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Pickswise has had a very successful start to the NBA play-in tournament in terms of player prop selections. All 3 of the selections hit last night, making it 6 out of 6 for our most recent player props. Tonight I will be looking to keep that run going, with 2 games on the NBA slate. The Chicago Bulls will visit the Toronto Raptors. That will be followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s trip to take on the New Orleans Pelicans. Both games will be live on ESPN.
Do check out our NBA picks for today’s games. But for now let’s take a look at my favourite player prop selections.
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CJ McCollum over 5.5 assists (-115)
New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum has enjoyed sharing the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder this season. He is averaging 9.5 assists per night against them, having hit the over on this line in each of the games. While Brandon Ingram has taken on more of the playmaking burden of late for the Pelicans, he dropped 34 points the last time he faced the Thunder. I expect him to return to his more aggressive self tonight, looking to get his shots off with McCollum reverting to being the facilitator.
McCollum should have success getting into the paint, especially with Jonas Valanciunas helping to create space in pick-and-roll situations. Over the last 10 games the Pelicans are top of the league in 3-point percentage. When the defense collapses in on the playmaker and he kicks it out to his shooters, they look well set to convert and rack up assists for the guard.
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DeMar DeRozan under 21.5 points (+100)
Several teams this season, including the Toronto Raptors, had come up with a plan to take on the Chicago Bulls. It includes constantly sending double teams towards DeMar DeRozan, forcing him to give up the ball and having someone else beat them. As a result, the Bulls star is averaging just 14 points per game in 3 contests against the Raptors this season. He failed to attempt more than 11 shots in any of the games, hitting a high of 20 points. The Raptors have been 6th in defensive rating over the last 10 games and have the league leader in steals in OG Anunoby who they can deploy against him. If DeRozan sees constant double-teams tonight, he will not get enough shots off to hit the over.
Check out our favorite first-basket scorer best bets for tonight’s games
Jakob Poeltl over 1.5 blocks (+165)
With DeRozan seeing double teams tonight, the Raptors could find themselves in 4-on-3 situations if he is able to pass out of them. With guards who are not very effective in shooting the deep ball like Patrick Beverley and Alex Caruso on the perimeter, the Bulls should drive to the rim more. That is where Jakob Poeltl should step up as the help defender. He has managed 2 or more blocks in 2 of the 3 games in which he has faced the Bulls this season. The Raptors have been great at running opponents off the 3-point line this season too, ranking 6th in opponent 3-point attempts per game. With the Bulls being 18th in opponent blocks per game, Poeltl should be well placed to record a couple more rejections.
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