The Boston Celtics couldn't close out the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday in a pivotal Game 4 and the two teams return to Boston tied at two games a piece in the second round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Boston has had issues this postseason closing out games, and the team went away from Jaylen Brown down the stretch, can he bounce back in Game 5 and play more of a role? What about Jayson Tatum's role as a facilitator, can he set the table for Brown, who had been cooking through three quarters on Sunday.
Here are my favorite prop bets for Game 5, keying in on the two Celtics' starts.
Best NBA prop bets for Sixers vs. Celtics Game 5
- Jaylen Brown OVER 24.5 Points (-106)
- Jaylen Brown UNDER 5.5 Rebounds (-114)
- Jayson Tatum OVER 4.5 Assists (-130)
Jaylen Brown OVER 24.5 Points
Brown finished Game 4 with only 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, a highly efficient outing from the star, but he was nowhere to be found late in the game. He only took three shots in the fourth quarter and didn't take one in the extra session.
The Celtics guard has been on fire all series long, shooting 57% from the field and 40% from three. He clearly needs the ball more, and he even said it after the loss on Sunday.
Maybe it's reading into it too much, but I'll buy the Brown bounce back in Game 5.
Jaylen Brown UNDER 5.5 Rebounds
While I think Brown is going to be looking to score more, I'll play under on his rebounds prop.
The Celtics rebounding chances have been centered around Tatum the most, he is averaging a gaudy 18 rebound chances per game this season as Boston may be looking to get the ball in his hands to set up the offense faster.
Brown has averaged nine rebound chances per game this series, the fourth highest on the team, and averaging less than five per game. While I think this will be a big game for the wing, this number is inflated a bit so I'll play against it based on the numbers of this series.
Jayson Tatum OVER 4.5 Assists
Tatum has been the primary ball handler this series, and given that I see a big outing on the way for Brown, I believe we see the Celtics have Tatum operate as a passer. He is averaging nine potentials per game this series and I think we see a refocused Boston team after the disheartening loss.
We saw a similar situation play out in Game 2 when the Celtics won 121-87 after the Game 1 loss.
Tatum has gone over this mark in three of four games this series. I think it's reasonably priced to go over again.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.