Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks find their backs against the wall far sooner than they hoped, trailing 2-0 at the hands of the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. This is a tough spot to be in historically, with only 7.3% of teams who lost the opening two series matchups having come back to win across 465 postseason matchups.
This Knicks team has showcased its resilience plenty of times, and this will be called upon again in this series. Tonight will mark a crucial matchup if the Knicks are to have any chance of coming back in the series, with no team having ever battled back from down 3-0 to advance. As is typically the case for the Knicks, they will be banking on Jalen Brunson to captain the ship and help lead the team to a victory.
Heading into Game 3, the Pacers are 1.5-point favorites with -122 odds on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Knicks hold +102 odds of getting the outright victory with the game total set at 224 points.
With the stage set, here are my favorite Brunson prop bets for Game 3.
Best Jalen Brunson Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Jalen Brunson’s props are listed at over/under 31.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.5 made three-pointers and 42.5 combined points, rebounds and assists.
Jalen Brunson Over 7.5 Assists (+105)
Jalen Brunson is at the epicenter of everything the Knicks do offensively, logging a sky-high 33.0% usage rate across this playoff run. He is averaging 28.1 points and 7.1 assists in the postseason after producing 26.4 points and 7.4 assists per game in the regular season.
While he is a score-first player by nature, Brunson is a more than capable passer who can punish opposing teams whenever there is a play to be made. Expect a concentrated effort from the Pacers to limit the All-NBA guard from getting rolling and force the ball out of his hands. New York made some significant changes in the offseason to upgrade the supporting cast, which expands his playmaking options. The Knicks lean on an isolation-based approach with Brunson at a high rate, but they are a better team when he is getting others involved. Across the regular season, Brunson averaged 7.7 assists per game in wins and 6.7 assists in losses.
The Villanova product is coming off an 11-assist performance in the previous game and has tallied over 7.5 assists in five games in this playoff run. He has also finished five additional games with exactly seven assists. New York is 4-1 in games that Brunson has eclipsed this assist total.
In addition, Brunson averaged 7.6 assists per game in the five matchups with the Pacers in the regular season, including 8.5 when playing on the road. Expect a clear effort from the Pacers to prevent Brunson from getting rolling in this game and force others to beat them. Look for the Knicks’ star to take what the defense gives him and be comfortable serving in a more playmaking-first role if it is necessary. Expect an all-out attack from this Knicks team and for Brunson to deliver with at least eight assists tonight.
Jalen Brunson to Record 4+ Made Three-Pointers (+195)
The standard three-point prop is set at 2.5 for Jalen Brunson, with the odds to go over set at -110 on DraftKings Sportsbook. He shot 38.3% from beyond the three-point arc on 6.1 long-range shots per game across the regular season. Since the postseason started, Brunson’s three-point volume has increased to 7.8 per game, and he is shooting 35.8% from deep.
He is averaging 2.8 made three-pointers per game and has connected on four or more three-pointers in five postseason games. This includes the previous matchup in which he shot 5-for-12 from deep. Indiana does not have a defender on the roster fully capable of neutralizing Brunson and has opted to throw a variety of defensive looks his way. He has attempted 52 field-goal shots through the opening two games, with 18 of these coming from beyond the arc.
The threat of Brunson’s drive opens up his perimeter shooting. Indiana ranks 11th in three-point attempts allowed among the 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs. The star guard already sees plenty of minutes, and this should be even further expanded in this must-win matchup. While Indiana will look to force the ball out of Brunson’s hands, he is the Knicks’ top offensive weapon, so there will be a clear attempt to generate shots for their star. Count on a high shot volume to still occur and for a few late-game three-point shots to be necessary if New York is to get a win. Brunson has proven to be a big-game riser on plenty of occasions before, and I am backing him to record 4+ made three-pointers tonight.
