The Hawks crushed the Nets last night thanks to Zaccharie Risacher’s 38 points and Trae Young’s 24-point, 12-assist double-double. Atlanta holds the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and is locked into the play-in tournament.
With two games remaining, there is still wiggle room among the play-in teams. The Magic, Hawks, Bulls and Heat will be participating in the postseason tournament with the Magic locked into the No. 7 seed. The eighth, ninth and 10th seeds are still up for grabs as just a game separates each of them.
It makes the final two games must-win for all three squads. The Hawks will play on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers, who have been decimated by injuries and thus decided to tank.
As a result, the Hawks are 11-point favorites on the road, and the game total is set at 240.5 points on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Below, I have featured my favorite Young prop bets to consider from this contest.
Best Trae Young Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Trae Young over 2.5 made three-pointers (-140)
Let’s go back to the well for Friday’s game. Yesterday’s featured Young prop bet was for him to make over 2.5 three-pointers, and it cleared despite the All-Star guard playing just 31 minutes.
Tonight’s prop will be the same, albeit at worse odds. The line moved from -125 yesterday to -140 today, but it’s still a worthwhile play considering Young’s volume and need to score.
While Risacher has improved throughout his rookie season, he’s not a consistent scorer like Jalen Johnson, who the Hawks lost earlier this season. Risacher’s career-high 38 points last night showcased the rookie’s growth this season, but it was a positive outlier.
He’s not producing those numbers on a daily basis, so it’s still on Young to lead the scoring efforts. On the second night of a back-to-back, Risacher likely won’t post another 30-point performance. It’ll be on Young to score more.
Young poured in 24 points last night with three three-pointers. He’s hit at least three three-pointers in four straight games and six of his last eight. A key ingredient to this has been his volume. Young is shooting 8.8 three-pointers per game over his past eight games.
Because Young shoots 33.7 percent from deep, he needs to maintain a high volume for this over to hit. Luckily, the Hawks play at the third fastest pace in the NBA, so there will be plenty of possessions for Young to score
Also, the 76ers’ defensive efficiency is ranked 26th in the league, and they allow the second highest three-point percentage to opponents. Only the Kings allow opponents to shoot a higher percentage from distance.
Philadelphia plays at a much slower pace than the Hawks, but so do the Nets. Just like last night against Brooklyn, the Hawks will dictate the pace and flow of the match.
