NBA Player Prop Picks & Odds (4/14/23): Bulls vs Heat & Thunder vs Timberwolves

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NBA Player Prop Picks (4/14/23)

The final two spots in the NBA Playoffs will be determined on Friday night when the Chicago Bulls take on the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder battle with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Check out our best bets and player prop picks for the April 14, 2023, slate below.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander o43.5 PRA (-115)

Due to an astonishing 31/10/9 line from Josh Giddey in a win against the defensive-centric New Orleans Pelicans, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t quite get to 35 points or six assists as we predicted. Despite a relatively quiet night, SGA still posted 32 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

This matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves is terrific, though. For one, SGA is five inches taller than Mike Conley, who will likely be defending him; he has a much longer wingspan, too. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the toughest matchups for opposing guards due to his height and length, and Conley is amongst the shortest players in the NBA.

Further, Minnesota has been quite awful all season at defending opposing point guards, allowing the fourth-most points and third-most rebounds. While that is not all Mike Conley’s fault, considering he has only been there for a little while, his individual defensive rating of 117.8 is pretty brutal. This combination makes for a favorable matchup for SGA.

DeMar DeRozan o27.5 Points + Rebounds (-105)

Zach LaVine stole most of the thunder from DeRozan in their last game against the Toronto Raptors; however, DeRozan still racked up 23 points and seven rebounds.

There’s a lot to like about this line. For one, DeRozan really put an emphasis on crashing the glass against Toronto, a very strong offensive rebounding (third in OReb%) team. In games of this importance, DeRozan likely will hit the boards harder than usual.

As a team, Miami is not nearly as much of a threat as Toronto in this area, but Bam Adebayo is still a fringe top-20 offensive rebounder and will force Nikola Vucevic to focus on boxing him out.

This will clear the way for DeRozan to swoop in and clean the defensive glass up. Expect seven or eight rebounds from him against a Miami team that throws up a ton of bricks.

Additionally, DeRozan has crushed the Heat this season, averaging 28.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on an extremely efficient 64.7% shooting from the field. Miami allows the fourth-most points to opposing small forwards this season. He should continue to have their number in this one.

Rudy Gobert Double-Double (-158)

After being suspended by the Minnesota Timberwolves for one game, Rudy Gobert will return to the lineup for the second play-in game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

OKC has been a surprisingly competitive team this season behind terrific guard and wing play from guys like Lu Dort, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Josh Giddey; however, the center position has been somewhat of a void.

The Thunder allow the fourth-most rebounds to opposing centers, paving the way for Gobert to dominate the glass. Historically, Gobert has recorded double-doubles often against Oklahoma City; he has gotten at least ten points and ten rebounds in nine straight games when playing at least ten minutes.

Further, Gobert has logged a double-double in seven of his past eight games overall, not including the last game, in which he got sent home after only 13 minutes played because he punched Kyle Anderson. Even with the chaos surrounding Gobert and the Timberwolves, there is still plenty of value here.