Today’s NBA Player Prop Picks: Dance With the Joker by the Pale Moonlight

There are three games on the NBA betting board tonight with a trio of playoff contests to dig into. It's always tough betting on NBA player props in the postseason with teams making adjustments game-to-game but we've settled on three bets we like. 

Tonight, we're backing Tyrese Maxey to have another big night for Philly, Nikola Jokic to bounce back against the Warriors, and counting on Rudy Gobert to stifle a short-handed Mavericks attack.

Here are our favorite free NBA player prop picks for Monday, April 18.

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NBA player props for April 18

• Maxey Over 18.5 pts (-110)
• Gobert Over 1.5 blks (-135)
• Jokic Over 28.5 pts (-102)

Picks made on 4/18/2022 at 1:40 p.m. ET.
The odds widgets below represent the best odds currently available for each betting market at regulated sportsbooks.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

Today’s best NBA player props

Maxeymum overdrive

Tyrese Maxey exploded for 38 points in the 76ers' Game 1 victory over the Raptors and while expecting a similar performance might be too much, there's still reason to like the Over on his points total, which is set at a very reasonable 18.5. 

Keep in mind that Maxey took 21 field goal attempts and eight from 3-point range in that game so even if he wasn't quite so hot from the field, he would have still passed the 20-point plateau. He also torched the Raps during the regular season, averaging 19.8 points per game on 52.7% shooting across four contests.

Maxey has now scored at least 22 points in four of his last five games and with James Harden thriving as a facilitator we like Maxey to go Over his points total again.  

Pick: Maxey Over 18.5 points (-110)

When the Jazzman's testifyin'

The Jazz shut down the Luka Doncic-less Mavs in Game 1 and Dallas will be without its franchise player tonight as well. In his absence, Spencer Dinwiddie helped carry the offensive load and dropped 22 points.  

That said, Dinwiddie didn't hit a single shot from beyond the arc and needed a whopping 16 free-throw attempts to reach that number. Much of his success came from attacking the rim, which was a bit surprising given the presence of one Rudy Gobert. 

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year averaged 2.7 blocks per game last year and while that number dropped to 2.1 this season, he still looks like a good bet to go Over his blocks total tonight. 

Gobert had three blocks in Game 1, giving him at least three in three of four games against the Mavs this season. And in the other, he still managed a pair. If Dallas continues to venture into the paint, expect Gobert to swat shots and take the Over 1.5 on his blocks.

Pick: Gobert Over 1.5 blocks (-135)

Joke's on Golden State

If the Nuggets want to avoid getting knocked out by the Warriors in the first round, they'll need Nikola Jokic to play like the MVP betting favorite that he currently is. Jokic scored 25 points in Game 1 but that was on just 12 of 25 shooting, including an 0-for-4 mark from beyond the arc. 

We like Jokic to bounce back today, and his 25 field goal attempts in 35 minutes certainly suggest the volume will be there. Keep in mind that Jokic averaged 29.8 ppg in 10 playoff games last year. 

He had a pair of dominant performances against the Dubs this year, dropping 32 points on them on March 7 and 35 points — plus 17 boards — against them on February 16 (albeit with Draymond Green sidelined). 

Jokic also attempted just two free-throw attempts in Game 1, a stark difference from the 6.3 he attempted per game during the regular season. Expect more trips to the charity stripe tonight and take the Over on his points total. 

Pick: Jokic Over 28.5 points (-102)

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