Germantas Kneita
Many had considered this series to be over after the Oklahoma City Thunder picked up 2 crushing wins at home out of the gates. The Minnesota Timberwolves however, had other ideas. After picking up a 42-point win at home, they will be looking to even the series before heading back on the road for Game 5. You can see if they will be successful live on ESPN tonight.
You can find our NBA Playoff previews here. But for now check out my favorite player props for the nights action below.
Jalen Williams (OKC) over 10.5 assists & rebounds (-115)
Jalen Williams has been stuffing the stat sheet for the Thunder of late. He has managed a combined 11 assists or rebounds in 5 of his last 6 games. The only game in which he failed to do it was in his last outing, which was a blowout loss in which he saw less than 30 minutes of playing time. That should not be an issue tonight. The Thunder have been using Isaiah Hartenstein more sparingly, with the center managing over 20 minutes just once in the first 3 games of the series. That has left Chet Holmgren playing as the lone big, but he has struggled to make an impact on the glass, averaging 5.3 rebounds over the first 3 games. It will be up to Williams to step in and help on the rebounding front.
Assists should not be hard for him to come by also. Out of 14 postseason games, he has recorded at least 5 assists on 11 occasions. Williams is the perfect glue guy, playing basketball the right way, swinging the ball to the open man whenever there is the opportunity. The Thunder are 5th this postseason in field goal percentage so his teammates are well positioned to covert the looks he creates. The visitors also lead all post season teams in fast break points per game. Williams will have the opportunity here to pull down boards, lead the break and pick up assists along the way.
Anthony Edwards (MIN) to record a double-double – Yes (+175)
Points wise, this should be a given. It is hard to see how the Thunder could hold Anthony Edwards to under 10 points over the course of 48 minutes. So then the double-double will come down to either assists or rebounds. He has excelled in the latter category this series. In each of the opening 3 games, he has managed 9 rebounds. He is more than capable of going one better here. The Timberwolves know a win tonight levels the series, so expect Edwards to get himself involved in all aspects of the game. This postseason the Thunder have ranked 11th of 16 teams in rebounding percentage. That should allow Edwards to have success on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Edwards has also had a double-digit assist game during these playoffs and has managed 6 in each of the last 2 games against the Thunder. With Mike Conley being ineffective so far during this series, making just 22.7% of his field goal attempts, it would not be surprising to see his role diminish and for Edwards to assume more playmaking responsibilities. With that in mind, a double-double for the Timberwolves star looks a good value bet here.
