In their 111-108 road victory in Game 2, the eight-seeded Heat handed the top-seeded Nuggets their first home loss of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. Miami's perimeter offense shined through on Sunday night after a rough showing in Game 1, sinking 48.6 percent of its triples (17-of-35) and ending the contest with a 129.1 offensive rating.
Nikola Jokic's 41-point effort wasn't enough for Denver to take a 2-0 series lead, as the Nuggets lacked intensity on the defensive end, recording their third-worst defensive rating this postseason (129.1). Denver's 15-point blown lead marked their largest in any game of the 2022-23 season. With the series shifting to the Kaseya Center for Games 3 and 4, Michael Malone's crew is in dire need of a split to avoid heading back to Denver down 3-1.
For DFS players looking to make an entry via SuperDraft's Fantasy Props feature for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, we're here to guide you in the right direction. On SuperDraft, users can win 3X the amount wagered if their two-legged player prop parlay hits. Consequently, the more legs you add to your player prop parlay (maximum six legs), the larger your potential payout becomes, but as the long odds indicate, completing a clean sweep will be challenging.
Below, we'll break down four of our favorite player props on SuperDraft for Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Heat and Nuggets. Users don't necessarily have to parlay all four picks together, though. You could opt to make separate two-legged parlays to increase your win probability or attempt to hit it big if all four picks come through.
SuperDraft Player Prop Picks for Heat-Nuggets Game 3
Jimmy Butler, SG, Heat - OVER seven assists
Butler ended Game 2 leading all players with an assist percentage of 39.1 percent, totaling nine assists. At times in this series, it's looked as if he's playing hot potato with the ball on offense, wanting to find the open man to force Denver into defensive rotations. He's gone OVER 6.5 assists once in this series, but we're thinking that trend holds up in Game 3.
MORE NBA BETTING: MIA-DEN Game 3 Preview
Michael Porter Jr., SF, Nuggets - UNDER 14.5 points
Porter Jr. hasn't gotten much of anything to go from behind the arc in his past two games, shooting three-of-17 from deep. After logging 43 minutes in Game 1, he played the fewest minutes of any Nuggets starter in Game 2 (26), ending the game with five points on two-of-eight shooting with a plus-minus of -15.
With his points prop already baking in a bounce-back effort, we think MPJ ends Game 3 with fewer than 15 points even if he improves upon his three-point shooting. Coach Malone could also opt to give more run to Jeff Green, Bruce Brown, and Christian Braun, which would likely cut into Porter Jr.'s minutes on Wednesday night. Until he shows us his three-point stroke is back, we'll fade him.
Max Strus, SF, Heat - OVER 10.5 points
Unlike Porter Jr., Strus proved he's worth buying back into after his 14-point effort in Game 2. Strus had an uncharacteristic shooting night in Game 1, finishing with a goose egg in the scoring department, missing 10 shot attempts.
Strus logged 29 minutes in Game 2 and has averaged 10.5 shot attempts per game, giving SuperDraft users ample opportunity to end Game 3 in double-figures. Strus has gone OVER 10.5 points in eight of his past 14 playoff games and is a lethal enough floor spacer to end Wednesday night scoring 11-plus points.
Nikola Jokic, C, Nuggets - OVER 29.5 points
While Jokic failed to record a triple-double in Game 2, he did his part as a scorer, dropping 41 points on 16-of-28 shooting. With Miami mostly defending Jokic straight-up, he was able to get anything he wanted in the paint.
Just under 86 percent of Jokic's field goal attempts came via two-pointers, and 78.3 percent of his points came from two-point territory. While we're not sure he drops 40-plus in Game 3, if he attempts north of 25 shots from the field, there's a good chance he'll end his night with 30-plus points.
