Best NBA prop bets today for Pelicans vs. Thunder for Game 1 of Western Conference Playoffs
By Peter Dewey
The No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder open up their playoff action on Sunday night against the No. 8-seeded New Orleans Pelicans.
OKC is favored by 8.5 points in this game, but the prop market is where I’m looking for the best bets to place in this one, especially for All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
If you’re looking to bet on any game in the NBA playoffs, FanDuel Sportsbook has an amazing promotional offer. New users who sign up with the link below and wager $5 will receive $150 in bonus bets!
Sign up for FanDuel now!
Let’s dive into the picks to make for this playoff showdown:
Best NBA prop bets today for Pelicans vs. Thunder
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander OVER 5.5 assists
- Trey Murphy III OVER 15.5 points
- CJ McCollum OVER 4.5 assists
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander OVER 5.5 assists
Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t been great against the New Orleans Pelicans this season, failing to clear 25 points in two of his three games and shooting below 50.0 percent in each of them – which is well below his season average.
He’s gonna have a tough matchup with Herb Jones, but I think SGA can make an impact as a passer on Sunday.
In his three meetings with the Pelicans, he’s posted five, eight and eight assists, and on the season he’s averaging 6.2 assists per game.
If the Pelicans try to take SGA out of the game as a scorer, expect him to find his teammates, especially since New Orleans has a little less help down low with Zion Williamson out.
Trey Murphy III OVER 15.5 points
In New Orleans’ last play-in tournament game, Trey Murphy III played 43 minutes, a sign that he’ll have a major role once again on Sunday.
Murphy has scored 16 or more points in six of his last 10 games, and he finished the regular season averaging 14.8 points per game. With Williamson out, there are more shots to go around, and Murphy can get hot from 3 at any moment.
Since I’m expecting him to have a major role, I’ll take a shot on his points OVER on Sunday.
CJ McCollum OVER 4.5 assists
CJ McCollum finished the regular season averaging 4.6 assists per game, clearing this prop in six of his last 10 games.
While CJ didn’t do much against the Kings on Friday, he did have six dimes in the team’s play-in tournament loss to the Lakers.
With Williamson and/or Ingram out this season, McCollum’s role as a playmaker has increased. He’s averaging 4.5 dimes per game without Zion (eight games) in the 2023-24 campaign.
He should facilitate the offense for New Orleans tonight.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.