The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Denver Nuggets in Recreation 7 of their best-of-seven collection on Sunday afternoon to find out which workforce will battle the Minnesota Timberwolves on this 12 months’s Western Convention finals, and I’ve conjured up 4 professional participant prop picks for this all-or-nothing matchup on the Paycom Heart.
Listed below are 4 participant props on your consideration, together with an OVER on a rebounding prop (13.5) for Nuggets celebrity Nikola Jokic (-105) on Might 18.
Nikola Jokic OVER 13.5 Rebounds vs. Thunder (-105 at BetMGM)
Sunday will mark the seventh Recreation 7 of the Jokic period within the Mile Excessive Metropolis, however the first by which he is needed to compete on the highway. Denver was listed because the guests in 2020 towards the Los Angeles Clippers, however that recreation emanated from the Bubble in Walt Disney World and wasn’t a real highway matchup in its purest kind. Throughout these seven events, Jokic ended up grabbing 14 or extra rebounds 4 instances, and even had 19 throughout final 12 months’s notorious Recreation 7 collapse towards Minnesota.
The three-time league Most Helpful Participant has toppled this prop in 4 of the six video games towards the Thunder, as nicely, and he started the collection with 22 boards away from Ball Area in Recreation 1’s stunning 121-119 victory. Jokic’s teammate Aaron Gordon has been the Nuggets’ second-best rebounder this postseason at 7.3 per recreation, however he sadly injured his hamstring late in Recreation 6 on Thursday night time and is probably not one hundred pc for the finale. That may put much more strain on Jokic to be a beast on the glass to fight each Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein who’re every contributing over 9 per recreation versus Denver.
Christian Braun UNDER 15.5 Factors + Assists vs. Thunder (-112 at FanDuel)
One of many prevailing storylines of the collection has been the inconsistent play of Jokic’s teammates, and Christian Braun undoubtedly falls into that class along with his up and down numbers which have come on robust as of late, however that wasn’t the case early on. Braun scored simply three factors in Recreation 2 and adopted that up with eight in Recreation 3, however he is at the least discovered redemption with 17 or extra factors in two of his final three appearances, though each got here inside the confines of Ball Area.
Based mostly totally on his highway struggles, the trail finest travelled right here is taking an UNDER on a mix prop for each factors and assists, the latter which Braun is just contributing 2.3 per contest. He is gone UNDER a prop of 15.5 on this market in all three highway video games, bottoming out at three in Recreation 2 with simply three factors and 0 dimes. The early 3:30 p.m. begin paired with a highway surroundings and the potential for a low-scoring last will do nice hurt to Braun’s field rating.
Luguentz Dort OVER 9.5 Factors vs. Nuggets (+102 at FanDuel)
I have been saying this to loss of life and I will be saying it at the least another time, however there is a noticeable distinction between Luguentz Dort’s manufacturing when he is competing in entrance of a house crowd versus suiting up in enemy territory. Now his 10 factors in simply 21 minutes throughout Recreation 6 was really the primary time on this collection that the Montreal native scored within the double digits on the highway, however in his two prior tries, he mixed to provide simply 9 whole factors on 3-of-16 capturing at a 18.7-percent clip. What Dort has put forth in three dwelling video games, nevertheless, is a wholly completely different story, and that ought to serve the Thunder nicely within the finale.
He is changing 3.3 triples per recreation for 12.7 factors in 28.2 minutes with three OVERs at 9.5 factors. Most of Dort’s offense comes from the perimeter anyway, and his effectivity on the Paycom Heart towards Denver is twice as robust (38.5 %) as it’s on the highway (19 %). The lingering presence of Alex Caruso and a deep second unit has reduce into his enjoying time as of late, however an Oklahoma Metropolis backdrop tends to be the gas he wants offensively, and the traits level to him giving simply sufficient to fulfill each the workforce and bettors of his props.
Jalen Williams OVER 10.5 Rebounds + Assists vs. Nuggets (+114 at FanDuel)
Many fingers may be pointed relating to why the Thunder failed to shut out the Nuggets in Recreation 6, and maybe nobody deserves extra blame than All-Star ahead Jalen Williams after he related on simply three of his 16 shot makes an attempt to complete with fewer factors (six) than the likes of Hartenstein (eight), Caruso (10), and Cason Wallace (10). He is capturing simply 33.7 % from the sector and a depressing and 21.2 % from behind the arc via these final six video games, which is why I am veering away from his scoring completely right here and specializing in different areas by which he is provided some semblance of worth in.
This mixture prop covers Williams’ rebounds and assists, and he’ll want at the least 11 in Recreation 7 to attain an OVER. Regardless of solely scoring six factors in Recreation 6, the 24-year-old wing did register a game-high 10 assists together with seven rebounds to go nicely OVER that mark. He is additionally gone OVER in each dwelling recreation to this point, even when it is by the slightest of margins with 11 in each Video games 1 and a couple of after which 13 in Recreation 5.
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