Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets: The best player prop bets for Game 5

As expected, the first round playoff series between the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets has been a back-and-forth affair, with the series currently tied at 2-2. Three of the first four games have been blowouts, leaving many pundits to wonder whether either team is consistent enough to win a championship.

Portland pulled off a 20-point win in another lopsided victory on Saturday, as the Blazers held Nikola Jokic to 16 points on just eight shots. Denver head coach Michael Malone ripped into his team afterwards, criticizing them for their "soft" play.

Let’s see if the Nuggets bounce back with more toughness in Game 5, as we look at three player props for this pivotal game.

Nikola Jokic Over/Under 31.5 points

Jokic only had six games in the regular season in which he scored under 16 points, and none of them were close to each other on the schedule. Back in February, in fact, he followed up a dismal 13-point effort with a 50-point explosion two days later.

Jokic rarely has consecutive bad games, and bettors can expect him to get a significant amount of usage on Tuesday given the importance of Game 5. Jokic had 36 points in Game 3, 38 points in Game 2, and 34 points in Game 1. Game 4 was an aberration, and he will once again exceed 30 points tonight.

Pick: Over 31.5 points (-107)

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Damian Lillard Over/Under 4.5 Rebounds

Damian Lillard is not known for being a big rebounding guard, averaging 4.2 boards per game in his career and throughout this season. But in Game 3 with his shooting stroke off, Lillard worked on the glass to accumulate eight rebounds.

In Game 4, look for Lillard to continue his effort to help out Jusuf Nurkic and Robert Covington against the large Nuggets front court. Lillard is a fantastic competitor, and will surely be motivated coming off such a poor shooting effort on Saturday. Rebounding is often an effort-based statistic, and in a fast-paced game Lillard ought to get plenty of chances.

Pick: Over 4.5 rebounds (-113)

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Normal Powell Over/Under 17.5 Points

Normal Powell was a big trade deadline pickup for the Trail Blazers. A highly effective scorer, he has been increasingly impactful in this series. He scored 10 points in Game 1, 15 points in Game 2, 18 points in Game 3, and a team-leading 29 points in Game 4. While I normally am prone to look for players to regress to the mean, Powell is clearly a much-improved player this season and is trending in only one direction.

Powell will almost certainly not replicate his perfect 4-4 shooting from deep in Game 5, but his 15 total shot attempts in Game 4 were second on the team behind only CJ McCollum. The Blazers have no concern in sticking with whichever player has the hot hand, and that player lately has been Powell.

Powell has developed into the team’s third-leading scorer, and with these high-scoring affairs I like him to easily surpass tonight's projected point total.

Pick: Over 17.5 points (-107)