The Grizzlies and Lakers take the court on Monday in Los Angeles for a critical Game 4.
And since it's time for the stars to take control, I'm targeting Ja Morant and LeBron James on PrizePicks.
A quick refresher if you aren’t familiar with PrizePicks: you can combine up to five different player squares to payout up to 10x your entry.
You can do a Flex Play or a Power Play. A Flex Play gives you lesser odds, but you can win money if you do not nail every pick. A Power Play is all-or-nothing.
Here’s how I would approach today’s NBA Playoffs slate.
What is PrizePicks? A daily fantasy operator — meaning they’re available in more states (30) than sports betting is! — PrizePicks offers a unique opportunity for action on player props in which you parlay two or more plays together.
Ja Morant More Than 8 Assists
Morant missed Game 2 and was questionable for Game 3 with a right hand injury. Not only did he play in Game 3, but he showed why he is one of the most electrifying talents in the NBA by finishing with 45 points, nine rebounds and 13 assists.
Morant has enjoyed a lot of success against the Lakers, averaging 31 points and 8.3 assists.
In this spot, I prefer his assists.
Morant has had eight or more assists in three of his four games against the Lakers this season. In two of those games, he reached double-digit assists, including Saturday night.
It is quite impressive that Morant had 13 assists in a game where his teammates shot 22-for-67 (32.8%) from the field.
Despite the Grizzlies' shooting struggles, they were actually very effective in scoring off of Morant's passes. Per NBAStats, Morant had 16 potential assists in Game 2 and they converted 81% of them.
For this line, we would only need half of them to be converted if he has 16 potential assists again.
According to props.cash, the Lakers were 24th in defending point guards in the regular season. They also do not have an ideal matchup for a point guard as athletic as Morant.
If necessary, the Lakers could send a few traps and double teams to force the ball out of his hands. A few of those could result in open looks for his teammates.
Assuming positive shooting regression for Memphis, Morant should get eight assists and could crack double digits again.
LeBron James More Than 9.5 Rebounds
LeBron has faced the Grizzlies four times this season and he has cleared this line twice, with 11 and 12 rebounds. In the two games that he missed, he finished with nine.
Needless to say, James has been very effective rebounding against the Grizzlies this season.
The Grizzlies provide a good matchup, as they were 21st in rebounds allowed and 23rd in defensive rebounds allowed in the regular season. They are even more susceptible on the glass now, as they are undersized without Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke.
That sets up well for James, who plays both forward spots for the Lakers and is always among the biggest players on the floor.
Two of the three games in this series have gone under tonight's total of 220.5 points. The under goes hand-and-hand with rebounds, since there will be more missed shots in the game.
The Lakers are averaging 46.7 rebounds per game in this series. James and Anthony Davis have accounted for nearly half of them, with 10.7 coming from James.
LeBron should pull down 10 rebounds once again tonight.
