The Eastern Conference Finals are almost upon us, as Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers travel to Madison Square Garden for Game 1. It’s the second consecutive year that Indiana has made the conference finals, and they will need their star player to show up and show out if they want to go one step further this year.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Knicks are 4.5 point favorites for the opening game with the total set at 224.
Below is my favorite Tyrese Haliburton prop bet for Wednesday’s game.
Best Tyrese Haliburton Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
Haliburton’s props are listed at over/under 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 2.5 made three-pointers and 32.5 combined points, rebounds and assists.
Tyrese Haliburton Under 9.5 Assists (-140)
The Pacers seem to be at their best when Haliburton is playing the role of facilitator, but he has shied away from that role in recent games. In the Bucks series, it was much different, recording double-digit assists in four of the five games. However, against Cleveland, he only went over this total in Game 1 and averaged seven assists per game in the series.
Haliburton has a similar history against the Knicks, which is why I’m taking the under in this spot. In last season’s playoffs, the Knicks and Pacers were pitted against each other once again in the conference semi-finals. The Pacers advanced in Game 7, but Haliburton did not go over this total once. He was held under 10 assists in each game and instead focused on scoring the ball as he averaged over 21 points per game in the series. In the three regular-season matchups this season between the teams, Tyrese only went over this total on one occasion.
So to recap, Haliburton has not reached double-digit assists in each of his last four games this postseason, and in the 10 most recent games against New York, he has gone over the total only once. This feels like a no-brainer bet, and I am surprised that his assist total is this high.
