We’ve made it. NBA fans and bettors waited 7 days from the Conference Finals to the NBA Finals. Now that it’s here, we’ll have player props and much more for every game of this highly anticipated series between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics. For now, let’s dive into our top NBA player prop bets for Game 1 on Thursday, June 6th.
Jrue Holiday, BOS, Over 4.5 assists (-125)
Jrue Holiday will be the X-Factor in this series for the Boston Celtics. Not only defensively, where he’ll most likely be shadowing Kyrie Irving, but also his playmaking. The Mavericks may have difficulty defending the Celtics stretch bigs in Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford – even with two athletic rim protectors in Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford. Holiday has a great opportunity to create for others, as he did in the two matchups against the Mavericks earlier this season. He recorded 6 and 7 assists, with the 7-assist game coming with a fully healthy Celtics starting 5.
Expect Holiday to log 38-42 minutes in Game 1, barring foul trouble. He will be needed on defense, while backup guard Payton Pritchard will get exposed on that end and could see his minutes shrink – especially with Game 2 not till Sunday.