The Clippers face off against the Nuggets in Game 2 of their first round Western Conference Playoff series on Monday night, and I'm targeting two players to have strong performances in tonight's matchup.
Continue below for my NBA prop bets for Nuggets vs. Clippers on Monday, April 21.
NBA Player Props for Monday, April 21
- Ivica Zubac Over 17.5 Points (-115)
- Kris Dunn Over 11.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-120)
Ivica Zubac Over 17.5 Points
Nuggets vs Clippers, 10:00 p.m. ET
Ivica Zubac has averaged basically 20 points per game since the start of March (19.9) and kept it going with a strong performance in Game 1. Denver gave up the 6th-most points in the paint per game in the regular season.
The Nuggets ceded a ridiculous 60 points in the paint in the first game of the series. Zubac did plenty of damage, but James Harden and Kawhi Leonard also scored inside with impunity.
The Clippers are going to continue exploiting Nikola Jokic on the defensive end. Denver doesn't have many counters since they need to keep Jokic on the floor for offensive purposes.
Zubac "only" played 34 minutes in regulation, but that number could tick up with the Clippers down 1-0 in the series.
Head coach Ty Lue could easily nix Ben Simmons playing and roll Zubac out there for 40+ minutes. Zubac is by far their best hope to slow down Jokic, and they're probably best off just matching minutes there.
Pick: Ivica Zubac Over 17.5 Points (-115)
Kris Dunn Over 11.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (+100)
Nuggets vs Clippers, 10:00 p.m. ET
By Joe Dellera
The Clippers look to even up the series against the Nuggets after an overtime loss in Game 1, and one player they leaned on heavily was Kris Dunn. Dunn is needed for his defensive prowess and he should be able to stay on the floor again tonight.
In Game 1, Dunn played 30.8 minutes. While some of that was in overtime, the clear point of this is that he is relied upon as a key rotational cog. When he has played between 20 and 35 minutes he averages 13.7 PRA and hit in 65% of games this season.
Dunn is out there on the floor enough that he is able to pick up stats by virtue of getting so much playing time. He averages 7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in those minutes.
Denver will likely continue to leave him fairly open from 3-point range as well, as they would rather commit to defending Harden, Kawhi, and Norman Powell. He was 4/8 from the field and 2/5 from long-range, which are numbers they can live with
Pick: Kris Dunn Over 11.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-120)
Monday Night's NBA Player Props
- Ivica Zubac Over 17.5 Points (-115)
- Kris Dunn Over 11.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-120)
