Best PrizePicks NBA Player Picks Today: Value on Giddey, Zubac, and Grant
We’ve got a whopping 14 games around the NBA on Friday night. While sites like DraftKings and FanDuel have divided things up, you get your pick of the litter over on PrizePicks.
If you’re new to the site, be sure to take advantage of our special PrizePicks promo code. With the code “GRINDERS,” you can claim a 100% match bonus on your first deposit of up to $100.
Remember, you can also keep tabs on the best PrizePicks picks of the day with our Fantasy Pick’em Tool. We’re constantly updating this throughout the day in order to account for the latest news, but there’s still value to be found earlier in the afternoon as well.
NBA PrizePicks Predictions Today
Josh Giddey Less Than 1.5 Made 3-Pointers
The Thunder are having a magical season, but Josh Giddey has been a more peripheral piece than a core guy. The former lottery pick has posted middling averages of 12.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists across just 25.2 minutes per game. It’s a bit of a surprise considering Giddey averaged north of 31 minutes in each of his first 2 NBA seasons.
One of the reasons for Giddey’s downturn in playing time is his errant shooting. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t much of a threat from downtown, either, and lineups with 2 non-shooting guards typically won’t cut it in the modern NBA. The Thunder obviously aren’t slashing SGA’s minutes, so Giddey is the odd man out. Giddey is a career 30.8% shooter from beyond the long line, though he has improved considerably this season (37.5%) on a modest 2.8 attempts per game.
OKC draws a favorable matchup tonight in Brooklyn, but 1.5 made 3-pointers looks a little high for a guy that attempts so few triples. We have seen Giddey get a little more bold of late with a total of 18 attempts over his last 3 games, but the long-term averages suggest he’s more likely to take 2-4 on a nightly basis.
- Play: Giddey – Less Than 1.5 Made 3-Pointers
Ivica Zubac More Than 9.5 Points
Ivica Zubac spends most of his minutes playing alongside multiple future Hall-of-Famers, so to say he gets limited usage would be an understatement. The Clippers’ longtime starting center has a usage of just 16% on the year, but the looks he gets are excellent ones.
With opposing defenses having to focus so much attention on stopping multiple All-Stars, Zu is typically free to do damage near the rim. Zubac is shooting better than 64% from the field this year, which is the second-best mark of his career. His average of 12 points per game is his highest ever on 8 field goal attempts a night.
The Clippers don’t get an easy draw tonight against a Pelicans team that has quietly become one of the best defensive units in the West. Still, a 9.5-point expectation looks low considering he’s averaging well north of that mark so far this year.
- Play: Zubac – More Than 9.5 Points
Jerami Grant More Than 27.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists
The Trail Blazers have seen better days. They fell against the Mavericks by a whopping 29 points on Wednesday, and tonight the 2 teams will tangle once again in Dallas. Portland is a 10.5-point underdog in the rematch, so another blowout wouldn’t be a huge surprise.
Teams rarely blow the doors off the same foe twice in a row, though, so perhaps the Blazers will have a better game plan the second time around. Jerami Grant should be a hot commodity on the trade market if Portland decides to make him available, so it makes sense for the team to showcase him ahead of the deadline. Even with the team getting healthier around him, Jerami is still playing heavy minutes. Grant’s averaging around 34 minutes per game on the year, and he was playing north of 39 minutes a night in December.
Grant does lose a little bit of usage with Anfernee Simons back healthy, but he’s still contributing more than 21 real points per game. This is a good enough matchup, as Dallas ranks just 20th in defensive rating on the season.
- Play: Grant – More Than 27.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists
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