When it comes to wagering on the NBA, there is nothing better than the playoffs. Each game can be a make-or-break situation as far as advancing to the next round, and one of the best ways to add even more action is betting on individual player props based on their performance in that particular night's contest.
The following are a few of my top player prop bet picks for Tuesday night's Washington vs. Toronto game based on betting odds from Sportsbook.ag.
Washington- John Wall has a double-double (-175)
Wall has been the Wizards go-to guy all season long, and he closed out the regular season averaging 17.6 points and 10 assists a game this year. Looking back at his last six regular-season games, Wall posted a double-double in four of those outings with an average of 20.8 points and 13 assists. In the other two games, he scored six points with 18 assists in the first contest and 24 points with nine assists in the other, so his recent form points to another big night against the Raptors in Game 2 of this best-of-seven series.
The other thing in Wall's favor for Tuesday night was his performance in the series opener against Toronto this past Saturday. Washington came away with a crucial 93-86 victory as a 5.5-point road underdog, and Wall came very close to another double-double with 10 points and eight assists. You have to believe he will try and play an even bigger role in Game 2 to help his team try and gain that all-important early sweep on the road.
Toronto- DeMar DeRozan makes two or more 3-point shots (+300)
Just like Wall with Washington, DeRozan is the driving force behind the Raptors' success this season. He led the team in scoring in the regular season with an average of 20.1 points per game while adding 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He is not necessarily known as a 3-point shooter with an average of just 1.5 attempts a game and a completion rate of just 28.4 percent, but desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures. In a tight win against Orlando earlier this month, he went 3-for-5 from 3-point range to help his team get a much-needed win.
Toronto's entire starting lineup accounted for just 38 points in this past Saturday's loss, with DeRozan leading the way with 15 of those points. He attempted only one 3-point shot in that game and missed, but I am banking on him trying to take matters into his own hands on Tuesday night to try and even this series at a game apiece. That effort should include at least two buckets from beyond the arc.
Toronto- Kyle Lowry has a double-double (+175)
Another key player in the Raptors' starting lineup has been point guard Kyle Lowry. He has been a perfect complement to DeRozan's efforts with another 17.8 PPG to go along with 4.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists a game. Over the course of his last four regular-season outings, he averaged 16 PPG with no less than 10 points in any of those games. He also averaged 6.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists so he is more than capable of reaching double figures in either of those two categories this Tuesday night.
What I really like about the favorable money line for this player prop is Lowry's motivation heading into this contest. He was basically a no-show in Game 1 with just seven points while going 2-for-10 from the field and 0-4 from 3-point range. He did pull down eight rebounds while dishing out four assists, but I expect a much better effort this time around. As is the case with DeRozan, desperation has a tendency to bring out the best of the top NBA players in the league, and Tuesday night is almost a must-win situation for the Raptors with the next two games of this series on the road in Washington.
Read more articles by Dave Schwab
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