For the Golden State Warriors, basically everything that could’ve gone wrong this season has. Jimmy Butler III sustained a season-ending torn ACL and Stephen Curry missed more than two months with a knee injury of his own. To top it all off, Moses Moody tore his patellar tendon.
But despite finishing the regular season just 37-45, the Warriors still have a chance to make the playoffs after upsetting the LA Clippers in the first round of the SoFi Play-In Tournament on Wednesday night. They’ll now face the Phoenix Suns in a 10:10 p.m. ET clash tonight, with the winner going on to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
If it wants to beat the Suns, Golden State will need another big game from Kristaps Porziņġis, whom it acquired at the trade deadline for Jonathan Kuminga. Porziņġis had 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists on Wednesday.
The Warriors are 2.5-point underdogs for tonight’s clash at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set to 219.5. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bet centered around the Latvian.
Best Kristaps Porziņġis Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
Kristaps Porziņġis O8.5 Rebounds + Assists (-110)
Porziņġis isn’t known for his playmaking as much as fellow Baltic player Domantas Sabonis is, but he flashed some more playmaking chops this season, posting a career-high 16.1% assist percentage. Plus, though his athleticism and physicality has waned somewhat because of frequent injuries, he remains a major factor on the glass because of his seven-foot-two frame and strong positioning. Porziņġis has had at least nine rebounds + assists in each of his last four games, including Wednesday’s game, and he should play at least 28 minutes like he did that night. He had at least nine R/A in four of the six games in which he reached the 28-minute mark during the regular season.
Phoenix has been a pleasant surprise this season, especially defensively, but it limped into the playoffs after suffering a series of injuries towards the end of the campaign. The Suns went just 13-14 after the All-Star break, with Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, and Mark Williams all missing some time, and in that span, they allowed the 14th-most rebounds and just the 11th-fewest assists. Plus, they’re still working on re-integrating Brooks and Williams into the team and getting them back to full health; since Williams returned at the start of April, they’ve allowed the 12th-most rebounds and 14th-most assists. Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan had 11 rebounds and four assists in just 29 minutes in the teams’ Play-In game on Tuesday.
