Best NBA Prop Bets Today (Predictions for James Harden, OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson)

The Eastern Conference Finals aren’t short on star power, as six different players that have made an All-Star Game will take the floor with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks are favored in Game 1 – and this series – against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Donovan Mitchell, but I’m looking to the player prop market for some of my favorite bets in Game 1.

Brunson has been on a tear early in games this postseason, and he and Cavs guard James Harden are two players that could really swing this series.

In addition to those two star guards, I’m eyeing Knicks forward OG Anunoby in Game 1, even though he’s playing his first game since suffering a hamstring injury in Game 2 against Philadelphia in the conference semifinals.

Anunoby has practiced in full this week, and he may be undervalued in the prop market after missing a few games.

Let’s take a look at the latest odds and my breakdown for each of these picks on Tuesday night.

Best NBA Prop Bets for Cavs vs. Knicks Game 1

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Jalen Brunson 8+ First Quarter Points (-138)

This postseason, Brunson has been great early in games, and he’s going to be a matchup problem for a Cavs team that has two guards – Harden and Donovan Mitchell – that aren’t exactly great defenders.

The Cavs will likely play Dean Wade or Max Strus on Brunson to open the game, and I think the star guard has some value in his scoring prop for the opening frame of Game 1. Brunson has eight or more points in seven of his 10 playoff games this season, and his usual rotation is to play the entire first quarter while Karl-Anthony Towns leads the offense in the start of the second quarter.

Brunson is averaging 9.8 points per game in the first quarter this postseason while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3. He’s attempting 7.8 field goals in the opening frame, giving him an extremely high floor when it comes to this market.

James Harden UNDER 18.5 Points (-107)

Cavs guard James Harden has some well-documented playoff issues, and he’s been up and down this postseason, averaging 20.1 points per game while shooting just 41.5 percent from the field.

Harden was 2-for-10 in Game 7 on Sunday, and now he’s taking on a New York team that is No. 2 in the league in defensive rating this postseason.

New York held Tyrese Maxey – who is just a better offensive player at this point in his career than Harden – to less than 20 points in three of their four meetings in the second round. Harden struggled at times against Ausar Thompson and Duncan Robinson, and now he’ll have to deal with Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Anunoby, Miles McBride and others in this series.

I can’t get to this number for Harden, especially after he was an absolute no-show in Game 7.

OG Anunoby OVER 1.5 3-Pointers Made (-190)

OG Anunoby is officially probable for Game 1, a sign that he’ll return and play a pretty typical role for the Knicks.

This postseason, Anunoby has shot the lights out, knocking down 61.9 percent of his shots from beyond the arc and 53.8 percent of his 3s. He’s made at least two shots from deep in every game, so I’m taking this prop – even juiced to -190 – in Game 1.

The Cavs struggled to defend the 3 in the regular season, ranking 26th in the NBA in opponent 3s made per game and opponent 3-point percentage. Anunoby is averaging just under five 3-point attempts per game in the playoffs, but he also made 2.3 3s on over six attempts per game in the regular season.

This line is almost always at 2.5 for Anunoby, so I’ll take the gift from the books with him coming off an injury.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.

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