It’s not the regular season. It’s not the playoffs. It’s something in between: a postseason purgatory of sorts.
The NBA Play-In Tournament tips off Tuesday, helping define the final two seeds in the NBA Playoffs – like 82 games isn’t enough…
But hey, basketball bettors get a handful of extra matchups to bet on, including two play-in games tonight which bring with them plenty in the way of NBA player props.
We scour the individual odds options for tonight’s contests – Cleveland at Brooklyn and Los Angeles at Minnesota – and give you our favorite free NBA player prop picks for April 12.
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NBA player props for April 12
Picks made on 4/12/2022 at 10:30 a.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.
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Today’s best NBA player props
Mild Curry
The Brooklyn Nets received good news ahead of their matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the play-in tournament, expecting to have sharpshooter Seth Curry back in action tonight.
Curry has missed time with an ankle injury, last playing against the Cavs on April 8, and sat out the regular-season finale with Indiana in order to secure his services for the play-in and beyond. However, how much Curry plays tonight could be up in the air.
“If I have 10-15 minutes on the court, I gotta be efficient with I’m doing out there and get the shots that I need and then get off of it,” Curry told the media, hinting that perhaps his floor time will be limited versus Cleveland as the ankle is still not 100%.
Curry was averaging about 30 minutes per game over the past month, scoring 13.5 points per outing. He was hot from outside in March, shooting better than 47% from beyond the arc and knocking down three triples per contest. That said, he eclipsed three or more 3-point makes in just six of his last 13 games.
His 3-point total is sitting at 2.5 makes versus Cleveland tonight, which seems ambitious considering his health and possible limitations. Brooklyn has been getting solid production from the rest of its support staff – outside of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving – so the need for Curry to come up big isn’t there.
Pick: Seth Curry Under 2.5 made threes (-132)
Beverley Hills Cop
The Minnesota Timberwolves scooped up defensive pest and former L.A. Clipper Patrick Beverley for games just like tonight’s play-in with Los Angeles.
The Wolves’ defensive identity is as stable as Disney+ protagonist Moon Knight (NERD ALERT!), but Beverley is that much-needed go-to defender and will draw the assignment of former teammate Paul George, who has the Clippers offense humming since return down the home stretch.
Books have Beverley’s point total sitting at 10.5 for tonight, which is too long considering a few factors: 1. Beverley will be a "work on defense/rest on offense" option, chasing around PG all night. 2. The Clippers closed out April with five straight wins and a league-best defensive rating of 103.2. 3. Beverley hasn’t scored more than 10 points since March 16, putting in nine straight outings with 10 or less in the points column.
In four meetings with L.A. this season, Beverley posted point totals of 10, 5, 5, and 11. Getting past this player prop total tonight seems like a stretch when you weigh in all those factors. Books are already dropping this points prop to 9.5, so grab the Under 10.5 now.
Pick: Patrick Beverley Under 10.5 points (-130)
Oh Boy, George
As mentioned, the Wolves aren’t known for their defensive prowess, but their pace-pushing brand of basketball can sucker opponents into playing too fast at times.
That causes chaos and therefore causes mistakes, with Minnesota leading the NBA in forced turnovers this season (16.3 per game). The Timberwolves also play aggressively in the passing lanes, sitting third in the NBA in deflections and third in steals with 8.8 an outing.
Paul George is the most mistake-prone member of the Clippers, coughing the ball up more than four times per game. Since returning to action, PG has totaled 17 turnovers in his five games including coughing up the ball four or more times in three of those contests.
Minnesota throws Patrick Beverley at George tonight and has some ball hawks like Anthony Edwards and Jarred Vanderbilt on the court, who love to cheat the gaps and pick up swipes. In his limited 31 games this season, George has posted four or more turnovers in 17 of those showings and will touch the ball on almost every L.A. possession in the play-in.
Pick: Paul George Over 3.5 Turnovers (-115)
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