After an exciting Tuesday card, the NBA Play-In Tournament remains in action on Wednesday. The upstart Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the New Orleans Pelicans for a potential shot at the Denver Nuggets. A few Thunder-Pelicans player props stand out for Wednesday’s play-in game —FanDuel has left too much value on the C.J. McCollum and Josh Giddey player prop markets. Check out OddsShopper’s tools for other sharp plays, including our Parlay Builder!
Thunder-Pelicans Play-In Game NBA Player Prop | C.J. McCollum
C.J. McCollum O/U 5.5 Assists
The New Orleans Pelicans will face an Oklahoma City Thunder team that has played at an aggressively fast pace. The Thunder rank third in pace on the season (101.9) and seventh since the All-Star Break (101.4). That’s led opposing teams to rack up the 11th-most assists per game (25.9). Point guards have done plenty of that damage, as the Thunder have allowed the 11th-most assists per game to the position (8.7).
C.J. McCollum has racked up tons of assists against the Thunder this season. He dished out 11 against them in December and eight in March. Although both of those games came without Brandon Ingram, bettors should expect Ingram to step up as a scorer more than a passer. He accounted for 34 points but only one assist in his start against the Thunder that McCollum missed.
McCollum averaged 5.7 assists and 10.6 potential assists per game in the regular season. Those rates ticked down slightly to 5.3 and 10.3 since the All-Star Break, but they should tick back up with the Pelicans likely to play him for extra minutes. Readers eager to tail this prop should head to FanDuel Sportsbook for the best price — those yet to register at FanDuel can even get $150 in bonus bets after placing a $5 wager!
Best Thunder-Pelicans Player Prop: C.J. McCollum Over 5.5 Assists -113 for 0.75 Unit at FanDuel
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Thunder-Pelicans Play-In Game NBA Player Prop | Josh Giddey
Josh Giddey O/U 18.5 Points
One of Oklahoma City’s most versatile players, Josh Giddey should struggle to put points on the board against the New Orleans Pelicans. Giddey has lined up against the Pelicans four times this year and has scored 15.8 points per game, largely because of a 7-point showing back in November, and has had the benefit of facing New Orleans without either McCollum or Ingram each time. Since both players will suit up on Wednesday, the Pelicans won’t have the disadvantage of a shrunken rotation.
New Orleans has excelled defensively since the All-Star Break. The Pelicans rank an impressive third in defensive rating since the pause (111.2), which has corresponded with them allowing few points to forwards. The Pelicans have allowed the second-fewest points per game to small forwards (18.4) and the ninth fewest to power forwards (20.7) through the last 15 games. While Giddey can play almost any position, 92% of his regular-season minutes came at those two spots.
The Thunder have also clamped down on the shots that Giddey takes the most. Giddey ranks second on the Thunder in both shots taken from the non-restricted paint this year (6.5) and from midrange (0.9). Shots from those areas account for 41.4% of his shots per game. However, the Pelicans have allowed the seventh-fewest shots per game from the non-restricted paint (7.3) and the third fewest from midrange (3.3) since the pause. Let’s tease this number down by a point to get into the plus money.
Best Thunder-Pelicans Player Prop: Josh Giddey Under 17.5 Points +102 for 0.75 Unit at FanDuel
