NBA Player Props and Best Bets: Cade Cunningham, Victor Wembanyama & More Picks for Friday, May 15

A pair of elimination games are on the schedule for Friday in the NBA Playoffs, and I have my top NBA player props today ready to go.

After a brief pause in the action yesterday, players will return to the court to either keep their season alive or be sent home until next October.

The action will begin with the Cleveland Cavaliers going home to face the Detroit Pistons after they won their first road game of the playoffs to take an all-important 3-2 series advantage. Later in the day, the San Antonio Spurs will visit the Minnesota Timberwolves with a chance to close out their series and move on to the Western Conference Finals.

These matchups continue to have a major impact on the current NBA Western Conference odds.

Here are my top NBA player prop picks and bets for the playoffs on Friday, May 15.

Best NBA Prop Bets for Friday, May 15

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Cade Cunningham Over 26.5 Points (-122) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Jalen Duren’s total disappearing act in the playoffs has largely left Cunningham as a one-man band on offense. He dropped 39 points on 48/60/88 shooting splits in his last game, and even though he only went over in two of five games in this series, he should play close to 48 minutes and should take a ton of shots tonight.

A loss means that the Pistons’ season is over. Detroit shot the ball worse from the field than any team remaining in the playoffs, and being this deep in the season, games are decided by which stars outperform the other stars.  I trust Cunningham to get his numbers, even if his team loses.

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James Harden Under 19.5 Points (-122) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Harden led the Cavaliers in scoring in Game 5, getting 30 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists in a crucial victory. However, he took an outlier 14 free-throws and only shot 38.1 percent from the field, adding to his season averages of 39 percent shooting from the field and 32 percent from the three-point line in this series.

There are plenty of examples of Harden disappearing in the playoffs, and this is the most obvious situation for him to build on that negative precedent. He’s also been horribly inefficient in this series and is dealing with the Pistons’ tough defense, who could keep him under this line after he split the over/under in 12 playoff games up to this point.

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Terrence Shannon Jr. Over 6.5 Points (-108) at FanDuel Sportsbook

There seems to be some forgetful people out there — looking at the oddsmakers here — who are conveniently overlooking what got Shannon Jr. to prominence. He scored 16 points in Game 1, went over in three of five games in this series, and never got a fair chance to hit the over in Game 5 because of foul trouble and his team’s blowout loss.

Shannon Jr. can be instant offense off the bench, and he will take shots when given the opportunity. The Timberwolves have looked bogged down with the ball and will be in need of players who can put the ball in the hoop, which is exactly what Shannon Jr. can bring to them.

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Jaden McDaniels Under 5.5 Rebounds (-130) at FanDuel Sportsbook

McDaniels went over in three straight games, despite only averaging 4.2 rebounds per game for the year. He should be on the floor for lots of minutes tonight, but he will also be applying the majority of his focus and energy to playing on-ball defense, not rebounding.

Although role players tend to shoot the ball worse on the road, which would mean more potential defensive rebounding opportunities for the Timberwolves, McDaniels has never proven himself to be a consistent high-rebounding player. Assuming Julius Randle wakes up, that would also add more competition on the glass.

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Victor Wembanyama Under 27.5 Points (-132) at FanDuel Sportsbook

The Timberwolves are the most resilient team in basketball, and they will be totally comfortable being down 3-2 in front of their home fans. On the flip side, this is a huge step for Wemby and the young Spurs, as they looked to close out a more experienced team on the road for a shot to play the defending champs.

Wemby went under in all but one game in this series, and the Spurs don’t seem that interested in playing him more than 40 minutes like most other star players. He also hasn’t beaten this number in consecutive games throughout the entire playoffs.

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