PrizePicks NBA Prediction Today: Top Plays for Friday, October 27
We’re back with a sizable 11-game NBA slate on Friday. What better way to ring in the weekend than with a night full of action on the hardwood?
PrizePicks has you covered with countless pick’em squares ahead of Friday’s gigantic slate. 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 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
Below are a few of our favorite PrizePicks plays for the October 27th slate.
Jaren Jackson More Than 36.5 Fantasy Points
The Grizzlies got walloped at home by the Pelicans on opening night, which maybe wasn’t a huge surprise given their injury/suspension issues. Tonight, the Grizz will host the reigning champs without Ja Morant, Steven Adams, Luke Kennard, Brandon Clarke, and Santi Aldama. The Grizz are only 5.5-point underdogs, so it’s reasonable to expect normal minutes for the regulars.
Jaren Jackson struggled against New Orleans on Wednesday. He finished with just 9 points and 5 rebounds in 36 minutes. Ziaire Williams was the only starter who attempted fewer field goals in that one, though he did manage to block 5 shots in the defeat. The 36 minutes played for Jackson was a promising outcome, though, especially given his propensity for falling into foul trouble.
PrizePicks uses a fantasy scoring system similar to FanDuel’s that credits players with 3 points per block/steal. That’s ideal for Jackson, who led the league in blocks a season ago. JJJ’s usage rate also spiked by a team-best 5% in the minutes he played without Morant, up to 29.8%. On Wednesday, his usage rate was under 17%.
I’m willing to write Wednesday’s game off as a blip on the radar for Jackson. I like him to bounce back and top 36.5 fantasy points tonight.
Trae Young Less Than 27.5 Points
Despite a glorious on-paper matchup against a Hornets bunch that finished near the bottom of the league in defensive rating a season ago, Trae Young couldn’t buy a bucket on Wednesday night. He still found a way to put 23 points on the board in Atlanta’s 6-point loss, but he converted just 4 of his 19 field goal attempts in 36 minutes. He did the vast majority of his damage from the line, where he finished 14-for-15.
Young and the Hawks get a tougher draw tonight when the Knicks will pay them a visit. Tom Thibodeau’s bunch ran at the fifth-slowest pace in the sport last season, though they slumped to just 15th in defensive efficiency.
In 4 meetings last season, the Knicks gave Young all he could handle. He averaged 20.5 points across those games on atrocious 37.7% shooting from the floor. He also knocked down just 16.7% of his 3-point attempts, which was tied for his second-worst accuracy against any foe.
Young has averaged more than 27 points per game over the course of a season just once in his first 5 NBA seasons. He’s due for a bit of a bounce-back after struggling so terribly on Wednesday, but 27.5 points tonight seems like an awfully high number for a matchup that has given him trouble in the past.
John Collins More Than 17.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists
Young’s old running buddy in Atlanta, John Collins, enjoyed a fine debut with the Jazz the other night. Collins posted 15 points, 11 rebounds, and a couple of assists in a losing effort to Sacramento at home. Collins was hardly involved in the Hawks’ offense a season ago, so here’s hoping the change of scenery will do him some good moving forward.
The Jazz are back in action tonight at home with the Clippers in town. LA looked legit defensively in their opener, but we can take a win over the woeful Blazers with a rather large grain of salt. We saw Collins log 31 minutes in that double-digit loss to the Kings, and several starters didn’t come off the floor until there were about 2 minutes left in the fourth. Tonight’s game has a 4-point spread, so perhaps the Jazz can keep it a bit more competitive.
Collins only had about a 15% usage rate on opening night, but it was nice to see him hit the glass the way he did. It sure seems like he’s a major part of Utah’s plans this season, so the minutes should be bankable. I’m not expecting him to average a double-double, but he doesn’t have to in order to top 17.5 points+rebounds+assists tonight, either.