NBA Player Props and Best Bets For Monday, April 21: Kawhi, Cunningham Overs and a Playoff SGP

The NBA Playoffs are back to help us get past a bad case of the Monday’s—even better, I’m sharing my top five player props from the day’s action.

Sunday’s matchups nearly all ended in blowouts, starting with the Oklahoma City Thunder beating the Memphis Grizzlies by a staggering 51 points, the largest win in Game 1 playoff history. The only game that was kept within 10 points was a failed comeback bid by the Houston Rockets, who fell to the Golden State Warriors, 95-85.

Monday’s action will follow the Detroit Pistons trailing 0-1 in their series against the New York Knicks and will conclude with the Denver Nuggets hosting the Los Angeles Clippers.

Here are my favorite NBA player prop bets for Monday.

Odds from FanDuel sportsbook. Bet $5, get $250 in bonus bets if your bet wins with our FanDuel promo code.

Christian Braun under 4.5 rebounds (-125) at FanDuel

Braun was a solid rebounder this season, averaging 5.2 boards per game and 6.7 per game over the final month of the regular season. However, he only had three boards in the Game 1 meeting, which went to overtime, and it will be hard for him to play more than the 45 minutes he just did.

The Los Angeles Clippers allowed the fewest rebounds per game and held Braun under this line in their last two regular-season meetings. The Clippers don’t need to put two on the ball and can stay out of rotation, which allows them to maintain a strong rebounding presence against everyone on the floor.

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Kawhi Leonard over 24.5 points (-106) at FanDuel

Leonard was outstanding to finish the regular season, averaging 26.7 points on 54/50/86 shooting split in April. He only scored 22 points in Game 1, but he did that while playing 41 minutes and shooting 60 percent from the field, showing he’s still in a solid rhythm and has more minutes to potentially play.

The Nuggets’ defense has been an issue all season and partly led to them benching Michael Porter Jr. during Game 1. James Harden was cooking on Saturday, but Leonard can only sit back and watch for so long before he gets involved, especially with his team looking at a 0-2 series hole.  

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Russell Westbrook under 3.5 assists (+112) at FanDuel

Westbrook played 34 minutes and was on the court in crunch time and overtime due to Porter Jr.’s unexpected benching. Despite all of that, he only had three assists as he was largely used as an off-ball cutter and release valve instead of a true decision-maker and ball-handler.

Westbrook went over in the final four regular season games, but he just proved that he can go under even a low line like this. The Clippers were also ninth in assists allowed per game, and the Nuggets would be silly to take the ball out of Nikola Jokic’s hands given the quality of offense they generated with him over the weekend.

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Dennis Schroder over 3.5 assists (-144) at FanDuel

Schroder gave a shot of energy to the Pistons during their opening gambit with the Knicks, a game they led in the fourth quarter before their inexperience led to them letting go of the rope. Regardless, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Schroder play more minutes because of the positive impact he made.

Although Schroder only had three assists and the Knicks allowed the seventh-fewest assists per game, the Pistons didn’t do a great job of knocking down their shots, particularly later in the game. They should be more comfortable now that the Game 1 nerves and rust are out, and that should work to his benefit.

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OG Anunoby over 5.5 rebounds (+122) at FanDuel

Anunoby was the primary defender on Cade Cunningham and just played 44 minutes, which means he’ll have plenty of rebounding opportunities. It also means that the Pistons will try to get him to switch off of Cunningham by using a variety of screens, and every time that happens, it will allow him to put his focus on rebounding the ball once a shot goes up.

Anunoby only averaged 4.8 rebounds per game, but he had seven in Saturday’s initial matchup. The Pistons allowed the sixth-fewest rebounds per game, but if they look tight shooting the ball at different points, Anunoby will inevitably be there to capitalize.

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NBA Same-Game Parlay (+344) at FanDuel

-Detroit Pistons at New York Knicks (-6.5)

• Cade Cunningham 10+ assists: Had 12 assists in Game 1 after he averaged 9.1 per game and should play 40+ minutes with his team facing a 0-2 deficit.

• Josh Hart 10+ points: Only needed 30 minutes to score 13 points in Game 1 and hit this line in four of his last six contests.

• Jalen Brunson under 28.5 points: Grabbed at his foot/ankle injury several times during Game 1 and, although he scored 34 points, averaged 21 in the regular season after he came back from his ankle sprain.

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