The phrases “Sport 7” will ceaselessly evoke pleasure and intrigue throughout the sports activities world, and basketball followers and bettors alike will get to indulge within the grand finale between the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets on Saturday to cap off one of many biggest first spherical matchups in current reminiscence.
Listed below are three professional participant prop picks for this showdown at Ball Area, together with wagering an OVER on Kawhi Leonard’s scoring prop (25.5) at -114 worth on Could 3, 2025.
Kawhi Leonard OVER 25.5 Factors vs. Nuggets (-114 at FanDuel)
Preview: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets, 7:30 p.m. ET
Leonard definitely needs to erase the reminiscence of his efficiency from the final time he squared off with the Nuggets in a Sport 7, which occurred again within the 2020 Bubble when he recorded simply 14 factors on 6-of-22 taking pictures in a 104-89 loss within the Western Convention semifinals. We have seen the previous two-time Finals Most Beneficial Participant excel in these high-pressure conditions earlier than, although. Leonard had a close to triple-double of 28 factors, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists in 2021 towards the Dallas Mavericks within the opening spherical, and famously tried 39 pictures towards the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019 to complete with 41 factors while a member of the Toronto Raptors.
On this sequence particularly, Leonard has averaged 25.5 factors (becoming, contemplating Saturday’s level whole) on 54.5 % taking pictures and 39.4 % from 3-point vary, though he is solely exceeded this prop twice out of a doable six outings. His strongest line did come within the Mile Excessive Metropolis, not less than, when Leonard went off for 39 factors whereas lacking simply 4 of his 19 makes an attempt in Sport 2, and he did simply have 27 factors in Sport 6 on the Intuit Dome to assist power a Sport 7. Superstars just like the 33-year-old ahead shine brightest underneath these circumstances, and Los Angeles’ solely actual hope of stealing this on the highway stems from how environment friendly Leonard finally is.
Norman Powell UNDER 17.5 Factors vs. Nuggets (-105 at BetMGM)
Preview: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets, 7:30 p.m. ET
The Clippers gave out Norman Powell t-shirts to everybody in attendance throughout Thursday’s Sport 6, maybe as a refined means to encourage his particular person play. Whether or not it was a results of that giveaway or not, one thing clearly awoke in Powell as he dropped 24 factors on 9-of-15 taking pictures with a pair of triples throughout 39 minutes of motion, together with an enormous bucket with 1:47 remaining within the fourth quarter to place Los Angeles up by 9 and out of attain.
He is scored 20 or extra factors in all three residence video games, however his numbers take a noticeable dive on the highway, producing 12.3 factors per contest on 39.5 % taking pictures. In these three video games, Powell by no means completed with greater than 13 factors and scored precisely 12 on two events. Going OVER right here would imply projecting an 18-point efficiency out of him, not less than, and contemplating what we have witnessed from him so far, that is an excessive amount of of a bet to make. Leonard and James Harden, and to a lesser extent Ivica Zubac, can be receiving a wholesome dose of shot makes an attempt throughout Sport 7 and barely see the bench. Powell will not be fully forgotten about, however reaching 18 factors when he hasn’t exceeded 13 on the highway is asking an excessive amount of.
Aaron Gordon OVER 19.5 Factors + Rebounds vs. Clippers (-108 at FanDuel)
Preview: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets, 7:30 p.m. ET
It might be such a ache within the you realize what for Aaron Gordon to go UNDER on this mix prop for factors and rebounds, as a result of as we have seen all through this sequence, this explicit prop could also be as near a assured OVER as loss of life and taxes. Not solely has he gone OVER in all six video games, when going again to the top of the 2024-25 marketing campaign, Gordon has really strung collectively 9 OVERs in a row.
He is averaging 18.3 factors on 50.6 % taking pictures versus Los Angeles, so his scoring alone would get him a lot of the technique to connecting with out even bearing in mind his rebounds. Gordon scored 23 or extra factors in two of the three residence video games, as nicely, and he is performed 40 or extra minutes thrice, with a fourth doubtless approaching Saturday. The pre-series prediction of him being the Nuggets’ second-most essential participant has rung true, with all due respect to Jamal Murray, and going an ideal 7-of-7 on this market would maybe make him the second-most useful participant on Denver for bettors past perhaps Nikola Jokic.
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