NBA Multi bet of the Weekend| April 27

The NBA playoff action continues on Saturday, Australia time, with the first home games for the lower seeds set to take place across three series. The Bucks will for the first time head to Indiana to try to regain home court advantage after losing Game 2, while the Clippers head to Dallas later on and then the Timberwolves play the Suns in Phoenix. Below, we take a look at three of the best bets for the day’s action to make up our weekend multi, all of which are player props. 

Damian Lillard over 30.5 points @ $1.89 | BlueBet 

Damian Lillard hasn’t had the best season of his career in his first with the Bucks, averaging only 24.3 points per game on 42.4% shooting – well down on the 32.2 points on 46.1% shooting he managed last season. Of course, his situation is vastly different, and he has been adjusting to life as the second fiddle behind Giannis Antetokounmpo after years of being the number one player by some margin with the Blazers. However, with Giannis out due to a calf injury, he has been forced to take on a much bigger role as the Bucks attempt to navigate their way out of the First Round. His improved production didn’t really manifest in the late-season games that his MVP-winning teammate missed, but since the playoffs properly began he has returned to the kind of form which has seen him be one of the best players in the league for so many years. In Game 1 of the series he exploded out of the blocks with 35 points in the first half; incredibly, he didn’t score again, but his first half set the scene for the Bucks’ win in that game. The Bucks were disappointing in Game 2 as the series was levelled 1-1, but Lillard wasn’t the problem as he dropped in 34 points on 10-21 shooting. He’s taken 45 shots across those first two games of the playoffs, and the scores of 34 and 35 he’s managed are likely to be the norm while Giannis is out. NBA betting sites have certainly adjusted his line to an extent – it’s six points over his season average – but based on what we have seen in the first couple of games of this series, he should still be able to hit the over. 

James Harden over 17.5 points @ $1.90 | GetSetBet 

James Harden has not always been known for his playoff production, but he has started this postseason in some strong form. After averaging 16.6 points per game throughout the course of the regular season, he has upped his game against the Mavericks, pouring in 28 points in Game 1 and then 22 in Game 2. In Game 1, Kawhi Leonard was absent – which he won’t be for this game – so it was no surprise to see Harden take on a more significant role on offence, but in Game 2 the Clippers had their full squad back together and Harden continued to be aggressive. Importantly, his shot wasn’t falling in that game – he went 2-10 from long range – but still he comfortably surpassed the points line set for him for this game by betting agencies. He was able to get the line regularly, earning nine shots from the charity stripe and hitting eight of them. That’s a good indication of his mindset and is more reflective of the Harden of old, and given his success at getting to the line in that game expect him to be aggressive in attempting to get to the rim once again in this game. Harden has fallen apart in big games in the past but he’s also had plenty of strong performances in the postseason, but getting to the line, where he scored six points in Game 1 and eight points in Game 2, is a good way to negate the variability which is invariably going to come with his shooting. Having comfortably surpassed 18 points in each of his first two games, the second with Kawhi Leonard on the floor and with Harden’s own shot not falling, he should once again be passing this number in the series’ first game in Dallas. 

Jaden McDaniels under 11.5 points @ $1.90 | PlayUp 

Jaden McDaniels has rapidly ascended into one of the game’s best defenders, and in Game 2 of this series he helped us hit on our Devin Booker under bet by continuing to hound one of the most dangerous scorers in the league, keeping him well below his season average for the fourth time this month. Defence is McDaniels’ calling card, but in Game 2 he was brilliant at both ends of the floor, scoring 25 points on 10-17 shooting for his third highest scoring game of the season. But rather than backing him to continue on with that form, I’m banking on the betting sites having slightly overadjusted his line. 11.5 is not a huge amount of points, but it’s a number that McDaniels has consistently fallen short of, with his latest outing looking like a big old anomaly on his list of recent games. Prior to that, McDaniels hadn’t gone over 11.5 points for ten consecutive games. Granted he got to 11 a couple of times, but he consistently scores around six to ten points on limited shots. He will have a really big say on the outcome of Game 3 as this series heads to Phoenix for what is a must win game for the Suns, but most likely that will predominantly be at the defensive end of the floor. Phoenix will be a little bit more aware of McDaniels’ cutting and driving ability after the more aggressive approach that he took in his last outing, and should be able to keep him to single figures in this game.