Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Prop Pick: Will Luka Doncic Struggle on the Glass in Game 2?
Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Prop Pick: Will Luka Doncic Struggle on the Glass in Game 2?
The Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder will meet for game two of round two of the NBA playoffs tonight from the Paycom Center. The Thunder came out firing in game one and blew out the Mavericks in a 117–95 win. The Mavericks will now need to bounce back if they want to avoid a 0–2 hole. That starts with the superstar Luka Doncic tonight, as this bet will be on the Mavericks guard.
MAVERICKS VS. THUNDER GAME 2 DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: May 9, 2024
- Start Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: ESPN
Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction
Luka Doncic had a slow start to the series in Game 1, scoring 19 points on 6-19 shooting from the field and 1-8 from three. While it was a slow start, many speculate that he is still dealing with the knee injury that has kept him on the injury report the last few weeks, even though he has been playing. The Mavericks cannot afford to sit Luka in the playoffs at this point, so if he can suit up and still play, even if not 100%, he will be. He is technically a game-time decision again with the knee injury, but there is no chance he will sit out of this game. That said, the way to attack Luka in this game is by taking the under on his rebounds. Luka averaged 9.2 rebounds per game in the regular season, and averaged 8.8 in the six-game series against the Clippers. However, he only grabbed seven rebounds in Game 5 of the last series, seven once again in Game 6, and only six rebounds in Game 1 on Tuesday. His line tonight is set at 9.5 rebounds with some heavy juice on the under. His line was 9.5 in Game 1 and he flew under, and I expect he will again. Luka is clearly dealing with a knee injury and not playing as physical, and it has also affected his shot. Luka was one of the best three-point shooters this season, but he is just 2-18 from three over his last two games, and 5-35 from three over the last four games. His rebound chances have fallen all the way to 11.3 over the last three games, meaning he would have to convert nearly every rebound chance to hit 10 rebounds tonight, which is not common at all. Especially for guards, they usually only convert about 60% of their rebound chances. I think Luka has another strong case to go under 9.5 rebounds in Game 2, and I will gladly eat the juice here.
Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Prop Pick
Pick: Luka Doncic Under 9.5 Rebounds (-135) CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH SPORTSBOOK HAS THE BEST ODDS
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Ben Rajavuori is a handicapper out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been creating sports content for almost four years now and is an expert in all things NFL, MLB, NBA, UFC, and NCAAB. Ben thrives on diving deep into statistics to find the best angle on every bet. You can follow him on Twitter @WeBeatTheSpread.