NBA picks: Best player prop bets for Pelicans vs. Lakers in Thursday’s semifinal

The New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers will participate in the Western Conference semifinal of the league’s inaugural In-Season Tournament Thursday, with tipoff from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas set for 9 p.m. ET. Here’s a look at our favorite player props for the contest, with odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

LeBron James over 43.5 points + assists + rebounds (-120)

Give James any kind of stakes and he usually delivers a strong performance. The King went for 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds in the quarterfinal game against the Suns, setting himself up for another magnificent showing tonight. James is averaging 38.9 PRA this year, but that’s largely due to his workload being managed in some games. That’s not going to be the case here. After playing 40 minutes in the quarterfinal, James should be in line for big minutes once again Thursday. His triple-double prop at +850 is intriguing too, but this line is a bit safer to take the over on.

D’Angelo Russell under 1.5 3-pointers (+140)

There’s a lot of risk here, largely because the line is set lower than I expected. Russell is shooting 40.5% from deep this season, which is in line with his most recent seasons. The Pelicans are one of the best teams at defending the perimeter, limiting opponents to 33.4% from behind the arc. It’s a matchup of strength vs. strength and even with the line being low enough where some late heaves can change the outcome, I like the under here at plus money.

CJ McCollum over 5.5 assists (-120)

The Pelicans guard has hit five assists in every game this season, so it’s essentially a lock for him to get to that mark. The question is whether he can find that extra dime somewhere over the course of his 30 or so minutes. He sat the second night of a back-to-back but is averaging 34 minutes per game in the three contests since his return. Look for McCollum to once again top this line Thursday.