3 NBA Player Prop Bets for Wednesday 5/8/24

Player props can be useful in a variety of ways -- from taking advantage of them straight up to measuring a player's potential to produce in daily fantasy basketball on FanDuel. Here, we're going to focus on the former.

Using FanDuel Research's daily basketball projections -- which are powered by numberFire -- as a guide, here are some NBA player prop bets that look appealing via the NBA odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Please note: lines and projections are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published.

NBA Prop Bets

Tyrese Haliburton Over 26.5 Pts + Ast (-108)

Tyrese Haliburton shot just six field goal attempts in the Indiana Pacers's Game 1 loss to the New York Knicks.

The Pacers won't win if their star guard continues to take this much of a backseat on offense, so I'm expecting a huge bounce-back game for Hali.

In Indiana's four playoff wins, Haliburton averaged 28.25 combined points and assists (PA) off of 16 field goal attempts per game. In the team's three playoff losses, he managed just 17.7 PA off of 9 field goal attempts per game.

It's crystal clear that he needs to get involved in order for the Pacers to win, and he certainly has the talent to do just that.

In the regular season, he averaged 31.0 PA per game. In games where he played at least 30 minutes, he averaged 33.4 PA and cleared 26.5 PA at a 77.4% rate (24 out of 31 contests). These -108 odds imply just a 51.9% probability, so his struggles in Game 1 have allowed us to get a deal on this prop.

The Knicks have given up the most points and the most assists per game to guards during the playoffs. They're also surrendering more three-point makes (3PM) in the playoffs (13.0 3PM; 4th-most) than in the regular season (12.5 3PM; 10th-fewest), so high-volume three-point shooters such as Haliburton have a great chance to get going from downtown.

For what it's worth, he averaged 33.0 PA off of just 29.3 minutes in three games against the Knicks in the regular season, so he has found success against this team.

In a buy-low spot, I'd definitely consider laddering this prop. You can get Haliburton Over 27.5 PA (+116), Over 28.5 PA (+146), Over 29.5 PA (+182), and Over 30.5 PA (+225).

FanDuel Research's projections expect him to net 30.7 PA in this one.

OG Anunoby Over 16.5 Points (-102)

In Game 1, New York's starters combined for a whopping 118 points as just three combined points and 27 combined minutes came from the bench.

With Mitchell Robinson (12 minutes in Game 1) now ruled out for the series due to an ankle injury, we should expect the starting unit to carry the same weight against this fast-paced Indiana team.

OG Anunoby should factor into this equation tonight.

The Nova Knicks combined for an earth-shattering 92 points in Game 1, while Anunoby scored just 13 points, going 5-for-14 from the field (35.7%).

New York's 121 total points in Game 1 is, more or less, to be expected against a super fast and defense-negligent Pacers group. But this time around, I expect that point total to be dolled out differently, in favor of Anunoby.

No matter how awesome the Nova Knicks have been, we cannot expect them to combine for 92 points again. But as mentioned, New York's bench is thin and isn't getting a whole ton of scoring help. This has led to Anunoby playing 41.6 minutes per game in the postseason, and his point total should reflect that.

On the season, Anunoby owns a 48.8% field goal percentage. In playoff games where he shot below 40.0% from the field, he's averaging 11.5 points, whereas he scored at least 16 points in four out of five games when shooting above this clip.

Positive regression from Monday's shooting numbers could be in store, as well as a higher shot volume should one of either Donte DiVincenzo or Josh Hart come back down to earth after going for 25 and 24 points, respectively, in Game 1.

Our projections forecast 20.7 points for OG in this one.

Miles McBride Over 6.5 Points (+100)

Miles McBride saw only 11 minutes on the floor in Game 1, but a lick of foul trouble or fatigue from New York's starters could have him in the game for much longer tonight.

While I'd anticipate Tom Thibodeau to continue the trend of using his bench sparingly, Robinson's injury means that McBride is the lone bench player remaining who has played in each postseason game.

Even if Hart goes for another back-to-back, full 48-minute game, Jalen Brunson, DiVincenzo, and Anunoby will all need to be subbed out intermittently while Isaiah Hartenstein probably doesn't have any more than 36 minutes in him.

This is where McBride comes in, and he has proved that he can act as a scoring spark.

In the first round, McBride averaged 11.3 points and scored over 6.5 points in five out of six games.

And in the regular season, he scored over 6.5 points in 27 out of 30 games where he played at least 18 minutes.

I'm pretty sold on McBride getting more court time than Game 1, both due to Robinson's injury and the fact that the Knicks won't have three days of rest in between games this time around. With even-money odds available, he should be able to take care of business from there.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.