The NBA is back with an excellent slate this Friday, featuring a total of 9 matchups on the slate for tonight.
Below, we've compiled a few plays to use on PrizePicks and Underdog for Friday's NBA games from RotoGrinders — coming from both the NBA pick'em analysis page and the projections page. You can get all the plays with a RotoGrinders subscription.
NBA PrizePicks & Underdog Plays for Friday, January 3
- Gradey Dick Less Than 14.5 Points
- Austin Reaves More Than 26.5 Points & Assists
- Malik Beasley More Than 16.5 Points
Gradey Dick Less Than 14.5 Points
Magic vs. Raptors, 7:30 p.m. ET
Gradey Dick had a great game in Immanuel Quickley's first game back, but this projection is far too high all things considered.
The matchup is a tough one against the Magic, who are in the bottom-10 in pace and top-3 in defensive efficiency.
Scottie Barnes and Quickley will likely play, and there's a good chance that RJ Barrett plays, which means the usage for Gradey is destined to take a big hit.
Gradey has played well through all the injuries for the Raptors, but he's heavily reliant on volume, and with the Raptors potentially a full-go, the usage just won't be there.
If you want to wait on the Barrett injury news, you can, but this number is probably still a little high even if Barrett misses, so I'm getting in early.
Pick: Gradey Dick Less Than 14.5 Points
Austin Reaves More Than 26.5 Points & Assists
Hawks vs. Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET
Austin Reaves has been the big winner since the D'Angelo Russell trade. He's averaged 25.5 points and 11.8 assists over his last four games. Russell did play in one of those, but LeBron James missed that game.
Reaves has functioned as the primary point guard during this stretch and should continue to do so tonight.
Atlanta is a great matchup for PGs. They're allowing the 5th-most points per game to the position. The Hawks give up the 4th-most assists per game and the 5th-highest assisted field goal rate.
Reaves is taking a career-high 7.2 3-pointers per game. He's scoring a career-high 42.4% of his points from 3-pointers.
Atlanta allows the most made 3-pointers, the most 3-point attempts, and the highest 3-point percentage in the NBA.
Reaves has also succeeded in some tough matchups recently (Golden State, Cleveland), and now gets one that perfectly suits his skillset.
Pick: Austin Reaves More Than 26.5 Points & Assists
Malik Beasley More Than 16.5 Points
Hornets vs. Pistons, 7 p.m. ET
Malik Beasley should get his normal minutes and workload, making this projection far too low.
He's had 20+ points in 6 of his last 10 games, and has been putting up 15+ shot attempts in any game he plays 25+ minutes.
Beasley should see his minutes climb to the high-20s in this spot, and the matchup is a good one, as the Hornets have allowed the 9th-most 3-pointers per game on the season, which is where Beasley thrives.
I have Beasley projected for 18 points tonight, making this a great play.
