NBA player props & odds for Monday: Haliburton, Fox, White best bets in In-Season Tournament
The quarterfinal round of the NBA In-Season Tournament tips off tonight, Monday, Dec. 4. Celtics vs. Pacers kicks things off at 7:30 p.m. ET, and Pelicans vs. Kings concludes the night on TNT beginning at 10 p.m. ET.
With all eyes on the race for the inaugural trophy, we’re looking at the best NBA player props for the only two matchups on tonight's schedule.
Tonight's best NBA prop bets: Celtics vs. Pacers, Pelicans vs. Kings
Our favorite player props of the day are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
- Derrick White OVER 14.5 points
- Tyrese Haliburton UNDER 27.5 points
- De’Aaron Fox UNDER 2.5 made threes
- Jonas Valanciunas OVER 9.5 rebounds
Celtics vs. Pacers betting odds
Here are live Celtics vs. Pacers betting odds from top US sports betting apps.
Derrick White OVER points
Derrick White has scored 15 or more points in three of his last four games. He's up against a Pacers team with the worst defensive rating in the league tonight.
Indiana's defensive talent will surely focus on Tatum and Brown, creating many open looks for White. White scored 18 points in the first meeting on 7-for-10 from the field and 4-for-7 from deep.
White has morphed into one of the best three-point shooters in the league, connecting on 40% of his looks on five-plus attempts per game. A big part of the Pacers’ abysmal defense is their lackluster ability to defend the three.
They are also last in that category, allowing opponents to shoot 40% from beyond the arc. Look for White to cover this line, thanks to his deep looks.
Tyrese Haliburton UNDER points
As of this Monday morning post, the Pacers’ star point guard is listed as a game-time decision tonight due to an upper respiratory infection.
Pacers beat writer Scott Agness does expect him to play tonight. The sportsbooks also have odds for him tonight, which signals the oddsmakers also expect him in the lineup.
If he does play, he isn’t likely to erupt offensively against the Celtics’ defense.
Haliburton only topped tonight's listed total once in three attempts last year, thanks to an extremely hot night from deep. He went 6-for-10 from behind the arc, and as good as he is, that is not the norm.
If he is to get OVER tonight's point total, he’ll have to do so against Jrue Holiday, one of the best defenders at the point guard spot in the NBA. Haliburton has never scored 25 or more points against Holiday.
In three games against him, Haliburton has averaged only 17.7 points per game. With Holiday and White chasing him around all night, we don’t like Haliburton's chances to top his scoring total.
Information: NBA Rookie of the Year odds | NBA MVP odds
Pelicans vs. Kings betting odds
Here are the live Pelicans vs. Kings betting odds from top sports betting sites.
De’Aaron Fox UNDER made threes
The Pelicans own the third-best three-point defensive percentage in the NBA, only allowing teams to shoot 33.4% from beyond the arc this season.
De’Aaron Fox has already experienced their defensive tenacity in two matchups this year, in which he shot well under his season average from deep. In two games against the Pelicans, Fox has gone 4-for-19 from deep – both games resulted in losses.
Fox hasn’t hit three or more three-pointers against New Orleans in his last six contests, dating back to the 2021-22 season. His shooting ability must be top of mind for the Pelicans.
Based on how things have already gone this season, we expect the trend of Fox connecting on less than three attempts from deep to continue tonight in what is sure to be another competitive matchup.
Jonas Valanciunas OVER rebounds
The Pelicans’ big man has hauled in 25 rebounds in two games vs. the Kings this season. Valanciunas finished with 13 rebounds in just 21 minutes of play in one game.
He only averages 26.7 minutes of play per contest, but that number usually climbs against teams with centers who can put the ball in the basket and teams that attack the rim aggressively.
Kings’ big man Domantas Sabonis has one of the highest scoring averages among big men, and Valanciunas is certainly a part of the Pelicans’ plan to slow him down. Sabonis averages 18.6 points per game on 35 minutes on the court, and you can expect Valanciunas to defend him for the bulk of those minutes.
The only threat to him covering this line is time on the court, which means he must avoid foul trouble.
Nikola Jokic leads the league in rebounds with averages of 12.6 per contest on 33.9 minutes. Valanciunas averages nine rebounds in 26.7 minutes.
If Valanciunas averaged minutes similar to Jokic's, he would lead the league in rebounds based on production. Thanks to the demand for his services in this battle, we like him to cover tonight.
