PrizePicks NBA Player Predictions Today: Top Plays for October 26
After the exciting 12-game slate last night, there are only two games on Thursday, October 26th as the Lakers vs. Suns and Bucks vs. 76ers square off in two conference powerhouse matchups. The Suns are likely to be without Devin Booker tonight while the 76ers are without James Harden as he refuses to fully report to the team. The Bucks have a new-look team as Damian Lillard makes his debut, while the Lakers look to bounce back from a tough opening night loss to the Nuggets.
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NBA PrizePicks Predictions Today
Below are a few of my favorite PrizePicks plays for the October 26th slate.
Khris Middleton – More than 12.5 Points
The addition of Damian Lillard is almost certainly going to take away from Middleton’s scoring this year. However, this number for their first game of the season is far too low for Middleton. The RotoGrinders projections have Middleton for just over 14 points in this one, which is far more realistic but also still very conservative. Middleton is the clear third option in this offense and will receive very little defensive attention with Giannis and Dame on the court. Additionally, he’ll likely be staggered with them and get some minutes as the primary option on the second unit. Even last season, when he was returning from injury and played very limited minutes, Middleton still averaged over 15 points a game. Of all the different DFS Pick’em options tonight, Middleton to score more than 12.5 points is my favorite of all the NBA PrizePicks predictions.
- Play: Middleton – More Than 12.5 Points
D’Angelo Russell – More Than 5.5 Assists
D’Angelo Russell has been very vocal this offseason about how he wants to get better at running the offense. Of all the players he could’ve compared his game to, he referenced Derrick White as a player he wanted to emulate. His goal wasn’t to become a better scorer or shooter, but better defensively and at taking care of the ball. He made this a conscious effort during the preseason as well, consistently piling up assists and playing much better defense. This translated into his first game of the season as he racked up 7 assists, something I think will be much more of a trend going forward. Russell takes on a very active role whenever Lebron isn’t on the court and will likely see his assist predictions go up on sites as the season goes along. I want to take advantage of this before the sites like PrizePicks catch on and be early to the party.
- Play: Russell – More Than 5.5 Assists
Malik Beasley – Less Than 9.5 Points
Damian Lillard, Giannis Antentokounmpo and Khris Middleton, these are all players Malik Beasley will have to contend with for shots on the Bucks, in addition to players like Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis and Jae Crowder. The Bucks have referred to Beasley as their “defensive stopper” this year, as he’ll be charged with defending the opposing team’s top guard when he’s on the court. The RotoGrinders projections currently have Beasley expected to score less than 8 points tonight, and his PrizePicks prediction to score less than 9.5 points is one of only two options on the board with above a 70% success rate in the Fantasy Pick’em Tool. There are too many cooks in the kitchen for Beasley to average double-digit points this season, and I want to get on board before the numbers drop on sites like PrizePicks.
- Play: Beasley – Less Than 9.5 Points
Eric Gordon – More Than 2.5 Assists
If you want to select Gordon to score more than 13.5 points instead of going with his assist prediction, I wouldn’t argue with you. Both of these numbers are far too low for Eric Gordon tonight without Devin Booker. He was heavily involved in the first game with Beal, and although he shot terribly, we can expect even more involvement tonight as Booker is much more of a ball handler than Beal. The RotoGrinders Fantasy Pick’em Tool has this prediction projected at a 73.6% success rate, and it’ll be important to take advantage of this number before PrizePicks takes it out of play.
- Play: Gordon – More Than 2.5 Assists