It was an overtime Tuesday to start the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Pacers choked away game 1 with a last-second heave by Jaylen Brown to send it into overtime. Tonight, the Timberwolves host the Mavericks to begin the Western Conference Finals.
The stakes get even higher for the third round of the NBA playoffs. We have you covered with three props to aim for tonight.
Live player props data coming soon for Kyrie Irving.
Dallas Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving OVER 8.5 Rebounds & Assists
All the eyes are on Luka Doncic when you look at the Mavericks, but Kyrie has seen a resurgence as of late for Dallas. During their 17-point comeback against the Thunder in game 6, Irving took over to end the series. I think this is a big game for Kyrie to show out and try to win game 1.
Besides games five and six, Irving was mainly a distributor for Dallas. In the previous three games, the 6’2 guard had rebounds + assists numbers of 10, 12, and 14. The Mavs like to push the pace and a team with the height as the Timberwolves with Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, Kyrie will take fewer shots in the paint, kicking it out to his teammates.
In the two games he's played against Minnesota with the Mavs, Kyrie has gone off, scoring 30 in both matchups. He's also recorded over double-digit rebounds and assists. It’s Irving’s first conference final since the 2016-17 season. He is going to look to show out tonight!
Live player props data coming soon for P.J. Washington.
Dallas Mavericks’ PJ Washington UNDER 12.5 Points
This one I feel is the best bet of the night. My fellow UK alum had his breakout moment last series against the Thunder. Washington scored 20+ points three games straight. Unfortunately for PJ, he's going from being guarded by Chet Holmgren to Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
Washington has also come back down to earth in the last two games against Oklahoma City. Despite averaging 33 minutes in games five and six, PJ only scored 10 and 9 points in both matchups. The Mavericks will rely more on their guard play for this series due to the Wolves' spacing of KAT and Gobert down low.
If we go back to round one of this year's NBA Playoffs, Washington didn’t do much on the floor. He stayed under 12.5 points in four out of six games in the series. The Clippers have a more traditional center with Zubac compared to the Thunder. I expect PJ to play like he did in round 1, not scoring more than 12 points.
Live player props data coming soon for Anthony Edwards.
Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards OVER 2.5 Made Threes
If there's ever a time to solidify yourself as a superstar, now is the time. Anthony Edwards has led his team to the Western Conference Finals, scoring all over the court. In his series against the Nuggets, the 6’4 guard became a bit of a shooter throughout the seven games.
In the seven games against Denver, ANT made three threes in four of them, taking an average of seven threes a game. For Edwards to hit this bet, he has to shoot 43% from beyond the arc. This postseason Edwards is averaging 40% from three. During the regular season, the Mavericks were a struggling three-point defensive team, ranking 18th in the NBA in three-point percentage allowed.
Going back to the regular season, in three games Edwards played against the Mavs, Edwards made three threes. With the Mavericks' poor defense, I expect Edwards to have a game tonight, hitting three shots from beyond the arc.
