The NBA Playoffs keep on rolling with two games on the odds board tonight.
We’ve got the Indiana Pacers clashing with the Cleveland Cavaliers again in the East and the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves tipping off their Round 2 series in the West.
I look into the player performances for these contests and give my best NBA player props for Tuesday, May 6.
Best NBA player props today
Nembhard u12.5 points (-115) 
Allen double-double (-125) 
Butler u22.5 points (-115)
NBA player props for May 6
Andrew Nembhard Under 12.5 Points (-115 at bet365)
The Indiana Pacers came out swinging in Game 1, with Andrew Nembhard shooting a sizzling 7-for-10 from the field and finishing with 23 points — tying a season-high in scoring.
Indiana’s tempo caught the Cleveland Cavaliers on their heels after an extended break between rounds. I expect a much tighter effort from the Cavs in Game 2, especially if Darius Garland returns and gives Cleveland some much-needed quickness on both ends.
Nembhard isn’t known for his scoring chops, averaging just 10 points on the season, and is leaned on more heavily for his defensive abilities. He did a great job on Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell in Game 1, which is where the bulk of his energy will be focused going forward.
A big part of Nembhard’s night was the five 3-pointers. He’s been much more active from outside in the playoffs, averaging more than two triples in the postseason compared to 0.8 in the regular season.
Nembhard’s scoring surge has pumped up his point totals in the playoffs. His scoring props were at 9.5 O/U to start the Round 1 set with Milwaukee and have climbed to a high of 12.5 O/U for Game 2.
Player projections aren’t as optimistic as the oddsmakers tonight, with all of Nembhard’s forecasts coming in below that total and most hovering around his season-scoring average of 10 points. My number comes out to 10.6 points, which should have his Under 12.5 points priced around -200.
Jarrett Allen Double Double “Yes” (-125 at bet365)
Cleveland dominated the paint in Game 1, scoring 70 points inside the key.
A stat like that almost ensures victory… except when you counter that efficiency with a 9-for-38 effort from beyond the arc. The Cavs must attack the interior in Game 2 and feed its frontcourt beasts.
Jarrett Allen is one of those beasts. He scored 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting and recorded five rebounds in the opener but logged just 30 minutes, as coach Kenny Atkinson went with a smaller lineup to counter Indiana’s speed.
However, heading into Game 2, Atkinson admitted his willingness to trade out defensive gaps for Allen’s inside scoring and working on the glass.
“I think when we play those two bigs together with our offensive rebounding, our pick-and-roll offense with J.A., they’re going to have to guard him,” Atkinson told the media. “So it might seem like a disadvantage for us on one end. It could be an advantage for us on the other.”
Allen was very efficient with his limited touches in Game 1 and his rebounding chance will take a jump with the Pacers not expected to shoot at a 53% clip like they did in Game 1. Allen averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds against Miami in Round 1 and recorded 40 double-doubles during the regular season (10th most).
Player models for Game 2 call for at least 10 points and 10 rebounds from the Cavs’ 7-footer while my numbers boil down to 13.8 and 10.5.
Jimmy Butler Under 22.5 Points (-115 at bet365)
It’s a prop pick only Douglas Farmer could love.
My Covers colleague is not only a ride-or-die Minnesota Timberwolves fan but also loves fading Jimmy Butler in enemy territory with his NBA picks. And the Target Center crowd will not roll out a warm welcome for their former star, who infamously forced his way out of Minnesota back in 2018.
Butler averages almost 23 points at home during the playoffs for his career, but that scoring rate dips below 20 points per game when those postseason outings are played on the road.
He finished with 20 points on 7 of 13 shooting in the Golden State Warriors’ Game 7 win at Houston on Sunday and his points prop for Game 1 in Minnesota is at 22.5 O/U.
On top of this home/away split, Butler is batting a top-tier defense in the T-Wolves, who ranked No. 6 in defensive rating in the regular season and just choked out the LeBron-Luka L.A. Lakers.
Player projections for Butler barely get past 20 points, with a ceiling of 20.4 and my number settling in at 19.3 points. The Under 22.5 points should be lugging vig in the -230 range. The market has already moved away from Butler’s point prop, which opened Under 22.5 -108 and is now as big as -130.
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NBA odds today
Here are the full NBA odds for all of today’s matchups.
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