NBA

NBA Player Prop Bets to Target on Thursday 5/19/22

Austan Kas  —  @AustanKas May 19th, 2022
Jimmy Butler's made threes prop stands out for Game 2. Which bets should you make for Thursday's clash?

Player props can be useful in a variety of ways, from taking advantage of them straight up within the betting market to measuring a player's potential to produce in daily fantasy basketball.

Here we'll focus on utilizing our projections and a slew of other tools to help make money betting player props. For this article, we are using the odds provided at NBA Finals odds to pinpoint spots where value can be had tonight.

The prop-betting experience on FanDuel Sportsbook is getting even more fun. You can track your player props with real-time updates and place in-game props with ease.

Please note that betting lines and our player projections may change throughout the day after this article is published.

Robert Williams Over 8.5 Rebounds (-108)

Robert Williams was a stud in Game 1, finishing with 18 points, 9 boards and 2 blocks in 28 minutes.

Part of the reason for Williams' big night was Al Horford sitting out, and it seems like Horford might give it a go tonight as he was recently upgraded to questionable. Our projections currently account for Horford sitting, and we have Williams pegged to snag 9.7 boards. If Horford plays, our projections will change, but I still think Williams can get to the over.

In the regular season, Williams averaged 9.6 rebounds per night, and he's always been an excellent per-minute producer. His defense should be needed this series against Bam Adebayo, so Williams will likely see good run even if Horford is active.

Jimmy Butler Under 1.5 Made Three-Pointers (-174)

Playoff Jimmy just keeps churning out huge games, and he posted a gem in Game 1, totaling 41 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Whewww.

But for all of his greatness this postseason, Jimmy Butler usually doesn't do much of his damage from deep. He was 0 for 2 from three in Game 1, and he's made multiple threes in just 4 of 12 playoff games this year. He doesn't take many shots from three, either. In two of those four multi-three games, Butler made at least 50% of his three-point tries. That's not going to happen much from a guy who shot 23.3% from three in the regular season.

Also, the matchup is a tough one for triples. In these playoffs, the Boston Celtics have allowed a three-point attempt rate of just 33.7%, the second-lowest.

Our model projects Butler to make 0.6 threes on 2.5 tries in Game 2. While the -174 price isn't fun to swallow, it's hard to be too picky on a one-game night.