Our Magic vs. Celtics NBA player props are targeting Paolo Banchero, Payton Pritchard, and Jayson Tatum.
Jayson Tatum can be expected to get his teammates more involved and bookmakers haven't fully adjusted to his assists prowess, giving us a fantastic number in Game 1 vs. the Magic.Two of the top defensive teams in the NBA will face off today when the Boston Celtics host the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of their playoff series.
That defensive prowess makes this an interesting spot for NBA player props, and I’ve chosen three that bettors can target in this afternoon’s game. Read on to see my free , leading the team with 25.9 points per game on the year. But we’ve seen Banchero struggle to score against theBoston ranks fourth in the NBA in defensive rating , allowing opponents to score just 107.2 PPG. With Banchero struggling with injuries this year, he only managed to face the Celtics twice, scoring 21 and 15 points in those outings, respectively. It’s not just Banchero who has struggled to score when these two teams have met, either. Boston and Orlando hit the Under in three of their four meetings, and only once did either team manage to score as many as 115 points. The Magic were held Under 100 points in three of those games, and only got to 108 in the fourth. If anything, Boston’s defensive intensity should ratchet up in the playoffs, which should mean even harder sledding for the Orlando offense. It’s hard to imagine Banchero breaking out against the Celtics today.enjoyed a breakout season, averaging 14.3 PPG on 40.7% shooting from 3-point range. That’s likely to earn the former Oregon standout the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. As those numbers suggest, his scoring has come primarily from deep, as he averaged 3.2 threes made per game this season. But Pritchard didn’t find that level of success against the Magic, hitting only two shots from deep in three meetings against Orlando. Like the Celtics, the Magic have also been outstanding on defense this year, allowing just 105.5 PPG. They’ve also made a point of running opponents off the line, allowing the fewest 3-pointers attempted and made of any team in the NBA this season. It’s also worth noting that Boston and Orlando are, statistically, the two slowest-paced teams in the NBA, which should depress all offensive stats. While Pritchard’s 3-point props might prove popular among the public, I’m bucking that trend and taking the Under.to continue filling the stat sheet. Tatum averaged 6.0 assists per game this year, and has gone Over 5.5 assists in eight of his last 10 games overall heading into the postseason. We don’t have much of a sample size for Tatum against this Orlando team, as he only played in one of their four matchups during the regular season. But we’ve already seen how well Tatum distributes the ball in his previous playoff appearances, including Boston’s title run last year. In the last three regular seasons before 2024-25, Tatum averaged between 4.4 and 4.9 assists per game. But in those three postseason runs, Tatum saw his assists average move up to 6.2, 5.3, and 6.3 per game, respectively. Like many all-around stars, Boston’s top player makes a point of getting teammates more involved in the playoffs as defenses bear down on him. Tatum is easily averaging a career high in assists, as he’s never gone over 4.9 per game until this year. I expect that trend to continue in the postseason, and until oddsmakers start to credit him for his passing , taking the Over on Tatum’s assists totals is a sharp play.: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links. Ed Scimia has been writing about the gaming industry for over 15 years. He graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in Magazine Journalism and Political Science in 2003, and has covered major gambling events like the World Series of Poker in his career. Since joining Covers in 2022, Ed has offered his sports betting analysis primarily on MLB, NFL, college football, and college basketball games, but is willing to take on any sport. His betting strategy focuses more on finding line value based on deviations from the market rather than traditional handicapping, primarily shopping between DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics in his home state of Connecticut, though he’s not afraid to do deep game analysis to find profitable bets at any book. Outside of gambling, Ed is an avid curler who competes in mixed doubles on the World Curling Tour and runs a popular curling YouTube channel, Chess on Ice. That experience has come in handy during the Olympics, when he has proven to be a successful curling bettor as well. Ed's advice to new bettors is to always open multiple sportsbook accounts and check the odds at each before placing any bet. Successful sports betting is about consistently beating the closing line value, which requires finding spots where one book is offering odds far better than the rest of the market and jumping on those opportunities.Copyright © 1995 - 2025 CS Media Limited All Rights Reserved. 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