Last spring, the Indiana Pacers emerged victorious over the New York Knicks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, notching a 130-109 win over a shorthanded Knicks team that lost Jalen Brunson during the contest to a broken hand. During that game, Indiana’s marquee midseason acquisition — power forward Pascal Siakam — had 20 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
This season, Siakam has been stellar once again, averaging 20.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game and shooting a career-high 41.1% from beyond the arc. For his exploits and the Pacers’ solid record, Siakam was named an All-Star for the third time in his career.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Indiana is a 2.5-point underdog and the point total is set to 239.5. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bets centered around Spicy P.
Best Pascal Siakam Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Pascal Siakam U7.5 Rebounds (-115)
This season, New York has had a good, but not great, defense, allowing 113.7 points per 100 possessions, the 17th-best defensive rating in the league. But the Knicks have shined by count statistics because they play at the league’s seventh-slowest pace. They’ve especially excelled at cleaning up the boards this season, giving up just 41.2 boards per game. Center Karl-Anthony Towns is second in the league in rebounds per game and shooting guard Josh Hart is 19th.
Meanwhile, Siakam is no longer as prolific a rebounder he used to be during the 2021-22 season, when he averaged 8.5 boards per game while playing 37% of his minutes as a small-ball center for the Toronto Raptors. He has recorded seven or fewer rebounds in six of his last 10 games and has played just 2% of his minutes in the middle this season. Plus, the Pacers’ squad is almost fully healthy, which should hinder his impact on the glass.
Pascal Siakam O1.5 Three-Pointers Made (+105)
The 2018-19 Most Improved Player has constantly evolved his game, becoming one of the more well-rounded players in the league, and recently, that has extended to his shooting. For most of his career, he has been primarily a midrange shooter and a slasher, shooting a below-average percentage from three on average volume. However, this season has marked the third-highest shooting volume of his career and his best percentage. He has made at least two triples in 24 of his 51 starts, including a five-for-six performance in a win over the LA Clippers last Thursday.
Meanwhile, while New York has only allowed 35.8 three-point attempts per game, the fifth-lowest in basketball, opponents have hit 38.0%, the most efficient clip in the league. Opponents have shot 2.5 percentage points better from beyond the arc when guarded by New York defenders, by far the biggest discrepancy in the league. Part of it is fluky opponent shooting luck, but part of it has to do with the Knicks’ defensive schemes; the Knicks allow open threes, defined as such when the nearest defender is between four and six feet away, at one of the league’s highest rates. This season, Siakam has hit open threes at a team-high 40.0% clip.
