The NBA Playoffs keeping rolling on Monday, April 17, with two games on the slate: The Warriors vs. Kings and Nets vs. 76ers. In the East, Brooklyn will try to avoid going down 2-0 in Philadelphia at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Nets are a underdog in the game, which features a point total set at . I have my attention on the Western Conference game with a couple of NBA player props, one from each squad. Draymond Green and the Warriors will look to tie up their series with Malik Monk and the Kings at 10:00 p.m. ET. The Warriors and are slight favorites with a point total set at .
Take a look at why I like Monk to continue putting up points against the Dubs and Draymond to do the opposite. Find NBA odds here and use our player props search tool to find the best odds for NBA props on your favorite players.
Josh Lander is 37-17 and up 21+ units betting NBA player props over the last month. Check out the NBA Coast 2 Coast podcast each and every weekday with co-host Nate Weitzer and give him a follow on Twitter, @jlboogy. Click on the odds below to bet now.
Editor’s Note
Warriors At Kings NBA Player Props
Below are the available NBA player props for the game between the Warriors at Kings.
Malik Monk o15.5 Pts (-115 PointsBet | 1u) // Over 2.5 Three-Pointers Made (+145 DK | .5u)
Here are Monk’s core points, rebounds, assists, and three-pointers made props for the game against the Warriors:
- Points: Over/Under /
- Rebounds: Over/Under /
- Assists: /
- Threes Made: Over/Under /
The first-ever playoff matchup between the Warriors and Kings lived up to its pre-game hype with a thrilling 126-123 win for Sacramento. De’Aaron Fox was sensational in his first career playoff game, dropping 15 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Kings to their first playoff win since 2006. Malik Monk also came up huge for Sacramento with 32 points in just 29 minutes, outscoring his projected scoring total by 18.
I’m not necessarily projecting another 32-point outburst from Monk in Game 2, but his points prop only went up one point after he put up the second-highest total of any player in Game 1. Over the last 2 seasons, he’s proven he can score on the Warriors as long as he gets close to 30 minutes of playing time and I expect Mike Brown to keep running Monk out there over Rookie Keegan Murray the rest of this series.
I’m taking the Over on Monk’s points prop on Monday night, with a smaller amount on the great juice you get if he hits more than two three-pointers.
Great Against Golden State
At 6’3″, Monk isn’t necessarily tall for a guard, but his style of play is well-suited for beating up on the Warriors backcourt. He’s certainly capable of shooting from deep, connecting on two three-pointers per game this season. Yet, it’s his athleticism and aggression when attacking the rim that make him such a threat to Golden State’s awful road defense.
In his last five games against the Warriors, Monk is averaging nearly 22 points per game in 30 minutes a night. One of those games was when he was still playing for the Lakers. Apparently, LA’s coaching staff also realized Monk was a problem for Golden State’s backcourt because it played him 8 more minutes per game against the Warriors than his season average.
The majority of his points against the Dubs have come from the paint, in transition off of Warriors turnovers, or the free throw line. Golden State turned the ball over more than any other team this year, while allowing the second-most points off those turnovers. It also sent its opponents to the charity stripe with a ton of frequency, allowing the 5th most free throw attempts.
The only instance in which Monk failed to get over Monday’s points prop over those last five meetings with the Warriors he played just 24 minutes and still recorded 13 points.
More Monk
Expect Monk to play close to 30 minutes a night in this series. Kings Rookie Keegan Murray saw 15 minutes in his first playoff game, going 1-5 from the field and missing all three of his long-range attempts. The speed and intensity of the Playoffs appeared to overwhelm the sharp-shooting youngster and Brown was forced to sit him for most of the game. After playing more than eight minutes in the first quarter, Murray only saw seven minutes over the last three.
For Monk, it’s all about the amount of time he’s on the floor. He can put up points in bunches as we’ve seen all season long, especially against the Warriors. Brown tends to turn to his backup shooting guard at the end of close games as well.
Monk played in 25 games that included clutch time for Sacramento this season. Clutch time is defined as any situation in a game with less than five minutes in the fourth quarter where either team is leading by five points or less. In those 25 games, Monk averaged the fourth-most minutes per game of any Kings player, indicating Brown trusts him more than starters Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray.
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Draymond Green Under 8.5 Points (-115 DraftKings | 1.5u)
Here are Green’s core points, rebounds and assists props for the game against the Kings:
- Points: Over/Under /
- Rebounds: Over/Under /
- Assists: Over/Under /
The Warriors will face a 1-0 deficit in a playoff series for the fourth time since winning their first title in 2015. They won all three Game 2’s prior to Monday’s matchup with the Kings where they’ll look to make it 4-0 in this scenario.
Draymond Green played well in all three Game 2 victories for the Warriors, but never managed to reach his points prop for tonight.
In Game 1, Green focused his efforts on boxing out Domantas Sabonis and facilitating the offense by hitting open guys with assists. Expect more of the same from him in Game 2, especially as head coach Steve Kerr is likely going to give Andrew Wiggins a few more minutes than he did in Game 1. Wiggins’s high usage rate will detract even more from Draymond’s opportunities to score.
I’m confidently betting on Draymond to go under his points prop in this one.
That’s Not My Job
Draymond Green handles a variety of responsibilities for Golden State, but scoring is not one of them. In his last seven games of the regular season, he averaged just 6.2 points per game in 32 minutes. He scored more than eight points just twice, once against a G League squad masquerading as the Portland Trail Blazers, and once against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
OKC allowed the most rebounds per game to its opponents and Draymond took advantage of that fact to the tune of six second-chance points.
He went over eight points even less frequently against Sacramento over the last two seasons. In his last six games versus the Kings, Draymond has scored at least nine points just once, averaging 6.3 points in 32 minutes. The one time he did go over was at home, where he scores two more points per game this season than when he’s on the road (seven points per game on the road and nine at home).
You Miss 80% Of The Shots You Take
When Wayne Gretzky said you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, he probably wasn’t thinking about Draymond Green’s shooting percentages. Green went 1-5 from the floor last game and missed the only three-pointer he attempted.
In the last six meetings with Sac, he’s averaged the same five shots per contest, connecting on just two of them. That’s been good for a 10% usage rate and there’s nothing to indicate he plans to increase that number. If anything, it’s only going to decrease as Andrew Wiggins gets back into game shape.
Wiggins held a 23% usage rate in the playoffs last season and was visibly the second-best player on Golden State behind Steph Curry. In his first game back with the Warriors since February on Monday night, Wiggins put up a 26% usage rate in 28 minutes. His usage rate might hover around the same percentage it was in Game 1, but his minutes should start to rise.
Draymond, on the other hand, tends to decrease his usage rate in the playoffs as offensive possessions and shot attempts become more and more valuable. Last regular season, Green averaged a 14.5% usage rate. That number decreased to below 13% once the playoffs arrived. I’m banking on that trend to continue this postseason.
Nets At 76ers NBA Player Props
Head over to our Nets vs. 76ers player props post to find the best odds available for NBA player props tonight.
