST
As a veteran guard, McCollum should try and take over this game at times. He’s hit this mark in seven of nine games this season and has been a key contributor as a scorer and playmaker in the 7 of 9 wins he’s played in.
Look for Willie Green to run the offense through CJ early on to keep DLO and Reeves on their toes and possibly get into foul trouble early.
