Luka Doncic’s Neck Injury Makes Him Hard to Trust in Game 5
By Peter Dewey
Mavericks fans are holding their breath and hoping that Luka Doncic will be back to his old self in Game 5 on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Mavs had a commanding 2-0 series lead, but they dropped both Game 3 and Game 4 at home and Doncic struggled mightily in Game 4 with just 19 points on 9-of-24 shooting (1-for-7 from 3).
WynnBET has the Mavs as major underdogs to win the series now at +330 odds, and the Clippers (-420) could really make things tough on them with a win in Game 5. BetSided’s Iain MacMillan took a look at three bold player prop bets tonight for the Mavs-Clippers matchup, but I want to focus solely on Luka’s points and 3-pointers projections.
WynnBET has Doncic at 28.5 points tonight with the over (-115) slightly favored to the under (-105). On the surface, Doncic’s numbers in Games 1 through 3 would suggest that he should easily surpass this total, but that depends on how much you trust his health tonight.
The Clippers have gone to a small lineup, starting Nic Batum over Ivica Zubac, in order to switch easier to guard Doncic in screen-and-roll scenarios. It worked wonders in Game 4, and it has me thinking that the under may be the way to go on this prop.
In addition, Doncic has struggled with easier opportunities, as he’s shooting a ghastly 40.6 percent from the free-throw line in the series. If the shots aren’t falling for Doncic, I wouldn’t expect him to be able to steal some easy points at the line in this one.
As for the 3-point prop, WynnBET has Doncic’s projected total at 2.5 with the under (+120) as a major underdog to the over (-160). While I am not bullish on Luka’s point total, I do think that he could hit three treys in this one considering that he’s attempted 44 3-pointers over the first four games of the series.
Before his Game 4 flop, Doncic had hit five, five and seven 3s in the series’ first three games. The points may not be there, but if Doncic has the same volume of shots I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds the bottom of the net on three 3-balls on his way to a low 20s scoring performance.