The Knicks are taking on the Celtics in Boston for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Here are the best player props to consider for Jalen Brunson on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Best Jalen Brunson Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
The Knicks are 9-point underdogs against the Celtics, with an o/u of 213 on DraftKings Sportsbook. Here are the latest lines for Brunson on DraftKings Sportsbook: o/u 27.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.5 three-pointers.
The Knicks and Celtics are ready to start their Eastern Conference Semifinals series in Boston on Monday night. The Knicks had to work hard to take down the Pistons in the first round, with Jalen Brunson hitting an incredible game-winner to take the series in six games. Meanwhile, despite dropping one game, the Celtics handled the Magic pretty comfortably in their first-round matchup. These two teams faced each other four times in the regular season, with the Celtics winning all four of those matchups. Their final regular-season matchup was an overtime thriller, but the other three were blowout wins by Boston. The eye test and those regular-season results would indicate that the Celtics should get through this series with relative ease. However, Jalen Brunson will do everything in his power to make that a more difficult task for Boston.
Other than one poor performance in Game 5, Jalen Brunson was incredible in the first round against Detroit. Outside of Game 5, he averaged 34.6 points per game in the other five games of the series. Since coming to the Knicks, Brunson is averaging an incredible 30.5 points and 6.9 assists per game in the postseason. He elevates his play to another level in the playoffs and could give the Celtics some issues despite their great defensive guards.
One key to this series is whether or not Brunson can get to the free-throw line. He is one of the best players in the NBA at drawing fouls and getting to the line. However, the Celtics are one of the most disciplined and deep defensive units in the league. They can throw multiple different guys at Brunson so that one specific defender is never tired and starting to play sloppily.
In three of the Knicks’ four games against the Celtics this season, Brunson shot three or fewer free throws in that game. However, in one matchup, he went 13/13 from the free-throw line and scored 36 points in that game. The Knicks need a performance like that out of Brunson in Game 1 if they want to steal a win in Boston. Some referees would be afraid to give Brunson too many calls on the road in Boston.
However, this game is being officiated by Marc Davis, who will not be afraid to give those calls to New York on the road. Out of the 21 NBA referees who officiated 30 or more games this season, he had the largest percentage of fouls called against home teams. So far this postseason, he has been almost 50/50 in fouls called for the home and away teams, compared to a referee like Tony Brothers, who is calling two more fouls per game on the away team than on the home team.
Jalen Brunson should be able to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line in this game. He will have a lot of positive momentum heading into this game after his big shot to win the Detroit series. He also got some much-needed extra rest for the ankle that was bothering him in the first round. Brunson should have another huge playoff performance and get over his points prop in this game. It is currently set at 27.5 points, a number that he has gone over in 13 of his past 17 playoff games. Despite the tough matchup, my favorite prop bet for this game is for Brunson to get over 27.5 points.
