The New York Knickerbockers are on a run for the ages. You'd have to go back to April 23 to find the last time they lost a game. More impressively, 12 of their last 13 victories have been by 10 or more points.
What's interesting is that New York has even found itself down by double digits in both games against the Spurs, yet still mounted a comeback.
With the Knicks winning the key plays and clutch minutes down the stretch, it's difficult to see how the Spurs can regain a foothold in the series as it shifts to New York for two games.
Our approach for this preview won't necessarily be to break down these individual matchups. Instead, we'll seek to highlight players that offer the best value in the DraftKings Game Leaders market.
Let's dive into my NBA game leader props for Spurs vs. Knicks Game 3 on Monday, June 8.
NBA Game Leader Props for Spurs vs Knicks Game 3
- 3-Point Leader: Julian Champagnie (+418) / Landry Shamet (+820)
- Most Assists: Jalen Brunson (+271) / Josh Hart (+800)
Spurs vs Knicks Game 3 Three-Point Leader Bets
Julian Champagnie (+418)
I expect the battle for most points will continue to come down to either New York's Jalen Brunson or San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama. Brunson grabbed the honor in Game 1 with 30 points while Wembanyama finished with 29 in Game 2.
As a result, both players have the shortest odds for Game 3 with Wembanyama priced at +117 and Brunson at +158. Frankly, if these teams want to win games, they'll know they need to run the offense through the two best players on the court.
Therefore, I don't see much value in looking elsewhere when it comes to choosing a different player with better odds to challenge them for most points.
The one market where we can find some value is for most 3-pointers. New York's Mikal Bridges led all players with four 3-pointers in Game 2.
It was just the second time in these playoffs that Bridges attempted at least six 3-pointers. His average of 3.1 attempts simply isn't enough volume for someone to consistently compete for most 3-pointers.
A better option would be San Antonio's Julian Champagnie, who is averaging more than twice as many 3-point attempts as Bridges, with 6.6 per game.
Champagnie is also shooting 40.2% from long range in the playoffs and went 5-for-10 in the series opener.
His +418 odds represent an implied value of 15.2%, yet his 30.4% win share is the highest on any player in my model simulations.
Landry Shamet (+820)
Another player we should consider with a bit longer odds is New York's Landry Shamet (+820).
Shamet continues to get steady minutes off the bench, averaging 31.5 in this series after posting 9.0 in Round 1, 14.3 in Round 2, and 19.8 in the Conference Finals.
The eight-year veteran is a career 41% shooter from distance in the playoffs and has had four straight games with at least 3 3-pointers.
Shamet provides a nice balance to the team due to his ability to offer more of a perimeter threat than Josh Hart.
One benefit of having a player like Shamet in this category is that if the game turns into a blowout in favor of either team, you can almost guarantee he'll be on the court in place of the starters.
Pick: 3-Point Leader: Julian Champagnie (+418) / Landry Shamet (+820)
Spurs vs Knicks Game 3 Assist Leader Bets
Jalen Brunson (+271)
The assists market is particularly fascinating because you could argue that both point guards profile more as scorers than as elite playmakers. In either game of this series, no player registered more than six assists.
Therefore, with those relatively average numbers, you're likely to have more of an open field when it comes to picking a candidate for most assists.
Surprisingly, San Antonio's Stephon Castle has the shortest odds at +166 despite having just seven assists across the two games in this series.
While he led the Spurs with 7.4 assists during the regular season, I don't expect him to come anywhere near those numbers, especially when these games are more likely to be low-scoring.
Moreover, the Knicks have the best defensive rating (103.1) in the playoffs, and they're allowing the fewest assists per game (20.9).
With odds at +271, Brunson looks like the steadier option. He has an implied value of 22.8%, yet he wins this category in 45.9% of my simulations.
It's worth noting that Brunson's 6.3 assists per game during the playoffs are right in line with those of Castle's at 6.4.
Josh Hart (+800)
For a player with longer odds, Hart (+800) has to be atop our list. He was the leader for assists (six) in Game 1 and dished out four in Game 2 despite only playing 18 minutes of action.
If not for being in foul trouble for most of the game, Hart would likely have played more minutes and had a chance to add to his assists tally.
Although he's not a great scorer, Hart is a high-energy player with great defense and can do a the little things to help a team win a ball game.
Pick: Most Assists: Jalen Brunson (+271) / Josh Hart (+800)
