The Portland Trail Blazers will ship up to Boston for a date with the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. At 31-34, they now find themselves behind the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder for the final Western Conference play-in spot. Bettors looking for a strong NBA player prop for Wednesday’s Trail Blazers-Celtics game should tail the prediction below — DraftKings has left a bit too much value on the Marcus Smart player prop markets. Make sure to check out OddsShopper’s tools for other sharp plays.
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Best Trail Blazers-Celtics NBA Player Prop | Marcus Smart
Marcus Smart O/U 1.5 Steals
Last year’s Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart, hasn’t put together the best encore campaign. He is averaging 0.2 fewer steals and 0.4 fewer rebounds than he did last season, and the Celtics rank only fourth in defensive rating (111.2), quite a bit worse than their NBA-leading performance last season (106.2). Although injuries have often been a problem, especially for center Robert Williams III, they don’t explain the entire issue.
Still, tonight’s matchup with the Trail Blazers is a great opportunity for Smart to showcase his defensive prowess. Smart has stolen at least two balls in seven of his 10 games against Portland’s Damian Lillard while averaging 1.9 per game. The Trail Blazers have allowed the eighth-most steals per game to point guards (1.8) on the season and the sixth-most through the last seven games (2.4). Orlando’s Markelle Fultz swiped four balls on Sunday, and Atlanta’s Trae Young got two steals last Friday.
The Blazers have to play an increasingly desperate brand of basketball. Outside of Lillard, they lack the high-upside talent necessary to make a meaningful playoff run. Portland’s offense ranks a dismal 22nd in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7) over the last seven games. Although the Trail Blazers rank 23rd in pace on the year, they jump to 16th when looking at just the last seven. Their recent faster play has resulted in more mistakes, and Smart should capitalize on Wednesday night.
The books have set the total for Smart’s steals prop (1.5) correctly, but they have stacked the juice in the wrong direction. The over is still available at +120 on DraftKings Sportsbook, which is surprising, given Smart’s recent form — the point guard has averaged 1.9 steals per game since the All-Star Break and beat this number in four of those seven games. Readers yet to register at DraftKings can score $150 in bonus bets with a winning $5 moneyline wager!
Best Trail Blazers-Celtics Player Prop: Marcus Smart Over 1.5 Steals (+120 for 0.75 Unit) at DraftKings
