NBA betting: Steph Curry has been cash for prop bettors, but oddsmakers are adjusting
The NBA Finals resume on Monday night with the Golden State Warriors installed as 3.5-point home favorites against the Boston Celtics. The series is tied at two games a piece thanks in large part to the heroics of Stephen Curry in Game 4. The winners of Game 5 will put themselves in prime position to bring home an NBA championship and bettors are heavily siding with the Warriors in this one.
Maybe you aren't sold on a side in the game. Oddsmakers are projecting a tight contest, and Boston has been dangerous coming off a loss this entire postseason. If you can't pick a winner, you might be more interested in the prop market at BetMGM. One name has certainly been money in this series.
Curry has been pure money
Steph Curry scored 43 points in the Warriors' Game 4 victory to help even the NBA Finals and restore Golden State as the favorite to win the title. Curry is now a -145 favorite to win the Finals MVP and Magic Johnson thinks he should win the award even if Boston ends up winning the title.
Curry is averaging 34.3 points per game in these finals, which is more than the next two highest-scoring Warriors combined (Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins, 33.8 points per game combined). He became the first player in NBA history to have at least five 3-pointers in four straight Finals games, and he's shooting over 49% from beyond the arc in this series.
With all of that being said, it's no surprise that Curry has been easy money for bettors in the Finals. He's gone over his point total in all four games, and he's also gone over his 3-pointers made prop in all four games. He's also been the highest-scoring player on either team in all four games of this series. Curry is a -130 favorite to be Game 5's highest scoring player.
Oddsmakers are adjusting, bettors still love Curry
With Curry's white-hot start to these Finals, oddsmakers are not just going to sit there and watch bettors cash in on Curry's props with ease.
Prior to Game 1 of the series, Curry's points prop was set at 27.5 points and his 3-pointers made prop had an over/under of 3.5 threes. For Game 5, those same props now have numbers of 30.5 points and 5.5 3-pointers made.
While those adjustments are certainly significant, Curry would have still gone over these new numbers in three of four games so far. He has point totals of 34, 29, 31 and 43. He's made 7, 5, 6 and 7 threes over the first four games as well.
These adjustments aren't doing much to scare off bettors, as Curry to go over 30.5 points is the third-most popular prop bet at BetMGM ahead of Game 5.
Tatum hasn't been great for bettors
Jayson Tatum currently has the second-best odds to win the NBA Finals MVP at +185, but this series certainly hasn't been one of his best performances.
Jayson Tatum is shooting 27.5% on 2-pointers, the lowest in a Finals (min 25 attempts) since Clifford Robinson was at 25.8% in 1990
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) June 12, 2022
As a result, Tatum has gone under his point total in three of four games in this series. His only money-making performance of the series was in Game 2, when he scored 28 points and went half a point over his prop line of 27.5 points. Tatum's point total for Game 5 is once again set at 27.5 points.