DraftKings NBA Picks for October 31
Happy Halloween! You may have outgrown going door to door dressed as the latest cartoon superstar or traditional supernatural being, but we all still try to avoid the tricks on this day to get to the treats. Let’s do this DraftKings style!
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Instead of giving you the traditional best bets, I will also give you those with inflated price tags, or tricks if you will, to avoid. The treats can be anyone that will get you bang for the buck and help you get the treat of a payout tonight.
The big difference now between FanDuel and DraftKings is the lineups. FanDuel has one more slot, but you are confined to two of every position except center, where you get one. On DraftKings, you get a starting five plus a G, F, and UTIL. This is still an advantage over FanDuel because we can play two centers even though the roster is smaller!
Sound like fun? If you would like to try DraftKings for the first time, use this link for the referral bonus! It is good for a free entry into the Fantasy Football Millionaire contest. We have plenty of advice on the site to help you turn that free entry into a solid bankroll!
Tricks:
Chris Paul ($8,500): The return of Griffin has taken a huge chunk out of Paul’s scoring so far. CP3 has only 36 points in two games, but he is still dishing out the assists (14). The thing to watch here is to see how Paul reacts after a bad outing against the Jazz last night. I expect him to be somewhere in the upper 30’s for DraftKings points, but he doesn’t look like a consistent threat to flirt with 50 anymore. If you are spending this much on a player, you want a sure 40. Paul isn’t that right now.
Kyle Lowry ($7,400): Lowry is just 8-29 from the floor in two games so far this season. More alarming is the eight turnovers to just 12 assists. Lowry has yet to crack 30 DraftKings points this year. I think he does tonight against an improving Denver squad, but 37 DraftKings pionts seems a bit far fetched right now.
Dennis Schroder ($6,600): Ty Lawson has played some solid D for the Kings so far. Schroder is hitting his shots – he is 10-19 from the floor – but he is no longer much of a scorer for this team. He did deal out a career high 11 assists over the weekend, but that was against the 76ers. At any rate, Schroder will have a hard time hitting 5x value against the Kings.
Treats:
Eric Bledsoe ($7,100): Bledsoe has 54 points, 16 rebounds, 17 assists, five steals and just five turnovers in his three games this season. He hasn’t been terribly hot from the floor, but he gets plenty of looks and provides plenty of other stats, all while taking care of the ball.
Jeremy Lin ($6,300): Lin could have some problems getting open shots against Rondo and Wade, but he struggled from the floor against the Bucks as well and still came up with 36.75 DraftKings points. For this price, that is nearly 6x value. Lin’s contributions in places other than scoring make him a solid candidate for DFS play because of his elevated floor.
Emmanuel Mudiay ($5,800): Mudiay struggled against the Pelicans in the opener, but he ran wild on the Blazers to the tune of 40.25 DraftKings points. Lowry has also struggled some on the defensive end, but that wont be what makes Mudiay worth playing. He has snatched 14 rebounds and four steals in the first two games. He has the counting stats to produce even if he shot doesn’t fall.
My pick: Bledsoe(PG)
Tricks:
Jimmy Butler ($7,300): Butler’s scoring has taken a big hit with Dwyane Wade in town. His salary is down some, and he produces plenty of rebounds and assists, so he will never be a total bust. However, hitting 36.5 DraftKings points against a solid Brooklyn backcourt is far from a sure thing.
Devin Booker ($6,200): Booker doesn’t provide much but scoring, and he has been mostly cold from the floor so far this year. He plays a ton of minutes, and the Suns are trying to cater to his talents, so he could go off at any minute. Or you could get a stat line like last night’s (seven points, two assists, no rebounds).
Brandon Knight ($5,500): You would think that the first one to break out of their funk would get more minutes. Knight’s chances to seize more minutes have not gone well. He is only 11-38 from the floor in three games, and that include a solid 7-18 showing against the Thunder. He is way too much of a risk to count on right now. Knight is the best way to get tricked.
Treats:
DeMar DeRozan ($7,300): If you have ever owned DeRozan in a season-long league, you know how streaky he is. Well, he is on fire right now. DeRozan is a scorching 29-45 from the floor (but 0-3 from downtown) with 11 rebounds, three assists, and three steals. That equals 91.75 DraftKings points in two games. He does carry some risk because if he goes cold, you have no chance. But if he keeps this up, he is a linchpin for a winning lineup.
Will Barton ($5,700): Gary Harris could be back at any moment, but if he doesn’t play tonight, Barton is worth considering. He has racked up 60.75 DraftKings points in two games. His rebounding ability make him a decent play even if his shot isn’t falling. He was one of the best bargains last year. He has started out this year in the same position.
Jamal Crawford ($4,100): Starter J.J. Redick has struggled so far, but Crawford has picked up the slack. He has 27 points in the first two games. Crawford has struggled from outside, but he is perfect at the foul line and has five steals in two games. He is playing better than Redick right now, and could pick up a few more minutes if he keeps producing. At any rate, his back to back 28.25 DraftKings points games to open the season are nearly 7x value.
My pick: DeRozan(SG), Barton(G) or Mudiay if Harris plays
Tricks:
Kent Bazemore ($4,900): Bazemore has been a disaster in the early going, managing just 29.25 total DraftKings points. He has been dreadful from the field (5-18), and hasn’t provided much for counting stats. Couple that with Thabo Sefalosha playing well, and that spells trouble for Bazemore.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson($3,900): RHJ has only made three shots in three games while playing 72 minutes. His offensive ineptitude makes him a tough play, especially if he isn’t contributing much else right now. RHJ plays a lot of minutes, but that only pays off if he accomplishes something on the court.
