After stealing Game 1 on the road, the Los Angeles Lakers dropped Game 2. They still return home with a slight advantage over the Golden State Warriors, especially given the team’s struggles on the road. Let’s target Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole on the NBA player prop market for Game 3. Need more Warriors-Lakers player props? Check out OddsShopper’s tools for other sharp plays, including our Parlay Builder!
Warriors-Lakers Game 3 NBA Player Prop | Klay Thompson
Klay Thompson O/U 23.5 Points
It’s time to fade the road Warriors. Klay Thompson just put together a monster showing in Game 2 with 30 points. He is averaging 27.5 points per game against the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs this year after averaging only 19.3 points per game against them in the regular season. Thompson averaged 19.2 points per game on the road this year, 5.2 fewer than what he averaged in the regular season, and is averaging 20.8 on the road in the playoffs.
The Lakers have concentrated their defense on limiting Stephen Curry, but after the Game 2 blowout, they’re likely to pivot in Game 3, especially if the Warriors roll out their small-ball lineup again. Austin Reaves and Dennis Schröder, two positive defenders, should spend more time lined up with Thompson in Game 2. Reaves held Thompson to only seven points in 7:30 of coverage in Game 1 before Thompson went a ridiculous 4-for-5 from beyond the arc in shots contested by Reaves in Game 2.
A primary justification for taking this prop now is where the sharp books have set the number. Pinnacle has the same total (23.5) but with the under priced at -141 (58.5%), but we can go under the same number at -106 (51.5%) via FanDuel Sportsbook. Readers yet to sign up for FanDuel can get $150 in bonus bets after placing a $5 wager!
Best Warriors-Lakers Player Prop: Klay Thompson Under 23.5 Points -106 for 1.5 Unit FanDuel
Warriors-Lakers Game 3 NBA Player Prop | Jordan Poole
Jordan Poole O/U 1.5 Turnovers
One of the undercovered stories of the playoffs has been Jordan Poole limiting his turnovers. Poole basically played himself off the floor at points in the Sacramento series with a net box plus-minus of -9 but managed to turn the ball over only once per game, down significantly from his regular-season average of 3.1. He has turned the ball over just once in the ongoing series against the Los Angeles Lakers as well.
We’re backing Poole to go over this number because of his regular-season struggles. Poole turned the ball over at least twice in each of his regular-season starts against the Lakers while averaging 2.8 turnovers per game. He recorded at least a pair of turnovers in 70 of his 82 regular-season appearances (85.3%). The dramatic falloff in his turnovers during the postseason doesn’t align with what happened last season — he averaged 2.5 in the regular season and 2.4 in the playoffs that year.
Because Poole has managed to limit his turnovers through nine postseason games, we’re getting the over at a major discount at odds of -125 (55.6%) via DraftKings Sportsbook. Poole has turned the ball over at least twice in 10 of his 13 regular-season games against the Lakers, or 76.9%, and should see plenty of extra minutes if the Warriors continue to use a smaller lineup. Let’s target him with our second prop for Saturday night’s Game 3.
Best Warriors-Lakers Player Prop: Jordan Poole Over 1.5 Turnovers -125 for 1 Unit at DraftKings
