The NBA has five games on Sunday’s scoreboard, and in NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball spotlight matchup, the Boston Celtics host the Minnesota Timberwolves at TD Garden. Both teams are in the thick of their Conference’s playoff race, and will look to get a big win on Sunday night. It’s an important matchup for each team and should be a playoff-like atmosphere at the Garden. Let’s highlight a few juicy player prop bets to consider adding to your betting card from each side of this Timberwolves-Celtics matchup.
In the overall picture, the Celtics are 9.5-point home favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with a game total of 221.5 points.
The Celtics are 47-23 after winning four straight and nine of their last 12. Boston is currently the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Timberwolves are 43-28, which has them sixth in the Western Conference. The race for the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 spots in the Western Conference is extremely close, so it’s a tough time for the T-Wolves to be without superstar Anthony Edwards. Minnesota is 3-5 in its last eight games and has a tough stretch ahead with Boston, Houston and Detroit on the schedule this week.
In addition to Edwards’ absence, Naz Reid is questionable for the Timberwolves, while the Celtics listed Jaylen Brown as probable and Nikola Vucevic as out. Let’s take a look at the players who will be on the floor this Sunday and fine a few strong player prop bets to consider.
Timberwolves at Celtics Best Prop Bets
Ayo Dosunmu o25.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-121)
Without Edwards, Dosunmu has stepped into a starting role for the Timberwolves, and he has been very productive in his three games in the lineup, going over this prop line in each of those three starts.
He had 19 points, five rebounds and two assists for 26 PRA (points, rebounds and assists) in 34 minutes in his first start against the Suns, but he was even better with 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and 38 PRA against the Jazz. In his last start, he had 17 points, 10 boards, eight assists and 35 PRA.
Dosunmu has proven he can stuff the stat sheet in multiple categories when he gets extra playing time. He was very productive with the Bulls when forced to pick up extra work, and he looks ready to do the same for the Wolves, who look extremely smart for picking him up at the deadline.
For as long as Edwards is out, Dosunmu will get plenty of work, especially since the Timberwolves don’t typically go very deep in the rotation. With extra minutes and usage, he has a good chance to get over this PRA prop on Sunday night.
Payton Pritchard o15.5 Points (-120)
Pritchard has moved to the bench for Boston at the Trade Deadline and has played in the second unit in 19 of his last 20 games. In those 20 games, he’s averaging and has gone over this prop 13 times.
Pritchard was stuck in a shooting slump earlier this month and even had two games with zero points. However, he seems to have shaken that off, scoring exactly 19 points in each of his last three games and going a combined 11-for-26 (42%) from long range.
He only had nine points against Minnesota earlier this season, but he is in a role off the bench that he can thrive in as “instant offense,” putting this over very much in play in almost all game scenarios for this Sunday night.
Rudy Gobert o11.5 Rebounds (-116)
Gobert has recorded at least 12 rebounds in each of his last 10 games without Anthony Edwards.
He had 19 rebounds against the Suns, 12 against the Jazz and 15 against the Blazers in his three games since Edwards was sidelined with his current injury and is averaging 11.4 rebounds per game on the season.
If Reid is out or forced to play a smaller role, more minutes in the middle would open up for Gobert. Even if he doesn’t do a ton of scoring, he should be able to hit the board in Boston and go over this prop line.
Bonus Parlay Pick: Jaylen Brown u6.5 rebounds (-134)
If you’re building an SGP (Same Game Parlay) from this Sunday night showdown, one way to boost the odds even higher is by backing Brown to stay under his rebound prop. Adding this as the fourth player prop into the mix boosts the SGP all the way up to +950 for these four Timberwolves-Celtics bets.
Brown has continued scoring in bunches, even with Jayson Tatum back in the Celtics’ lineup. However, his rebounds have dipped a little bit since he’s been able to play more time at shooting guard or small forward without having to log as much time at power forward. Brown is averaging 7.0 rebounds per game on the season, but he has come in under this prop in five of his last six games.
