Happy Monday, and welcome to the best PrizePicks NBA player predictions. Today brings us a six-game slate tipping off at 7 p.m. ET in Charlotte for Bulls-Hornets. This game has one of the lowest totals I’ve seen this season at just 215.5. Both Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic returned to the Bulls over the weekend after missing multiple weeks each. While the Hornets are riddled with injuries and will be without LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward, Mark Williams and P.J. Washington. The slate is highlighted by Celtics-Pacers in Indiana with a 245.5 total, while Jayson Tatum has been ruled out for Boston, giving Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis more value. Lastly, we’ll close out the night in Los Angeles for Suns-Clippers with a 10:30 p.m. ET tip-off.
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PrizePicks NBA Player Predictions: Jaylen Brown & More
Jaylen Brown M/L 41.5 Fantasy Score
The Celtics will visit the Pacers in Indiana tonight as 3-point favorites in a game with a 245.5 game total. Boston leads the season series 2-1, which includes a 7-point victory just two days ago. Jaylen Brown tallied 37.3 fantasy points in that one and averaged 37.9 over his last 20 games.
Brown scores 1.08 fantasy points per minute; however, with Jayson Tatum off the court, he gets a big bump to 1.25. As we see here, in the two games without Tatum this season, Brown recorded 43 and 45 fantasy points. Over the last three seasons, Brown averaged 48.1 fantasy points without Tatum (20 games).
The Celtics are in a pace-up spot against the Pacers, who rank 26th in defensive rating and allow the second-most points per game in the NBA. Give me more than for Brown.
Best PrizePicks NBA Player Prediction: Jaylen Brown More Than 41.5 Fantasy Score
Giannis Antetokounmpo M/L 56.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists
Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging 48.8 points + rebounds + assists (PRA) on the season and gets a great matchup against the Jazz. Utah allows the third most points to power forwards and ranks 20th in defensive rating.
Damian Lillard is out for the Bucks, and when he’s off the court, Giannis gets a 3% usage increase. Giannis is averaging 60.5 PRA in the two games he played without Lillard this season.
Giannis is averaging 37 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in four games in January while the Bucks have lost three of four games. He recently called out his teammates, saying even the “equipment manager” needs to be better.
He’ll be fired up tonight, and with no Lillard in a good matchup, this number should be higher.
Best PrizePicks NBA Player Prediction: Giannis Antetokounmpo More Than 56.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists
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Khris Middleton M/L 7.5 Assists
Like Giannis, Khris Middleton gets a favorable matchup against the Jazz, who allow 28.4 assists per game, the third most in the NBA. Middleton is averaging 5.9 assists per game since the start of December when his minutes limit was lifted. Damian Lillard is out tonight, which allows more usage to be spread out among the Bucks starters. In the two games Lillard missed this season, Middleton recorded four and seven assists. However, those games were back in November, and Middleton played just 20 minutes in each of those contests, whereas tonight we should see him upwards of 33 minutes.
Other beneficial news that broke is that Bucks backup point guard Cameron Payne is also out tonight, allowing Andre Jackson Jr. to move into the starting lineup with his minimal 12.5% usage and assists rates. Without Lillard or Payne on the court, Middleton carries a team-high 43.5% assist rate. It’s a small sample size of just 24 minutes, but in a good matchup and increased opportunities tonight, he should get eight or assists or more.
Best PrizePicks NBA Player Prediction: Khris Middleton More Than 7.5 Assists
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