PrizePicks NBA Player Picks Today: Value on Jokic, Wembanyama, and Kuzma
We start a new week with an 8-game NBA DFS slate. Traditional DFS prize pools are a bit smaller with Monday Night Football attracting so much attention, but there’s still money to be made 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
Nikola Jokic More Than 12 Rebounds
Taking Nikola Jokic to record “more than” any statistic is a wise approach these days. Just when it didn’t seem like he could possibly get any better, he managed to do just that. The reigning Finals MVP is shouldering a massive load for the Nuggets with Jamal Murray sidelined, and he appears to be on track toward winning his third regular-season MVP trophy.
With Murray off the floor this season, Jokic leads the Nuggets in usage rate (34.3%), rebound rate (24.4%), and assist rate (46.7%). For the season, Jokic is averaging 13.8 boards per game. Not only is that tied for the highest average of his career, but he’s leading the entire league in that category by a sizable margin. Domantas Sabonis is a distant second, grabbing an average of 12.9 caroms a night.
The Nuggets are 9-point favorites over the lowly Pistons in Detroit tonight. Jokic is routinely playing around 36-38 minutes in competitive games these days. There’s admittedly blowout risk with Detroit riding a league-high 11-game losing streak, but Jokic is so productive that he doesn’t even need a full complement of minutes in order to stuff the stat sheet. This man once recorded a triple-double in 14 minutes, for Pete’s sake.
- Play: Jokic – More Than 12 Rebounds
Victor Wembanyama More Than 11.5 Rebounds + Assists
Nikola Jokic is the NBA’s best player, but Victor Wembanyama will come for his throne one day. He’s not there yet, but he’s still putting together an outstanding rookie season despite the Spurs’ overall struggles. San Antonio is riding an 8-game skid into tonight’s home clash with the Clippers. LAC is in the top-10 in defensive efficiency for the season, but they’ve slumped on that end with James Harden in the mix. The Clips’ D-rating is a whopping 10 points per 100 possessions better with Harden on the bench.
So, the Spurs should have a chance to hang around in this one. San Antonio hasn’t been giving their new franchise cornerstone heavy minutes right away, but he’s still making the most of his floor time. For the season, Wembanyama is averaging 9.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in just over 30 minutes per game. Through 9 games in November, Wemby’s improved those averages to 10.4 boards and 2.8 dimes per outing.
The matchup is solid enough, and we’ve already seen Wembanyama spike some big games. He’s capable of topping 11.5 combined rebounds and assists on rebounds alone, of course.
- Play: Wembanyama – More Than 11.5 Rebounds + Assists
Kyle Kuzma More Than 21.5 Points
With respect to the Pistons, Blazers, Spurs, and Hornets, there’s a pretty strong chance the Wizards will be the NBA’s worst team once the season is said and done. Washington is off to a grim 2-10 start with a -8.8 point differential. Tonight, they’re 9.5-point home underdogs to the visiting Bucks. Will the Wiz get crushed? Quite possibly.
Still, we know Kyle Kuzma will hoist his fair share of shots for as long as he’s on the floor. Kuz is leading Washington in usage (32.9%) by a healthy margin over Jordan Poole (27.7%). He’s also the Wizards’ leading scorer, averaging a career-best 23.5 points per game. He’s taking full advantage of his new role as the No. 1 offensive option for this team now that Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis are gone.
The Bucks’ defense has improved a bit after some early-season scuffles, but they’re still just 22nd in defensive efficiency overall. Milwaukee’s 116 defensive rating in November is still well south of the league average, so perhaps the Wizards can actually put up a fight tonight. Kuz has hoisted at least 16 shots in every game this month, and I like his chances of having an efficient offensive night in this spot.
- Play: Kuzma – More Than 21.5 Points
