Tuesday's NBA playoff action kicks off with two Eastern Conference matchups as the 76ers visit the Celtics, looking to stave off elimination. An hour later, the Knicks and Hawks will resume their series in The Garden with the series tied at two games apiece.
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.
NBA Game Leader Picks, Predictions: Tuesday, April 28
- 76ers vs Celtics Top Scorer: Payton Pritchard (+2600)
- Knicks vs Hawks Top Scorer: OG Anunoby (+1100)
76ers vs Celtics Points Leader Bet
Win or lose, you sort of already know what you'll get from the Celtics. In Boston's lone defeat in the series, they persisted with chucking up 3-pointers (50), despite shooting just 26% from the perimeter. In Game 4, they attempted 53 3-pointers but made 24 (45%).
No other playoff team comes close to the Celtics in 3-point attempts. They're averaging 48.5, which is almost 10 more than the Cavaliers, who rank second with 39.3.
If the Celtics can be so emboldened to still shoot successfully with a high volume away from home, one can only imagine the confidence they'll have when they return to the TD Garden.
Boston's Payton Pritchard led the way with 6-of-12 shooting from the perimeter and finished with a game-high 32 points despite coming off the bench.
You could easily make the case that Pritchard probably deserves to start over Derrick White. Yet, the Oregon product is still averaging 32.3 minutes in this series, which is right around his regular-season mark of 32.4 — and with the Celtics as high as 11.5-point favorites, Pritchard is the only player who offers value to finish with the most points, given his odds of +2600.
One thing I like about this spot is that it's unlikely an opposing team will put together a game plan to stop a player coming off the bench.
As a result, Pritchard can somewhat fly under the radar, and if the game turns into a blowout, it'll be too late for anyone on the 76ers to really care that he's getting all the points.
Pick: Payton Pritchard Top Scorer (+2600)
Hawks vs Knicks Points Leader Bet
After losing back-to-back games in the series, the New York Knicks looked like themselves again with a convincing 114-98 victory in Game 4.
Interestingly, both of New York's wins were by double digits, while each of Atlanta's victories was by a single point.
Therefore, despite the series being tied, New York has definitely looked the better, stronger side.
The Knicks are showing tremendous balance, with three players averaging 20 or more points in the series, compared to just one for the Hawks.
New York's OG Anunoby is sort of the forgotten man at times, with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns dominating the headlines.
However, Anunoby is the third-leading scorer on the team during the playoffs, but he has the sixth-shortest odds (+1100) to finish with the most points in Game 5.
Furthermore, Anunoby is having to do a bit more with Mikal Bridges struggling offensively, averaging just 7.3 points per game on 42.3% shooting during the playoffs.
I don't think New York fought hard to get back in this series just to cede control back to Atlanta.
As a result, I'm expecting a strong performance from the Knicks in front of their home crowd, and I'm confident that a Knicks player will finish as the top scorer.
Given that context, Anunoby's odds feel undervalued, especially with Brunson being the favorite at +107. Brunson has struggled at times in his 1v1 battles against a bigger guard like CJ McCollum.
Therefore, if we rule out Brunson, Anunoby's odds should reflect a price closer to +700.
Pick: OG Anunoby Top Scorer (+1100)
