On Tuesday, Minnesota was able to stave off elimination with a Game 4 victory in Dallas.
Anthony Edwards and Luka Doncic were central figures in that one, and I expect that to remain the case again tonight.
Let's dive into tonight's NBA player props.
Anthony Edwards Over 6.5 Assists (-146)
Mavs vs. Wolves | 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT
In Game 4, I backed Edwards' PRA line, and he cashed by finishing with 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
For Game 5, that line has increased a bit.
Tonight, I'm just focusing on the assists, which actually has a higher hit rate. With his Game 4 performance, Edwards has had seven assists in each of the first four games of this series and five straight overall. He's had eight assists in four of those five games.
On Tuesday, Edwards enjoyed his highest scoring game of the series. That coincided with the absence of Mavs center Dereck Lively II, who's questionable for tonight's game.
If Lively is back in the lineup, Edwards may not enjoy as much success finishing in the paint, leading him to kick the ball out to shooters. That'll contribute to more potential assist opportunities, and he's averaging 14 potential assists over his past five games.
To hit this line, Edwards would need to convert half of those assist opportunities, which is a reasonable expectation.
Additionally, Edwards finished with nine assists on Tuesday after not recording an assist in the first half. That inspires confidence that he can still hit this line if he starts slow again.
However, if he had an assist or two in the first half, he likely would've had a triple-double — since he finished an assist short.
Tonight, you can back Edwards for a double-double at +145 and triple-double at +1200 on DraftKings.
Pick: Anthony Edwards Over 6.5 Assists (-146)
Luka Doncic Over 9.5 Rebounds (+110)
Mavs vs. Wolves | 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT
One player who had a triple-double on Tuesday was Doncic, his sixth of the postseason and second of this series.
Those are also the two games in this series that Doncic has grabbed 10 rebounds.
Doncic smashed this line with 15 rebounds in Game 4, matching his high this postseason.
Doncic stepped up on the glass with the Mavericks missing Lively's presence. However, I wouldn't worry about Doncic's rebounding if Lively is back. Doncic has had 10 rebounds in seven of his last 10 games, nine of which Lively played in.
In that span, Doncic is averaging 14.8 rebound chances. He had 17 chances in Game 4 and nearly converted all of them, but 10-of-15 would clear this line tonight.
