Can Bettors Trust Kris Middleton, Jrue Holiday in Game 3 of the NBA Finals?
Giannis Antetokounmpo has to be disappointed.
One week after his leg bent backwards, he dropped 42 points in an NBA Finals game and Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday couldn’t even combine for 30 points.
Middleton and Holiday are struggling mightily and are a big reason why the Bucks are down 0-2 in the series. Middleton has had a long history of playoff struggles, and Holiday, while not known for being a high-level scorer, is shooting significantly below his career playoff average.
My goodness ... Bucks' series +/-
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) July 9, 2021
Giannis +4
Middleton -26
Tucker -19
Holiday -19
Lopez -18
Portis -15
Connaughton -12
Forbes -8
Teague -2
WynnBET is projecting both to have bounce back games in Milwaukee for Game 3. Middleton’s player prop for points is set at 25.5, with the under (-116) favoring the over (-104).
Holiday’s line is set at 19.5, with the over (-115) favored against (-105). The odds for both are close, yet I would stay far away from the over on Holiday’s line.
In games Antetokounmpo has played in during these playoffs, Holiday has only scored 20 or more four times out of 17 games. He hasn’t been able to be a scorer with Antetokounmpo out on the floor and now that the Greek Freak is back to being aggressive on offense, I don’t see that changing. Holiday is also shooting 31.4% in this series, which is also another reason I don’t trust him tonight.
Eric Bledsoe playoff shooting splits with the Bucks:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) July 9, 2021
— 41.1 FG%
— 25.4 3P%
— 73.2 FT%
Jrue Holiday playoff shooting splits with the Bucks:
— 41.1 FG%
— 28.9 3P%
— 67.3 FT% pic.twitter.com/1PRn67M4k2
As for Middleton, I believe he will have a bounce back game, but still not reach his point total posted tonight. His issue is his inconsistency as a scorer. Middleton can’t seem to put together solid stretches of basketball on a game-to-game basis. He shot 31.3% from the field last game and hasn’t shot that poorly in back-to-back games this entire postseason. Prior to Game 2, Middleton had scored 26 points or more than four of the last five games, but there was a 16-point, 6-for-17 shooting game sandwiched in between.
For that reason, I’m going to fade Middleton tonight as well.
How do you think Kris Middleton or Jrue Holiday will do tonight?
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