NBA PrizePicks Predictions for October 23rd: Allen, Smart, Poeltl Make Top Plays
In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into some of the top picks for the upcoming NBA slate on PrizePicks. Most predictions are heavily based on projections, but you can find an extra edge if you happen to know ball too.
PrizePicks – one of the most popular pick’em DFS sites – provides player projections for NBA matchups each day. The ball is then in our court to decide whether a player will ultimately exceed or fall short of those projections in the games. With a huge roster of players available from which to choose, we just need to make a minimum of two picks to build an entry. And if you haven’t signed up yet, you can grab a special offer with our PrizePicks promo code “GRINDERS” to get $50 on a $5 entry!
We’ll break down the board by looking at factors like usage rates, projected pace, lines in the sports betting market, and of course, our RotoGrinders projections to forecast how players might fare in categories like points, rebounds, and assists. For even more alternatives when making your PrizePicks picks, be sure to check out our fantasy pick’em tool.
We got off to a solid start last night going 2-for-3. Jrue Holiday getting more than 22.5 PRA burned us, but the Celtics could simply do no wrong last night. We’re on to a whopper of a 10-game slate tonight, however, and there’s all sorts of value to be found over at PrizePicks. Let’s dive in and build a winning card for Wednesday’s slate.
PrizePicks Top NBA Plays for October 23
- Grayson Allen More/Less Than 11.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists
- Marcus Smart More/Less Than 24 Fantasy Points
- Jakob Poeltl More/Less Than 13.5 Points + Assists
Editor’s Note: Looking for more places to play? Check out our Underdog promo code and Sleeper promo code, two of the best DFS apps available today.
Suns vs. Clippers PrizePicks Predictions
Grayson Allen MORE/LESS Than 11.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists
The 2023-24 season was a major disappointment for the Suns, but there’s optimism heading into the new campaign after they replaced Frank Vogel with Mike Budenholzer on the bench. Bud wore out his welcome in Milwaukee, but he’s been a success at both of his previous stops as a head coach. The Suns’ roster is still a bit top-heavy, but there’s enough talent here for this to be one of the better teams in the Western Conference.
Because Phoenix finally added a legit point guard in Tyus Jones, we’re likely to see Allen move to the bench after serving as a starter for most of last season. Regardless, the Suns’ relative lack of depth means Allen is still likely to play a fairly significant role. We have him projected to log a healthy 28 minutes off the bench in tonight’s clash with the Clippers in LA, which is closer to his career minutes average than the 33.5 he averaged a season ago. This is a Clippers team that lost Paul George, while Kawhi Leonard is sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury (surprise!). All of that is to say this likely won’t be a particularly good team the Suns will see tonight, especially in terms of defending the perimeter.
Allen isn’t a guy who’s likely to stuff the stat sheet, but he will pick up a few ancillary stats while contributing as a shooter. Our new ShotQuality advanced projections have Allen projected to score nearly 13 real-life points, which is obviously enough to put him well past a combined total of 11.5 points, rebounds, and assists.
- PLAY: Allen MORE Than 11.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists
Grizzlies vs. Jazz PrizePicks Predictions
Marcus Smart MORE/LESS Than 24 Fantasy Points
The Grizzlies were an injury-riddled nightmare last season, and we know they’re already without Jaren Jackson ahead of tonight’s contest against the Jazz in Utah. Memphis is otherwise sporting a clean bill of health though, which means the starting backcourt of Smart and Ja Morant is back. Smart only played 20 games in his first season with the team.
Veteran DFSers are well aware of how frustrating it’s been to roster Smart over the years considering he’s never been a very high-usage player. He’s out there for his defense, and defensive stats are generally less predictive. Still, Smart’s activity on that end is noteworthy, and he’s averaging 2 combined blocks/steals per game for his career. He averaged a career-high 2.1 steals per game last season, albeit in a smallish 20-game sample. Blocks and steals are worth 3 points in the PrizePicks fantasy scoring format.
Smart isn’t expected to be on any sort of limit, so we have him projected to play 32 minutes tonight as the Grizzlies’ starting 2-guard. He is far from an elite shooter, but the Jazz allowed their opponents to shoot the highest 3-point percentage in the NBA last season (39.5%), and they don’t seem to have improved the roster much, if at all, heading into this season. Unless he endures a woeful shooting night, Smart should do enough while he’s out there to blow by the 24 fantasy points projected by PrizePicks.
- PLAY: Smart MORE Than 24 Fantasy Points
Cavaliers vs. Raptors PrizePicks Predictions
Jakob Poeltl MORE/LESS Than 13.5 Points + Assists
The Raptors are firmly entrenched in a rebuild. They’ve got a few interesting young pieces, but this rotation doesn’t look pretty overall ahead of their season opener against the Cavaliers. Cleveland should be one of the better defensive teams in the league again this season, yet the Raps are only listed as 5.5-point underdogs at home.
Poeltl could be trade bait if a contender needing a solid center comes along closer to the deadline, but Toronto doesn’t have a whole lot of size beyond him. In a matchup against the Cavs and their twin-tower frontcourt, we’re looking at the potential for Poeltl to play 30+ minutes as long as the Raptors can keep the score respectable. In 50 games last season, the big man averaged 11.1 points and 2.5 assists in around 26 minutes of action.
In 3 games against Cleveland last season, the Raptors left Poeltl out there for 31 minutes per game, presumably because of the Cavs’ aforementioned size up front. He averaged nearly 13 points along with a couple of assists in those games. Even as a low-usage big, I expect Poeltl to see enough playing time to nudge his way past 13.5 combined points and assists.
- PLAY: Poeltl MORE Than 13.5 Points + Assists
Image Credit: Getty Images