NBA Playoff Player Props For Monday | Apr. 22

The first round of the NBA Playoffs continues on Monday with three games.

The Cleveland Cavaliers took a 1-0 series lead against the Orlando Magic with a 14-point win on Saturday, and the Cavaliers’ frontcourt duo of center Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley both recorded double-doubles.

Allen hauled in 18 rebounds in Game 1, a number he reached in the regular season just five times.

The New York Knicks will look to take a 2-0 lead against the Philadelphia 76ers tonight.

In Game 1, it was Knicks’ forward Josh Hart that stole the show, recording a team-high 22 points and 13 rebounds.

And in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers will attempt to even the series against the Denver Nuggets after their 114-103 loss on Saturday.

LeBron James (27 points) and Anthony Davis (32 points) accounted for 57.3% of the Lakers’ offense in Game 1, so LA will need someone else to chip in if there’s any hope of getting back in the series against the defending NBA Champs.

Let’s take a look at which players that could step up in Game 2, or which one’s will remain quiet.

As always, all player prop selections are paired with the best odds.

Darius Garland – PG, Cleveland Cavaliers

Donovan Mitchell scored a team-high 30 points for Cleveland in Game 1, but in Game 2, I’d expect point guard Darius Garland to see more scoring opportunities.

The Magic allowed the fourth-most points to opposing point guards in 2023-24, and Garland has shown some previous success against them as well.

Here’s a look at Garland’s number against the Magic this season:

Garland vs. Orlando	Points	Assists
Dec. 6	26	9
Dec. 11	36	5
Feb. 22	18	10
Apr. 20 (Game 1)	14	8

In four meetings against Orlando, Garland is averaging 23.5 points and 8.0 assists.

That’s an average of 31.5 points+assists per game.

Tonight, Garlands’ points+assists stat combo is set for just over/under 23.5 on FanDuel, but I like the alternate line of 25+ on DraftKings.

Cleveland won the first game by 14 points, and if they take an early lead again in Game 2, I think we could see less Mitchell and more Garland.

Pick: Garland – ALT Points+Assists: 25+

Best Odds: (+120) DraftKings

Evan Mobley – PF, Cleveland Cavaliers

Mobley had a solid showing in Game 1, collecting 16 points and 11 rebounds, and his strong effort should bleed into Game 2, and possibly in the first minute.

As we can see from Mobley’s early shot data from BestOdds EDGE, he has taken the first shot for Cleveland quite often of late.

Cavs’ center Jarrett Allen has been an opening tip beast this season, so Cleveland could come away with the first possession, too.

Allen won 75% of his opening tips in the regular season, and he claimed the first tip win over the Magic’s Jonathan Isaac in Game 1.

It’s very likely that Allen gets the better of Isaac again and the Cavaliers fire the first shot in Game 2.

Over the course of the regular season, Orlando allowed 28% of their opposing first baskets to power forwards, the fourth-highest mark in the NBA.

Cleveland frequently wins the tip, they’re going up against a Magic club that allows a bunch of first baskets to power forwards, and the Cavs’ power forward is taking lots of first bucket attempts?

I’m backing Mobley to put the first points on the board tonight.

Pick: Mobley – To Score the First Basket

Best Odds: (+700) Unibet

Joel Embiid – C, Philadelphia 76ers

76ers’ center Joel Embiid has dealt with injuries all season long, and in the NBA Playoffs, those injury concerns have already popped back up in Game 1.

Joel Embiid is down after an INSANE self alley oop pic.twitter.com/Y1LQDPA9Sj

— Verse Fantasy (@VerseFantasy_) April 20, 2024

It can be difficult to back a player to excel when they are less than 100%, and right now, Embiid is clearly not 100%.

Embiid posted 29 points in 37 minutes against the Knicks on Saturday, but if he is limited in any way and his minutes on the floor take a dip, I’d lean towards the under on Embiid’s point total tonight.

In his lone regular season appearance against New York, back on January 5th, Embiid picked up 30 points on 10-of-23 shooting (43.5%) and he went 9-of-12 from the free throw line.

On Saturday against the Knicks, Embiid recorded 29 points on 8-of-22 shooting (36.7%) and went 11-of-12 from the charity stripe.

So, nearly a third (32%) of Embiid’s points against New York this season have come from the line. If the Knicks’ can just play a little more hands off with Embiid, then the Philadelphia big man could see his point total shrink.

Ultimately, I don’t see Emiid scoring too many points against a defensively formidable New York front court that allowed just 20.36 points per game to opposing centers (3rd-best in NBA).

Pick: Embiid – Under 30.5 Points

Best Odds: (-110) DraftKings

Jamal Murray – PG, Denver Nuggets

In Game 1 of the first round matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, Nuggets’ point guard Jamal Murray collected 22 points and 10 assists.

When Murray plays against the Lakers in the playoffs, he seems to elevate his game.

Oh great, 4th quarter Jamal Murray is back pic.twitter.com/ytsKRrJnam

— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) April 21, 2024

In last season’s Western Conference Finals, Denver swept Los Angeles in four games, and in those contests, Murray averaged 32.5 points and 5.3 assists per game.

Dating back to the NBA Playoff bubble in 2020, the Lakers won the series in five games, but Murray still tallied an average of 25.0 points and 7.4 assists.

Los Angeles has had issues with slowing down opposing point guards, allowing averages of 25.7 points (6th-most in NBA) and 9.2 assists (4th-most in NBA).

Murray continues to cook LA, and there’s little the Lakers can do about it.

Pick: Murray – OVER 32.5 Points+Assists

Best Odds: (-104) FanDuel