Handicapping the NBA: Tuesday Picks

Handicapping the NBA: Tuesday Picks

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

Nick Whalen

Devin Booker OVER 44.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-113) -- DraftKings (1:29 PM CT)

It's not fair to expect another 40-point triple-double from Booker, but with Chris Paul sidelined he should again operate as the Suns' primary scorer and playmaker. Before Paul arrived in Phoenix, Booker was a 6-plus-assists-per-game player in each of the last two seasons, so this isn't a role with which he's unfamiliar. Chances are, his points, rebounds and assists totals all drop relative to Game 1, but going for something like 33 points, eight assists and seven rebounds seems like a very realistic outcome for a player who will likely see 40-plus minutes again.

Terance Mann OVER 1.5 made three-pointers (-106) -- DraftKings

Overall, I'm expecting the Clippers to regress from beyond the arc after draining 20 threes in Game 1. Mann was responsible for three of those, but he only took four shots in his 27 minutes of action -- both much lower totals than most expected after Mann's explosive Game 6 against Utah. That may have been a once-in-a-lifetime performance for the Florida State product, but I expect him to come out more aggressively in what essentially amounts to a must-win game with Chris Paul likely to be back for Game 3. 

Devin Booker to have a double-double (+200) -- DraftKings

I'm not in love with this bet, but this is a good price for a player who has double-doubles in four of his last six games. He's rebounded at a much higher rate than normal since the end of the Lakers series, and that's the category that will likely carry this one across the finish line. Two nights ago, Booker proved that he can hand out 10-plus assists with Chris Paul out, but that was just his second double-digit-assists game of the season, so I wouldn't count on a repeat.  

Ken Crites

Over on Cameron Payne getting 6.5 assists (+112) -- FanDuel (1:51 PM CT) 

The easy explanation is that Payne had nine (9) assists in Game 1 with Chris Paul sidelined.  Paul is out again for Game 2. On the season, Payne's Per 36 assist average was 7.2 dimes. Payne will play between 29-34 minutes tonight. With an O/U of 222.5 and the Suns favored by -4.5, the numbers seem to lean towards a nice scoring night for the Suns. Payne should get a few cheap ones off of quick Booker jumpers.

Joe Bartel

Nicolas Batum under 18.5 points+rebounds+assists (-113) -- DraftKings (11:27 AM CT)

I know Batum got 10 rebounds in Game 1, but it just seems unlikely the 6-foot-8 combo forward is going to suddenly leap above his playoff rebounds average (5.8 per game across 13 contests). Maybe he offsets those numbers with a bit better accuracy from deep (1-of-4 after averaging 41 percent throughout the playoffs), but regardless I think we're setting the PRA floor a bit too high given the 32-year-old's obvious limitations.

Jacob Lebowitz

Terance Mann OVER 1.5 Three-pointers made (-106) at PHO -- DraftKings (11:54 AM CT)

With Kawhi Leonard battling a knee injury, Mann has taken over as one of the Clippers' best scorers. In the three games Leonard has missed, Mann's averaging 20.3 points while making 3.7 three-pointers off of 6.0 attempts. This Game 2 is a crucial one for the series and the Clippers will need to keep up offensively if they want to escape Pheonix with a win. Expect the Clippers' offense to lean more heavily on points from Paul George and Mann in what should be another high-scoring game. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Joe Bartel
Joe Bartel is RotoWire's Operations Specialist and football contributor among many other things. When not at the office, he's probably playing a variety of Gen 4 console games or rooting on his beloved Green Bay Packers.
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Ken
An early RotoWire contributor from the 90's, K-Train returns with the grace of Gheorghe Muresan and the wisdom of Joe Gibbs. Ken is a two-time FSWA award winner and a co-host on the RW NBA Podcast. Championships incude: 2016 RW Staff NBA Keeper, 2019 RW Staff NFL Ottoneu Keeper, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Experts, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Kamla Keeper and 2023-24 FSGA NBA Expert Champions. Ken still owns a RotoNews shirt.
Jacob Lebowitz
Jacob is a former RotoWire contributor. He's always doing something sports-related whether that's playing NBA 2K, watching a football game or playing a game of pickup basketball.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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