It’s Friday, which means we have a massive 11-game NBA slate with three late games on the West Coast. Tonight is highlighted by a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals between Miami and Boston, followed by the Warriors visiting the Kings. Both games will be televised on ESPN. With 22 teams in action, it can be hard to choose the right PrizePicks NBA player predictions, so let’s break this slate down to find the best ones.
PrizePicks NBA Player Predictions | Oct. 27
Scottie Barnes M/L 32.5 Fantasy Score
Barnes is in his third year, and he should make a big jump in production this season. The Raptors will take on the Bulls in Chicago tonight, providing a nice matchup for Barnes to go for more on this prediction. Barnes had a 24.7% usage rate in their first game, up from 20% last season. This should stay consistent and increase as the season goes on, and the reason is Fred VanVleet is now in Houston. Dennis Schroder is the new point guard for Toronto and is not the same player VanVleet was.
With more opportunities, Barnes should average between 35 and 40 fantasy points this season, and he’ll get there tonight against a Chicago defense that gave up 124 points on Wednesday. Stokastic NBA projections have Scottie Barnes at 34.7 minutes, while he played 37 minutes in the opener. He averaged a fantasy point per minute last season.
Best PrizePicks NBA Player Prediction: Scottie Barnes More Than 32.5 Fantasy Points
Cade Cunningham M/L 22.5 Points
Cunningham averaged 19.9 points in just 12 games before undergoing season-ending surgery in 2023. Now entering his third year and with a full bill of health, it seems he is back on the incline. He averaged 11 points per game and 22 minutes in three preseason games but came out scorching in the opener, dropping 30 in 36 minutes against the strong defense of the Miami Heat. Cunningham had a 33.7% usage rate in that one, good for the fifth highest in the NBA after one game. That should come down slightly, but if he’s going to play 30-plus minutes with that kind of volume, sign me up for a nightly subscription.
The Pistons get a juicy matchup tonight against the Hornets, who were top 10 in pace and bottom 10 in defensive rating in 2023. Cunningham has a nice opportunity to hit 23 points or more in an uptempo game environment with a total of 226.
Best PrizePicks NBA Player Prediction: Cade Cunningham More Than 22.5 Points
Mitchell Robinson M/L 7.5 Rebounds
The Knicks lost to the Celtics in their home opener but played pretty well against the favorites to win the NBA title. Mitchell Robinson recorded just six rebounds in 22 minutes. He had a tough matchup against Kristaps Porzingis, who kept him on the perimeter for most of his minutes and got him to commit two fouls in the first quarter. He picked up his fourth foul in the first minute of the second half and had to sit. Isaiah Hartenstein played well in his absence and earned more fourth quarter run. That’s not going to happen in this matchup against Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu, who play in the paint.
Robinson had an 83.3% contested rebound rating and 11 rebound chances in his time. The Hornets combo of Mark Williams and Nick Richards had a combined 19 rebounds on 39 chances against Atlanta on Wednesday. Robinson should see similar opportunities tonight, and he averaged 9.4 rebounds last season. Stokastic’s Pick’em Pro has Robinson projected for 8.7 rebounds and a 59% win rate on the more.
Best PrizePicks NBA Player Prediction: Mitchell Robinson More than 7.5 Rebounds
