How will Bradley Beal perform against the Charlotte Hornets on the second night of a back-to-back? Will Dejounte Murray continue his impressive play by racking up double-digit assists for the third game in a row, this time against the Minnesota Timberwolves? And will Nikola Jovic break out of his rebounding slump against the Golden State Warriors?
Here are the three best NBA PrizePicks plays for Monday, January 7.
This Season: 29-21
Tuesday’s Best NBA PrizePicks Player Predictions
Bradley Beal Over 14.5 Points
Beal hasn't played great of late, but this number is incredibly low, especially since Beal just scored 25 points against the Philadelphia 76ers last night. There is probably a bit of concern over him playing the second night of a back-to-back, but this number still feels like it's about two points lower than it should be.
Beal is averaging 18.1 points per game this season. He's scored fewer than 10 points in two of his last three contests but only played 12 minutes in one of those games. If you go back to December 5, Beal has scored at least 15 in nine of his 12 games.
The Hornets rank in the middle of the pack regarding points allowed per game. Beal has yet to play against them this season, and since this matchup is neither good nor bad, I'll take him to get much closer to his season average than this total suggests.
Dejounte Murray Under 8 Assists
Murray has dished out 12 assists in back-to-back games to bring his season average to 7.9. While there's no denying that his most recent performances are impressive, he did face the lowly Washington Wizards in both of those games. Tonight, Murray will take on the Timberwolves, a team allowing just 24.4 assists per game. That's the fifth-best mark in the league.
Murray has yet to face the Timberwolves this season, but it's safe to assume that he will struggle against them at least a bit. After all, Murray has eight or fewer assists in 11 of his 19 games this season. He managed just seven assists the last time he played a team that wasn't the Wizards. What's most disheartening is that performance came against the Miami Heat, a team that ranks 20th in the league in assists allowed per game.
Nikola Jovic Under 5 Rebounds
Perhaps oddsmakers at PrizePicks expect Jovic to see increased playing time as other players rest on the second night of a back-to-back. But other than that potential reason, there is no explanation for why this number is as high as it is. Jovic is averaging just 3.5 rebounds per game, and he's had fewer than five rebounds in three consecutive games, including 12 of his last 14.
The Warriors allow many rebounds, as they're currently giving up the sixth-most per game in the NBA. But why is Jovic going to be the beneficiary of the Warriors' shortcomings? Nothing he has done this season suggests that he will suddenly have a great game. Therefore, take the Under, even if this may be a trap from oddsmakers.
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.