Germantas Kneita
There are just 2 playoff games in the NBA on Monday night, with both road teams looking to pick up their first win of the series and trying now to go back home having yet to take down their opponents. Both the Los Angeles Clippers and the Detroit Pistons came close to winning too, with one taking the game to overtime while the other was leading in the 4th quarter before giving up a 21-0 point run. Both will be hoping to swing things in their favor tonight.
You can find our NBA Playoff previews here. But for now check out my favorite player prop selections for Monday below.
Josh Hart (NYK) over 9.5 rebounds (-120)
In Game 1 of the series Josh Hart ended up playing just 30 minutes of basketball on Saturday, in part thanks to early foul trouble. It was the first game he played 30 or fewer minutes in since the middle of March so he would not be expected to sit out similarly in Game 2. Even in his limited time, Hart was able to pull down 7 boards. Seeing his minutes pushed closer to the 37 minutes he has been averaging on the season should allow him to bring down more rebounds.
The Pistons did rank in the bottom half of the league in 3-point percentage this season, meaning there should be no shortage of rebounds for Hart to chase down. Karl-Anthony Towns is also up against one of the best rebounding big men in the NBA in Jalen Duren so for the Knicks to win the rebounding battle, Hart will need to help out. He averaged 9.7 rebounds per game against the Pistons in the regular season and should be pushing past that number with increased minutes tonight.
Kris Dunn (LAC) over 6.5 points (-115)
The Los Angeles Clippers have plenty of weapons in their starting 5 with the likes of James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. One man that they would be happy seeing shoot instead is Kris Dunn. He did punish them in Game 1 of the series, knocking down 50% of his field goal attempts on his way to a 10-point performance. These are looks I expect the Nuggets to give up to him again.
Dunn has a significant role to play in this series trying to shut down Jamal Murray, so hit minutes are unlikely to take a hit here. Whatever looks the Nuggets present him here Dunn is more than capable of converting too, considering he is a respectable 33.5% shooter from beyond the arc this season. Given the opportunities tonight, do not be surprised to see him get double-digit scoring once more.
