Hawks-Bucks Game 3 Player Props, Picks: Bets for Young & Giannis (June 27)

by Sloan Piva (SloanPiva) Last Updated 2021-06-27 15:44:51

The Hawks and Bucks are all even at 1-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals, and we have a plethora of player props to consider betting at online sportsbooks ahead of Sunday’s Game 3 tip. Will the Hawks warm back up from the floor on their home court? Will the Bucks continue to ravage Atlanta in the passing game, and on the glass? Only time will tell. Here’s our educated guesses as to the best player props to make before Sunday’s pivotal Eastern Conference Finals matchup.

Bucks vs. Hawks Player Props & Picks

Trae Young OVER 2.5 Three-Pointers (-141)

Okay, this one is just absurd. We all know Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday has been blanketing Young, and making him look like a mere mortal after a two-round stretch of straight-up sorcery. But 2.5 treys for Ice Trae!? That’s cold, sportsbooks.

Young went just 1-of-8 from long distance in Game 2, probably the biggest reason Atlanta got drop-kicked. But before that game, he had made 19 threes in six games (3.16 per game). He has three or more three-pointers in eight games this postseason, and you know he’s going to be playing with a chip on his shoulder Sunday. Sign me up for Trigger Trae to treat us to a trio of triples.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Top Point Scorer (-167)

While I love Young’s chances of knocking in three or more three-balls, I don’t love him to outscore the two-time MVP. Trae still has Holiday guarding him, and Giannis gets his supper regardless of who defends him. The Greek Freak is too powerful, too swift, and too fleet-of-foot for a young Hawks squad to contain, even with fringe All-Defensive selection Clint Capela and freak athlete John Collins manning the middle.

Giannis had a pedestrian (for him) 25 points last time out, mainly because Milwaukee saw 14 total players score and eight players drop in seven or more points. But the Bucks, who have been god-awful against the spread on the road this season, rely on their superstar way more in away games.

In Milwaukee’s last two road games in Brooklyn, Giannis poured in 34 points and 40 points, respectively (Game 5 and Game 7). And before Game 2 of this series on Friday, he had eclipsed 30 points in seven of the Bucks’ past eight games. You may not see huge value here at -167, but I’ll shoot a fish at -200 if it’s just sitting there in the barrel. Translation: this is a lock, go get that money.

Capela to Score More than Lopez (-113)

This sounds kind of dull, but honestly it feels like a great pick and about as good a value as you can get Sunday night. Capela may or may not have gotten reamed by Nate McMillan after the Hawks got eviscerated on the boards 47-34 in Game 2. But regardless, the Hawks center will be holding himself to a higher standard on the glass at home. And when he’s aggressive down low, he can practically find 10 points in his lap throughout a contest.

Capela has averaged 11.4 points at home this postseason, and Lopez has averaged 10.5 points over his past seven games. Lopez really only reaches the teens if he turns it on from long range, and Atlanta will most likely be monitoring him out there after he nailed three treys Friday night. I’m very confident in Capela outdoing Lopez in this one, and I’d put $50 to $60 on it given the odds.

Khris Middleton, OVER 34.5 Total Points, Rebounds, Assists (-106)

Speaking of good value, I really like Middleton to trounce this total tonight. He’s been great lately, and he posted 15-7-8 in just 28 minutes of Milwaukee’s Game 2 thumping. The Bucks won by friggin’ 34 points—if it was a close game, Middleton would have played 12-15 more minutes like normal, and he would have eviscerated 34.5 total points, boards, and dimes.

The reason Milwaukee lost in Game 1 of this series, in large part, was because of Middleton’s struggles. He flat-out had a bad game, going 6-of-23 from the field and 0-of-9 from three-point land. I don’t expect that to happen again from the two-time All-Star. He posted 38-10-5 and 23-10-6 in the Bucks’ pivotal Game 6 and 7 wins against Brooklyn. For the mathematically-illiterate, that’s an average of 46 combined points, rebounds, and assists. I like Khash Money to put up another 40 P/R/A tonight, and win us some green.

Image Credit: Imagn