PrizePicks NBA Player Picks Today: Value on Schroder, Capela, and Sengun
Happy Friday! We’ve got a banger of an 11-game slate on tap for tonight. If your favorite team is playing, there’s a good chance your favorite player is questionable. Whatever the case, there is always value to be found over on PrizePicks on a slate of this size.
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NBA PrizePicks Predictions Today
Dennis Schroder More Than 25 Fantasy Points
The Raptors draw arguably the toughest matchup of the night with the Celtics in town. Toronto is a 9-point underdog as a result, but we’re still seeing some value when it comes to the potential fantasy output for Schroder. Maybe he’ll be feeling a little vengeful against his former team tonight too.
Schroder has taken over for Fred VanVleet as the Raps’ new starting point guard, and he’s fared well enough early on. He’s contributing better than a fantasy point per minute through his first 345 minutes of court time as a Raptor. He’s not routinely pushing for 40 minutes a night the way VanVleet was under Nick Nurse, but he’s still averaging north of 31 minutes.
Schroder’s game logs look a little rough, but we can attribute that to erratic shooting. He’s just 3-for-21 from the field over his last 2 games, but if we know anything about Schroder, it’s that he won’t be deterred. Even against what may be the league’s best defense, there’s merit to taking the journeyman guard to total more than 25 fantasy points in this one.
- Play: Schroder – More Than 25 Fantasy Points
Clint Capela More Than 1.5 Blocks + Steals
The Hawks’ center rotation is essentially a timeshare these days. The days of Capela in an Atlanta uniform appeared to be numbered when the team took Onyeka Okongwu 6th overall back in the 2020 draft, but Capela has thus far retained his starting spot. Capela has started all 11 games in which he’s appeared this season, though his average of 25.1 minutes a night is his lowest since 2015-16.
Even in more limited playing time, Capela is still active on the defensive end of the floor. His average of 1.6 blocks per game this season is right in line with his career number, as is the 0.8 steals he’s contributing per game. The Hawks will host the Sixers tonight, so it’s a tough spot for Atlanta if Joel Embiid plays through his questionable tag.
The 76ers have allowed 6.9 blocks per game so far this season. Not only is that nice, but it’s also the 3rd-highest average in the league. For as great as Embiid is, he’s also a bit of a turnover machine. Embiid’s 3.7 turnovers per game puts him among the 10-most turnover-prone players in the league this season.
There should be ample opportunity for Capela to rack up some swats and thieveries in this one.
- Play: Capela – More Than 1.5 Blocks + Steals
Alperen Sengun More Than 4.5 Assists
The Rockets are one of the NBA’s surprising early-season success stories. They have reeled off 6 straight wins heading into tonight’s clash with the Clippers in LA. It wasn’t too long ago that the Rockets were the laughingstock of the league, but they’ve apparently passed that torch to tonight’s foe.
Stephen Silas was apparently the only person on earth who didn’t think Alperen Sengun was worth playing heavy minutes, so it’s refreshing to see the young big man thriving in his first season under Ime Udoka. Through 9 games, Sengun is averaging 19.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6 assists per game on efficient 60% shooting from the field. Most importantly, Sengun is also averaging a career-best 31.4 minutes per game.
The Clips’ defense has been the worst in the NBA since James Harden arrived. That’s a small sample and unlikely to be the case for the rest of the season, but this team also underperformed defensively last season. Sengun has served as a hub for the Rockets’ offense to this point, and he’s touching the ball just about every time down the floor. He’s a talented passer, so it’s not a huge surprise to see he ranks a close 2nd to Fred VanVleet in assist rate (31%).
The Rockets’ shooting around Sengun has also improved greatly this season, which will naturally improve the potential for his assist numbers. 4.5 dimes tonight for Alpi looks downright low.
- Play: Sengun – More Than 4.5 Assists