It has been a tale of two games for Pascal Siakam in the Eastern Conference Finals. The New York defense limited him to 17 points, six assists and five rebounds in Game 1. Siakam then exploded in Game 2, leading the Pacers with 39 points.
The Pacers have jumped out to a 2-0 lead as the series shifts to Indiana for Games 3 and 4. Tonight’s matchup is a must-win from the Knicks’ perspective, while Indiana has a chance to take a commanding 3-0 advantage.
The Pacers are 1.5-point favorites and -122 favorites 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 Siakam prop bets for Game 3.
Best Pascal Siakam Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Pascal Siakam’s props are listed at over/under 20.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 made three-pointers and 30.5 combined points, rebounds and assists.
Pascal Siakam Over 20.5 Points (-110)
It is tough not to be impressed by Siakam’s Game 2 scoring eruption. The former NBA Champion was in attack mode, pouring in the first 11 Indiana points of the game. His 39 points marked both a season-high and a playoff career-high for Siakam.
While this level of output likely is not repeatable, expect Indiana to continue relying on Siakam as a key part of its offensive attack. He averaged 20.2 points per game in the regular season and is dropping 20.3 points per game in the playoffs. The Cameroon native has tallied over 20.5 points in six of the 12 postseason matchups. Siakam attempted 15.2 field goal attempts per game across the regular season, with this number decreasing to 14.8 thus far in the postseason. However, Siakam has attempted 16 and 23 shot attempts throughout the opening two games of the series.
New York did not have an answer for Siakam in Game 2 and is expected to make a lineup adjustment today. If Mitchell Robinson starts over Josh Hart as expected, Karl-Anthony Towns will likely match up with Siakam. Expect Indiana to be even more focused on attacking this matchup, thus paving the way for another strong offensive output. Siakam has tallied 21 or more points in three of his past four games, and the increase in shot volume is a telling trend.
Pascal Siakam Over 6.5 Rebounds (+100)
The rebounding battle will be an interesting storyline in this matchup. Robinson has made a significant impact in generating additional possessions on the offensive glass. His monstrous 9-foot-3 standing reach and activity around the rim have been the biggest bright spot on the Knicks through the first two games. Robinson clocked 29:20 of game time in Game 2, which marked a playoff career-high and his second-most minutes of the season. New York seems to believe he can be the driving force in shifting the series, and it is going to require a team effort from Indiana to prevent this.
While Siakam will not be able to match Robinson’s size or rebounding skill directly, expect him to play a key part in this. The three-time All-Star averaged 6.9 rebounds per game in the regular season and has tallied 6.0 per game in the postseason. While he has been held to five rebounds in both games thus far in the series, Siakam has tallied over 6.5 rebounds in 40 of the 78 regular-season games and four playoff matchups. He produced as many as eight rebounds during a regular-season matchup with the Knicks.
Indiana attacks the glass with a team-oriented approach, with no one player dominating the rebounding output. Siakam’s 6.9 rebounds per game led the team in the regular season, while his 6.0 rebounds in the postseason ranks second. Standing 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, count on Siakam being a huge part of the effort to stop Robinson and having a pathway to one of his best rebounding outputs of the postseason. He has gotten the short end of the stick on a few rebounding opportunities bouncing the wrong way, so look for this to correct itself tonight.
