The NBA is back with another solid slate this Thursday, featuring a total of 10 matchups scheduled for tonight.
Below, we've compiled a few plays to use on PrizePicks and Underdog for Thursday'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 Thursday, January 23
- Victor Wembanyama Less Than 45 Points, Rebounds, & Assists
- PJ Washington More Than 7.5 Rebounds
- Ivica Zubac More Than 13.5 Points
Victor Wembanyama Less Than 45 Points, Rebounds, & Assists
Spurs vs Pacers, 2:00 p.m. ET
This game is in Paris, and that's the only reason this projection is so high. Obviously, it'll feel silly to fade Wemby if he goes for 50 points in his home country, but I can't pass up this number.
Victor Wembanyama is averaging 24.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. Those are awesome numbers, but nowhere near 46 PRA.
This has also become a tough matchup. Indiana is 3rd in defensive rating over the past 10 games. They've dropped outside the top 10 in pace over that span.
The return of Andrew Nembhard seems to have lifted the Pacers on the defensive end. He missed most of November and was ramping up for much of December, but he's now played 11 straight games.
The Pacers are top 5 in points allowed per game in that stretch. Their defensive rating improves by 11.8 with Nembhard on the floor across a huge sample (793 minutes).
Nembhard isn't exactly some kind of all-world defender, but the Pacers are much better defensively when he's out there.
Pick: Victor Wembanyama Less Than 45 Points, Rebounds, & Assists
PJ Washington More Than 7.5 Rebounds
Mavericks vs Thunder, 8:00 p.m. ET
Daniel Gafford has grabbed the headlines for Dallas lately, but PJ Washington has still seen plenty of opportunities on the glass.
Isaiah Hartenstein remains out for OKC, which means they're back to being a tremendous rebounding matchup. With him off the floor this season, OKC's opponent rebounding rate has jumped up by 5%.
Opposing teams go from a 48.3% rebounding rate to a 53.3% rebounding rate with Hartenstein sidelined. That would be the 5th-worst mark to the best rebounding rate in the league.
Luka Doncic leads the team in rebounding, but he's still out with an injury. Washington leads the regulars with a 1% rebounding rate bump with Doncic off the floor. He's averaged 8.9 rebounds per game in 20 games without Doncic.
Dereck Lively is out as well. Lively leads the team in rebound chances. Lively has now missed 4 straight games. Gafford has dominated with 11.3 RPG in that stretch, but Washington has also been productive with 9.3 RPG.
Gafford ran into foul trouble the last time these teams faced off, playing just 20 minutes. Given Hartenstein's absence, there's more incentive for OKC to go small.
That could mean Dallas countering with Maxi Kleber or Naji Marshall, with Gafford getting squeezed out. Washington's playing time is much more secure, and he could dominate rebound opportunities if Gafford's playing time is capped.
Pick: PJ Washington More Than 7.5 Rebounds
Ivica Zubac More Than 13.5 Points
Wizards vs Clippers, 10:30 p.m. ET
By Jim Turvey
There are a lot of moving parts with the Clippers right now, but I like this play even through the noise.
The Clippers played last night and had 6 regular rotation players sit, and we don't have an injury report yet for their back-to-back with the Wizards.
However, Zubac is a player who, if he plays (he sat last night), shouldn't see too much impact on his minutes based on players sitting out or not.
Even with every rotation player in, the RotoGrinders projections have Zubac at 16.24 points, thanks in large part to a tasty matchup against the Wizards.
The Wizards have allowed the highest total of points per game and are very soft on the interior.
Pick: Ivica Zubac More Than 13.5 Points
