NBA PrizePicks Player Predictions: Thursday (11/2)

There are four NBA games tonight, beginning with the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers at 7:00 p.m. ET. The night ends with a rematch between the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns, who played an epic 115-114 game just two nights ago.

Here are the three best NBA PrizePicks plays for Thursday, Nov. 2.

Thursday’s Best NBA PrizePicks Player Predictions

This Season: 3-6

Tyrese Maxey Under 24.5 Points

Tyrese Maxey has scored over 30 points in two of his three games and at least 26 in all three contests this season. So, why is this number so low today? It’s puzzling, especially considering that Maxey scored 34 points the last time he played the Raptors.

However, Maxey averaged just 20.3 points per game last season. It remains to be seen if this hot start is a sign of things to come or an anomaly. Either way, he made seven of his nine three-pointers against the Raptors on Saturday. That type of pace is simply not sustainable. We expect the Raptors to have a game plan for him as they force Joel Embiid and someone else to beat them tonight.

Victor Wembanyama Under 18.5 Points + Assists

Victor Wembanyama is off to a solid start in his career. He's scored at least 11 points in all four of his games, and he has one double-double. But the one thing he hasn't done is assist his teammates. He has just six assists in four games, and he has yet to top two in a single game.

Assuming Wembanyama doesn't set a career-high tonight, he needs to score 17 points to hit this over. He did score 18 in Tuesday night's win. However, nine of those points came in the fourth quarter as the Spurs roared back from a 13-point deficit. The Suns should win this game by a large margin after their collapse two nights ago. If Phoenix is dominating in the fourth, we believe the Spurs will protect their future and put him on the bench.

Lauri Markkanen Under 3.5 Three-Pointers Made

This is the highest number currently offered on PrizePicks. While Lauri Markkanen is hot, we're going to back the under. Markkanen has made at least four three-pointers in four consecutive games after making just two in the season-opener.

What is a bit concerning about this prop is that Markannen shoots a lot of threes every game. He's attempted at least six shots from beyond the arc in all five games this year, and he has attempted 13 twice. The Orlando Magic aren't bad against the three, but they aren't great either, allowing teams to make 34.7%.

However, when you look at Markkanen's averages from last season, he's averaging the same amount of points per game but way more three-pointers per game right now. He's bound to level off after a hot start, and tonight is the night that trend begins.

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Thursday:

Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.