The Grizzlies face off against the Thunder in Game 3 of their first round Western Conference Playoff series on Thursday night, and we'll be targeting an assists prop and a team total in tonight's matchup.
Continue below for my NBA prop bets for Grizzlies vs Thunder on Thursday, April 24.
NBA Player Props for Thursday, April 24
- Desmond Bane Under 4.5 Assists (-110)
- Memphis Grizzlies Under 108.5 Team Total (-110)
Desmond Bane Under 4.5 Assists (-110)
Grizzlies vs Thunder, 9:30 p.m. ET
The inclusion of Scotty Pippen Jr. to the starting lineup has trimmed the passing opportunities for Bane in this series. It makes sense, as the double point guard lineup has pushed Bane into a more natural shooting guard role. He's averaged 2 assists, 6 potential assists, and 40.5 passes made in the two games.
During the regular season, he was at 5.3 assists, 9.2 potential assists, and 49 passes made per game. Pippen has been slightly ahead of Bane and Ja Morant in passes made so far this series.
We didn't see Morant and Pippen play together a ton in the regular season, but Bane did share the court with them for 98 minutes. He saw a 7.3% drop in assist rate during that time. Bane averaged 4.0 assists per 36 minutes when playing with Morant and Pippen.
OKC allowed the 4th-fewest assists per game in the regular season at 24.4. They've limited Memphis to just 17.5 assists per game this series.
As Erik mentions in his team total writeup below, the Grizzlies have struggled mightily to generate offense against the Thunder.
Pick: Desmond Bane Under 4.5 Assists (-110)
Memphis Grizzlies Under 108.5 Team Total (-110)
Grizzlies vs Thunder, 9:30 p.m. ET
The market is unwilling to adjust here, and I see no reason not to stay on the train. We hit on this under in both Game 1 & 2. The Grizzlies were absolutely lifeless in game one and still couldn't crack 100 in game 2 despite a flurry of scoring in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
These teams played 4 times in the regular season, and the Grizzlies were only able to go over this number once, scoring 112 points in Memphis on February 8.
The Thunder had the best defense in the NBA in the regular season by quite a wide margin, and they are at full strength with plenty of rest for their core players heading into these playoffs.
They have waves of perimeter defenders to throw at Ja Morant and Desmond Bane, and we know that the pace of games typically slows down in the playoffs, with fewer transition opportunities, which is where the Grizzlies really thrive on offense.
Pick: Memphis Grizzlies Under 108.5 Team Total (-110)
Thursday's NBA Player Prop Picks
- Desmond Bane Under 4.5 Assists (-110)
- Memphis Grizzlies Under 108.5 Team Total (-110)
