Best NBA prop bets for Nuggets vs. Suns Game 3 (Jokic’s Knockout Punch)
By Josh Yourish
It’s almost like a series featuring Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Nikola Jokic who’s been as good as any player this postseason, has become an afterthought in the Western Conference.
Much like the regular season, the Denver Nuggets keep cruising through the West with very little fanfare, but late tonight they’ll take center stage in Phoenix as the Suns host the Nuggets who are up 2-0.
The Suns have a must-win game without Chris Paul, who is out with a groin injury, so a thin lineup is now even thinner. All of Phoenix now turns to Devin Booker and KD to carry the Suns to a Game 3 win, but there might not be anything they can do to stop Jokic and Denver. Let’s take a look at the prop market to see if we can find some value with Paul out and the Nuggets on the verge of delivering a knockout blow.
Nuggets vs. Suns best NBA prop bets
Devin Booker OVER 38.5 Points and Assists (-118)
Nikola Jokic OVER 1.5 3-pointers (+126)
Cameron Payne UNDER 10.5 points (-110)
Devin Booker OVER 38.5 Points and Assists
With Chris Paul out, it’s going to have to be the Devin Booker show in Phoenix on Friday night. Sure, KD will handle some of the scoring, but Chris Paul was only averaging 12.4 points a night, it is Paul’s playmaking that’ll really be missed. Paul was averaging 7.4 assists, and Booker is already at 6.6 assists a game along with 35.4 points per game in the playoffs. Booker could easily score 40 points with the ball in his hands more, but getting 38.5 for points and assists is great value even if you’re rooting for the Nuggets.
Nikola Jokic OVER 1.5 3-pointers
Jokic has hit two or more three-pointers in four of the seven games this postseason. Last game he went 2-6, and he’s shooting 46.7% from deep in the playoffs this year. What we saw in the Minnesota series is that his attempts went up as the series went along, it was almost his counter move once a defender found a way to make things harder inside. In Games 4 and 5 against the Timberwolves, Jokic had eight attempts in each and made 8-16 across the two games. Getting this at plus value sounds really good to me.
The Nuggets are ready to throw a knockout punch and if Jokic is hitting from three then the Suns are in real trouble and this series could be over really quickly.
Cameron Payne UNDER 10.5 points (-110)
Sure, CP3 is out so Payne is going to get a lot more playing time in Game 3, but just because he’s playing that doesn’t mean he’s a useful player. Payne is a wild-card with the ball in his hands and KD and Booker aren’t going to let him get up the 10 to 12 shots he’s going to want to take. I think this number is over inflated to defend against people who were planning on blindly betting Payne’s over with Paul out. Payne has played in three games this postseason and is averaging 2.3 points and is shooting 30% from the field.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change