Treats:
Rudy Gay ($6,300): Gay is relatively quiet, so he isn’t mentioned a lot on TV, but his numbers speak for themselves. Gay has averaged 6.3x value in his three games, with no worse than 5.2x value in any game. His remarkable consistency make him a valuable lineup foundation, especially when he is this cheap.
T.J. Warren ($5,400): Warren has scored 70 points in just three games. He has also corralled 20 rebounds and six steals. Warren is doing a little bit of everything, but his hot shooting has turned Knight and Booker into afterthoughts right now. So long as Warren is hitting half of his shots, he is a tremendous value in any format.
Thabo Sefalosha ($3,700): Sefalosha has compiled 58.75 DraftKings points in just 41 minutes over two games. He isn’t playing much, but he is the star of the second unit right now, and could see more run if Kyle Korver and Kent Bazemore continue to struggle.
My pick: Gay(SF), Warren(F)
Tricks:
Blake Griffin ($8,800): Frankenstein is going to dress up as Blake Griffin for Halloween. Griffin has been a monster through two games, picking up 45 points, 23 rebounds, three assists, four steals, and a block. It is easy to forget about Griffin after a tumultuous injury riddled 2015-16 season, but he is still only 27 years old. There is no reason he can’t keep up with his early season success. That said, 44 DraftKings points against the Suns frontcourt could be a tall order.
Nikola Jokic ($7,000): There will be many DFS players caught up in Jokic’s dominant performance against Portland. The thing that concerns me here is the 15.25 he put up against Anthony Davis and the Pelicans. Portland isn’t particularly strong of long up front, so Jokic was able to take advantage. Toronto has some size with Valanciunas and Jakob Poetl up front, so they are somewhere in the middle. Expect Jokic’s performance to lie somewhere in between his 15.25 and 58.5 first two games. That likely means he wont reach 5x value.
NIkola Mirotic ($4,700): Mirotic is almost exclusively a scorer, so it makes sense that Gibson would get the majority of the minutes. That has kept Mirotic from getting into a groove so far. That could change at any time, but there are far better options for the price right now.
Treats:
Paul Millsap ($7,900): Millsap’s overall numbers are a bit down since most of the Hawks rested in the fourth quarter against the 76ers since the game was out of hand. Millsap put up big numbers in the opener (28-7-6), and should be close to that production in what should be a close game with the Kings.
Taj Gibson ($5,100): Gibson gets roughly the same minutes as Mirotic, but he does a lot more with them. Gibson has picked up 58 DraftKings points in two games. He is a double-double threat every time he takes the court. How many other players can say that at this price?
Trevor Booker ($4,700): The Nets are the new Sixers, providing DFS gems on a rebuilding roster. Booker has racked up 100 DraftKings points in his three games, and is getting really good run off the bench. That will keep up so long as he keeps playing well. He has posted two straight double-doubles. You don’t need me to tell you that he is an absolute steal at this price.
My pick: Gibson(PF)
Tricks:
DeMarcus Cousins ($10,800): First off, I’m not bashing Cousins, I’m bashing his price. He needs 54 DraftKings points to hit 5x value. He only did that against the Spurs so far in three games. The Hawks are tough up front with Millsap and D12 (is he D8 now?). Cousins will still put up high 40’s in DraftKings points, but I have a really hard time seeing him top 50. He just isn’t worth the price tonight, even though he may be the top scorer of the night.
DeAndre Jordan ($7,700): Jordan took just seven shots in the opener and ten last night. Of those 17 shots, he hit just five of them. He has racked up 28 rebounds, but his poor shooting from the field and dreadful shooting from the foul line (3-12) with only one block leave a lot to be desired. Oh, and he is playing a Suns team that has dominated on the interior.
Brook Lopez ($6,900): Lopez ceded minutes to an array of big men in the first two games, and sat out completely on Saturday. It is apparent that he doesn’t fit into the long term plans of the team. It is nearly impossible for him to get value when he hasn’t played more than 26 minutes in a game so far.
Treats:
Dwight Howard ($7,500): Howard took just four shots against the Sixers, but he also played just 19 minutes because of foul trouble and because of the team winning big. More indicative of what we can expect from Howard was his great defensive performance against the Wizards in the opener. Howard isn’t much of an offensive threat alongside Millsap, but he has 26 rebounds and six blocks in two games.
Jonas Valanciunas ($6,700): Valanciunas has been a force in the first two games, turning in a 48.25 DraftKings points performance against Detroit and 33.25 against a solid Cleveland interior. Now he contends with a more offensive-minded Denver frontcourt. He only needs 33.5 DraftKings points for 5x value. That seems like an absolute certainty at this point.
Justin Hamilton ($4,000): Hamilton doesn’t provide much on the offensive end, but he has 20 rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and three steals in three games. His all-around production makes him a very low risk right now. And it’s not like he doesn’t score. He has 33 points in the three games. Also, his minutes have increased in every game. He is a big part of the Nets rotation right now, and is all but guaranteed 5x value.
Mike Muscala ($3,200): The Hawks are providing Dwight Howard with plenty of rest, and Muscala has responded with great play off the bench. In 47 minutes over two games, he has 23 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals, and five blocks. There is no reason to believe his minutes will suddenly dry up, so if you need to go cheap, Muscala is the best place tonight.
My pick: Valanciunas (C), Hamilton(UTIL)
Next: FanDuel Picks For Halloween Night!
Stay tuned for our FanDuel picks, our DFS NHL picks, and plenty of NFL advice heading into your weekend. We will also have the college football picks against the spread. You don’t want to miss any of this!