Best NBA prop bets for Lakers vs. Nuggets Game 1 (Can anyone stop Nikola Jokic?)

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1970-01-01 08:00

The stars are going to be out in the Western Conference Finals, which means we can back them in the prop market for a little extra action on each game.LeBron James, Anthony Daivs, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic matched up in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, putting together some massive games ...

The stars are going to be out in the Western Conference Finals, which means we can back them in the prop market for a little extra action on each game.

LeBron James, Anthony Daivs, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic matched up in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, putting together some massive games in the bubble.

Can they do that again?

I have three prop picks for Game 1, including one for Jokic:

Lakers vs. Nuggets best NBA prop bets

Nikola Jokic OVER 51.5 Points, Rebounds and Assists
Austin Reaves OVER 14.5 Points
Bruce Brown OVER 0.5 3-Pointers Made

Nikola Jokic OVER 51.5 Points, Rebounds and Assists

Yes, Davis is about as good of a matchup as you'll find for Jokic, but I'm not going to fade the two-time MVP with the way he's rolling right now.

In the series against the Phoenix Suns, Jokic's PRA numbers were out of this world:

Game 1: 48 PRA
Game 2: 60 PRA
Game 3: 64 PRA
Game 4: 68 PRA
Game 5: 54 PRA
Game 6: 54 PRA

So, after Game 1, Jokic pretty much smashed this total in every game against Phoenix. While Davis is a much better defender than anyone the Suns have, when he's off the floor, the Lakers have nobody to guard Jokic.

Darvin Ham is going to need to mirror AD's minutes with Jokic, and even if he limits his scoring, it may just make the Joker a more dangerous passer. Until he starts to cool down, Jokic is a must bet at this number.

Austin Reaves OVER 14.5 Points

Austin Reaves started slow in the second round, but he's scored 21, 15 and 23 points in his last three games.

The Nuggets may decide to put Murray (arguably their worst perimeter defender) on Reaves to start games, which could allow the rising star to cook offensively.

Reaves is averaging 15.4 points on 11.9 shots per game in the playoffs. If the usage stays similar, I expect the Lakers guard to be a threat to score 15+ points in this game.

Bruce Brown OVER 0.5 3-Pointers Made

Bruce Brown has made a shot from deep in three of his last four games, attempting 11 shots from deep over that stretch.

While it's worth noting that in the game he failed to hit a 3 he didn't take one, Brown has still been an effective shooter from beyond the arc.

During the regular season, Brown shot 35.8 percent from 3, and the Nuggets should look to use him and the rest of their role guys to space the floor to allow Jokic space to work in the paint. This is worth a shot for Brown in Game 1.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.