With a mix of feisty defense and fearless shot-making, the Detroit Pistons passed their Broadway audition in style — and now it’s up to the New York Knicks to hit back tonight in a must-see Game 3.
The alarm bells are still faint at this point for Tom Thibodeau’s men, but a loss here would crank up the volume, and I’m digging into the Knicks vs. Pistons props market for the latest instalment of this bruising series.
Check out my top three NBA picks ahead of the April 24 action at Little Caesars Arena.
Best Knicks vs Pistons props
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Brunson Over 29.5 points (-120 at bet365) -
Duren double-double (-110 at bet365) - Hardaway Jr. Under 9.5 points (-110 at bet365)
Knicks vs Pistons player props for April 24
Jalen Brunson Over 29.5 points (-120 at bet365)
It didn’t take long for Thibs to call out the officiating after New York’s Game 2 loss, airing his opinion Jalen Brunson wasn’t getting the same whistle as Cade Cunningham. However, Brunson still iso’d his way to 37 points that night, and it certainly can’t hurt his points prop for Game 3 if the refs are feeling a little heat.
Though Brunson is only shooting 44% from the field so far in this series, he’s attempted 21 free throws. Sure, the Knicks would like to see him at the charity stripe even more, but he’s already getting almost 25% of his points at the line.
That creates a nice floor for this Over pick, and Brunson could be looking at a workload north of the 40-minute mark again here after playing 44 minutes on Monday.
New York desperately needs to get Karl-Anthony Towns going offensively — on the heels of an anonymous, scoreless second half in Game 2 — but I expect Brunson to be the tone-setter as the Knicks try to wrestle back homecourt advantage. He’s gone past this 29.5 number in five of his last six matchups against the Pistons.
Jalen Duren double-double (-110 at bet365)
Detroit’s Game 2 victory owed plenty to a connected defensive effort, and Jalen Duren caught the eye after a quiet outing in the series opener. I see that carrying over into tonight’s battle.
With the Pistons largely trusting Tobias Harris to handle the Towns assignment, Duren can roam free, and, in theory, he faces a lower risk of foul trouble. He finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds on Monday, and I’m predicting something similar tonight for the Detroit big man.
This is a nice value for a double-double, and, setting aside a brief cameo against the Milwaukee Bucks on the final day of the season, Duren has logged seven of those in his past nine contests. He finished inside the Top 10 in rebounds this year (10.3 per game), and he’s a consistent lob threat out of pick and rolls with Cade.
Duren also notched a double-double against the Knicks earlier this month, making all nine of his shots. As he continues to get more comfortable in the playoff pressure cooker, his stats could skyrocket.
Tim Hardaway Jr. Under 9.5 points (-110 at bet365)
J.B. Bickerstaff has the luxury of turning to two experienced bench cogs when things get bumpy, and we saw plenty of Malik Beasley and Dennis Schroder in Monday night’s victory. In turn, that cuts into the minutes for Tim Hardaway Jr., and I’m fading his points prop here on the back of a 0-for-8 shooting effort in Game 2.
If he isn’t making 3-pointers, there are certainly better defenders for Detroit to lean on, and he only played 21 minutes last time out. While Hardaway Jr. was steady in Game 1, the Pistons had to like what Schroder offered in Game 2 as a playmaker and a gritty defender on Brunson.
The challenge with Hardaway Jr. is he tends to blow hot and cold. In his last seven games, he’s scored six points or fewer three times and 19 points twice.
New York is doing a lot right on the perimeter and held Detroit to a miserable 6-for-27 shooting night from beyond the arc on Monday. I expect the visitors’ long, relentless wing defenders to keep Hardaway Jr. in check again here.
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