RADIO
The NBA Playoffs have resumed and there are three games on tap for Sunday.
The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors meet in the first game of what should be a competitive second-round series.
The Los Angeles Clippers will try to finish off the Dallas Mavericks in Game Six, and the Utah Jazz will try to complete the upset by taking Game Six against the Denver Nuggets.
Here are some prop angles to consider for Sunday’s Monkey Knife Fight NBA schedule:
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BOSTON-TORONTO
MORE OR LESS
Jayson Tatum LESS THAN 26.5 POINTS
The Celtics star has been on a roll lately, scoring 27 or more points in five of his past six games, but he’s going to face a Raptors team that is as strong as any in the league defensively. OG Anunoby may get the task of trying to shut down Tatum and he’s one of the most effective forward defenders in the league.
Pascal Siakam LESS THAN 21.5 POINTS
Bubble Siakam has not been as productive, mostly because he’s in a shooting slump. In 11 games in Orlando, Siakam has scored 22 or more points three times, shooting better than 50% in a game once.
Fred Vanvleet MORE THAN 6.5 ASSISTS
With Kyle Lowry possibly slowed by an ankle injury, the Raptors may need VanVleet even more against Boston. He’s averaging 7.1 assists per game in the bubble and that includes the last game against Brooklyn when he had five assists in less than 19 minutes of floor time.
RAPID FIRE
Serge Ibaka -0.5 rebounds vs. Daniel Theis
In the Raptors’ first-round series against Brooklyn, Ibaka grabbed 41 rebounds (10.3 per game). In the Celtics’ first-round sweep of Philly, Theis had 15 boards (3.8 per game). Ibaka is the safer play, not least of all because he’s more likely to get significant minutes in the Toronto rotation.
L.A. CLIPPERS-DALLAS
MORE OR LESS
Luka Doncic LESS THAN 33.5 POINTS
While Dallas’ star guard has had a couple of epic games in this series, scoring more than 40 points twice, he’s averaging 29.6 points per game overall in the series. With Kristaps Porzingis out, the Mavericks may need to lean on Luka even more, but counting on at least 34 points is asking a lot.
Kawhi Leonard MORE THAN 30.5 POINTS
Kawhi is averaging 32.8 points per game in this series, shooting 52.3% from the field and just 30.0% on threes. He can get his shots and the Mavericks are having a hard time slowing down Kawhi when he’s playing at the peak of his powers.
Paul George LESS THAN 23.5 POINTS
It has been some kind of playoff series for George, who scored 35 points in Game Five against Dallas, and 27 in Game One. In the middle three games, he managed 34 points, total. That makes it difficult to put too much trust in the player who is supposed to be the Clippers’ No. 2 scoring option.
DENVER-UTAH
MORE OR LESS
Donovan Mitchell MORE THAN 29.5 POINTS
Game Three was the only time in this series that Mitchell was held under 30 points, though he did not play as much in that Utah rout. He also scored exactly 30 twice, so this line is still rather right. But, with the chance to advance, it’s reasonable to expect the Jazz to turn to their best scorer and ask him to lead the way.
Nikola Jokic MORE THAN 26.5 POINTS
Game Three was the only game of the series in which Jokic was held to less than 28 points. He’s been dominant offensively and looking for his shot more than usual.
Jamal Murray MORE THAN 26.5 POINTS
In classic Murray fashion, he has scored more than 35 points in three of the five games in this series but managed a total of 26 points in the two other games. Now that he’s lifted his ceiling sky-high, Murray is still working on raising his floor. He seems to have figured out how to attack the Jazz, so lean towards the over.
