The NBA features a pair of Game 2s on Monday night as the Brooklyn Nets visit the Philadelphia 76ers and the Golden State Warriors visit the Sacramento Kings. Our NBA analyst Alex Hinton has found a pair of PrizePicks plays for you to tail tonight, with one for each game. Find his analysis for James Harden and Malik Monk below.
A quick refresher if you aren’t familiar with PrizePicks: you can combine up to five different player squares to payout up to 10x your entry.
You can do a Flex Play or a Power Play. A Flex Play gives you lesser odds, but you can win money if you do not nail every pick. A Power Play is all-or-nothing.
Here’s how I would approach today’s slate in NBA Playoffs slate.
What is PrizePicks? A daily fantasy operator — meaning they’re available in more states (30) than sports betting is! — PrizePicks offers a unique opportunity for action on player props in which you combine two or more plays together.
James Harden More Than 10 Assists
James Harden led the NBA with 10.7 assists per game in the regular season. In Game 1, the 76ers had 32 assists on 42 made field goals. The Sixers' great ball movement was led by Harden as he dished out 13 assists and controlled the pace of the game. I am expecting another double-digit assist game from him tonight.
In Game 1, Harden had 18 potential assists, per NBAStats, and converted 72.2% of them into assists. Many of those dimes came on 3s as Philadelphia set a franchise playoff record with 21 made 3s. I would not expect the 76ers to shoot nearly 50% from beyond the arc again; however, Joel Embiid had an average game by his likely MVP standard.
Nonetheless, Embiid still scored 26 points on 7-for-15 shooting, but it was well below his season average of 33.1 points per game.
The Harden/Embiid pick-and-roll has been one of the league's most unstoppable actions this season, and Harden dished out more assists on Embiid made baskets than any other player in the league. If Harden gets six assists to Embiid tonight, he will likely gets 10 or more and exceed this stat.
Malik Monk More Than 15.5 Points
De'Aaron Fox led the Kings in scoring in the regular season and emerged as one of the best clutch time scorers in the league. He showed up in game one with 38 points and helped close out the Warriors. Behind Fox and Domantas Sabonis, the Kings have several capable options who could go off on any given night between Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk.
On Saturday night, it was Fox's former college teammate that helped him to seal the victory. Monk had 32 points and combined for 70 points. He was efficient as he shot 8-for-13 from the field and 14-for-14 from the free throw line. It is unlikely that Monk gets 14 free throw attempts again, but even without a single free throw, he still would have had 18 points and topped this projection. Monk only knocked down two 3s on Saturday, but he is capable for hitting four or five on any given night. In March, Monk made four 3s in six games.
On Saturday, Monk played 29 minutes, which is above his season average of 22.3 minutes per game. Head coach Mike Brown played rookie Keegan Murray just 16 minutes, opting for veteran experience instead. He played Monk more with starting shooting guard Huerter. However, Huerter shot just 3-for-12 from the field. If Monk gets going again early, it would not be a surprise if Brown gives him more minutes if either Murray or Huerter struggles again.
