It’s Day 2 of the NBA Play-In Tournament where the No. 9 and 10 seeds face off in a single-elimination matchup. The Atlanta Hawks host the Charlotte Hornets in the East while the New Orleans Pelicans welcome the San Antonio Spurs in the West.
These winner-take-all games provide plenty of great betting angles in the player prop markets and we home in on a couple of made threes props for some under-the-radar sharpshooters. And this is why the Pels brought in CJ McCollum, right?
Check out our best NBA player prop picks for Wednesday, April 13.
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NBA player props for April 13
Picks made on 4/13/2022 at 1:00 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.
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Today’s best NBA player props
Make 'em Huert
With a total of 235, there should be plenty of points in tonight’s elimination game between the Charlotte Hornets and the Atlanta Hawks, so it’s no surprise our first prop is all about getting buckets, as we’re backing Hawks shooting guard Kevin Huerter to go Over his made threes prop.
Huerter had a pretty solid season shooting the ball from deep. He finished the year shooting 38.9% from 3-point range but ended the campaign in scorching-hot form. Over his final nine games, Huerter was hitting 48.4 % of his 3-point shots on 7.1 attempts per game. He hit three or more threes six times over that nine-game stretch.
Now, he gets a great matchup against a Hornets team that has struggled to defend the perimeter all season long. The Hornets allowed the third most 3-point attempts per game while ranking 23rd in opponent 3-point shooting percentage.
Obviously, Trae Young will be priority No. 1 for the Hornets defense and that should result in Huerter getting some open looks.
Additionally, Huerter killed the Hornets with the deep ball this season going a ridiculous 17-31 (54.8%) in four games against them, hitting at least four threes in three of those games. And you’re giving us plus money to boot? Yes, please.
Pick: Kevin Huerter Over 2.5 made threes (+110)
Long-range Vassell
The second elimination game on Wednesday night sees the New Orleans Pelicans host the San Antonio Spurs. And while most people will hone in on guys like CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray in this matchup, one of my favorite bets highlights a secondary Spurs scorer – Devin Vassell.
Vassell took over a starting job when the Spurs moved Derrick White at the trade deadline, and the second-year man out of Florida State has made the most of his opportunity to this point.
Vassell is averaging 14.1 points while shooting 38.7% from 3-point range while adding 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists over 24 games since becoming a regular starter in the middle of February. But the Spurs wing had an even hotter hand from beyond the arc down the stretch.
Over his final 10 games of the regular season, Vassell shot an impressive 43.9% from 3-point range on 6.6 attempts per game. He hit three or more threes eight times over that span.
Now, the Pelicans have been a sneaky good defensive team in the second half of the season, particularly on the interior. But their attention on the perimeter will be focused on Mr. do-it-all Dejounte Murray. And for good reason.
However, that should open up some shooting lanes for Vassell here and the Pels were still mediocre to a below-average team at defending the 3-ball. Since the All-Star break, they ranked 21st in opponent 3-point attempts per game and 16th in opponent 3-point shooting percentage.
When you consider the fact this 10-game run by Vassell included him going 3-7 from three against the Pels back on March 18 then getting +160 on this prop seems absurd.
Pick: Devin Vassell Over 2.5 made threes (+160)
CJ shows up for San Antonio
OK, well I lied a bit. I’m tempted by a CJ McCollum bet too. Even if it feels a little square by taking the Over on his point total.
McCollum has been everything the Pelicans could have hoped for since coming over in a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers. He is averaging 24.3 points per game, shooting 49.3% from the floor while adding 5.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.
So, why is McCollum’s point total for this play-in game at 25.5 or 26.5? Well, it’s because of the matchup with the Spurs.
San Antonio has struggled to defend opposing guards all season and it has been even worse since the All-Star break. The Spurs give up the second-most points per game to opposing guards at a whopping 82.2 per contest while giving up the most field goal attempts to opposing guards.
And McCollum has been a handful for them. He has already played three games against the Spurs as a member of the Pels, going for 36, 20, and 32 points respectively. In that 20-point performance, he sat out much of the fourth in what was a blowout win.
McCollum is also among the league leaders in usage rate since coming over from the Pelicans and you know he’ll want to shoulder more of the load in a winner-take-all elimination game. While it may be square, I like McCollum to have a big game tonight.
Pick: CJ McCollum Over 25.5 points (-118)
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