Best NBA player prop bets to consider for Thursday’s NBA playoff games

The 2023 NBA Playoffs continue Thursday night with a pair of potential elimination games on the slate. The Philadelphia 76ers lead the Boston Celtics 3-2 with Game 6 set from Philadelphia, while the Phoenix Suns look to survive at home against the Denver Nuggets, who hold a 3-2 lead.

With big performances likely on the horizon, let’s take a look at some of the best player props available at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Nikola Jokic over 9.5 assists vs Suns (-110)

Jokic is averaging a triple-double (35.0 PPG, 13.8 RPG, and 10.0 APG) through this series and when on the road he’s bumped up his assist totals to another level. In Games 3 and 4 in Phoenix, the two-time MVP dished out an average of 14.0 APG as he looked to get his surrounding teammates involved.

It feels like a given that Jokic can hit double-digit dimes on any night and with the Suns on the brink of elimination, I think they’ll blitz and force the ball out of his hands when possible. That should make no difference for a player like Jokic, who is arguably the league’s best big man in dishing out assists. He’ll go over on this prop easily if that’s how Phoenix plays him in Game 6.

James Harden over 2.5 3-pointers vs Celtics (-115)

Harden is averaging 3.2 made threes per game in this series, and a telling sign of whether he’ll find his shot from deep is by looking at his performance the game prior. Harden was an efficient, albeit quiet, 4-8 from the field and 1-2 from three to finish with 17 points in Game 4.

In order to close things out, I think we’ll need to see “playoff Harden” once more, which should mean hitting at least a trio of shots from beyond the arc.

Joel Embiid over 29.5 points vs Celtics (-135)

In two games at home during this series, Embiid is averaging 32 points per game on 44% shooting from the floor and 85.2% from the charity stripe. In the series overall the reigning league MVP is scoring at a clip of 28 points per game, so hitting his allotted scoring total is by no means out of reach.

With the Sixers being just one win away from the Eastern Conference finals, I’m confident in a big scoring output from Embiid in front of the home crowd to close out the series.