FanDuel NBA Picks and Pivots – Preseason Thursday October 12

Welcome to the Thursday edition of FanDuel NBA Picks and Pivots, a fantasy basketball column focused on helping you find the best core lineup for this slate of DFS action!

For those of you finding us for the first time, the concept behind FanDuel NBA Picks and Pivots is to first identify key building blocks that can be used for any roster construction and then identify pivot points to help differentiate your lineup in hopes of a big payday!

Wednesday’s winning GPP line-up put up over 317 FanDuel points as we wind down the preseason and continue to see the starters round into mid-season form while the winning DFS scores continue to rise! The winning formula on this slate was simple – and it has been the case all preseason long – find the starters with guaranteed solid minutes and keep your eye on the news to avoid late scratches. You know how I know people aren’t doing that (and thus giving us an edge EVERY night)??? Hassan Whiteside was ruled out 10-15 minutes before lock and yet he was still owned in 20% of rosters in the big $4 GPP on FanDuel. I know life is busy and things come up but in NBA DFS especially, if you aren’t committed to being on top of news leading up to lock then simply take the slate off – it is the craziest DFS sport for the last-minute roster scramble and you need to be ready!

Over the first thirteen preseason slates, it has taken 287.7 FanDuel points to take down a GPP which means we are roughly shooting for 4.8x value

Over the first thirteen preseason slates, it has taken 287.7 FanDuel points to take down a GPP which means we are roughly shooting for 4.8x value at this point in the season which once the regular season kicks off will ratchet up to 5-6x value!

Picks and Pivots is not a simple “best plays” column but rather it focuses on slate strategy and roster construction to help give you insight into how I will look to play this slate! The goal of this article is to dig through the slate, highlight our top plays and give you a sample line-up as an example of what our core roster build could look like using the analysis we lay out in the coming pages!

As always, we will look to update our picks and final lineup thought  prior to lock on our twitter account @FantasyCPR so make sure to give us a follow for all the late breaking lineup news.

Without further ado, let’s get into today’s slate!

FanDuel NBA – Top Point Guard Picks:

We only have two days left of preseason NBA and with tonight only being a two game slate, I would tread carefully with your bankroll but implore you to continue to play even if it is just for free/practice. On this slate you are going to have salary left-over no matter what you do so simply ignore the cap on FanDuel tonight and focus on the best plays and keep…an…eye…on…the…news. Please!

Point Guard is the most “loaded” of any spot on this slate as we have 3-4 legit options especially with the news that Patrick Beverley will be OUT tonight and Milos Teodosic ($3,000) will get all the run he can handle for the Clippers. Dennis Schroder ($7,500) is going to continue to be a point guard I lock in for DFS each and every night as the top dog for an up-tempo Hawks squad who is simply dominating the offensive usage. In three games so far this preseason, Schroder has put up no fewer than 15 shot attempts, good for a 16.3 FGA per game average which is second in the NBA to Mr. Usage James Harden. Outside of a Hawks minutes restriction, Schroder will be in 100% of my line-ups tonight!

Dennis Smith Jr. ($4,300) scuffled a bit in his initial preseason action but with the added time on the court and the injuries to players like Seth Curry, Smith has seemingly stepped into a larger role and flourished in his recent preseason action. In his last two outings, Smith has put up 28 shot attempts (including 10 from beyond the arc) while averaging over 14 points, 4 steals, 4 rebounds and 1 block per game. As the Mavericks ramp up for the regular season, if Smith continues to see the minutes/usage he has gotten over the last two games then he makes for a great play on a two game slate!

Tonight’s slate is a horrendous reminder that we sometimes need to roster two shooting guards on FanDuel and frankly, this is a hold your nose and pray kind of spot tonight! My recommendation is to lock in the safe plays where we target guys with solid minutes and usage within their offense and just try to avoid the landmines that seemingly are all over this position!

Buddy Hield ($4,600) has played between 24-25 minutes in each of the last four preseason games with double-digit shot attempts in three of his four games so that checks the box for a slate like this. With injuries to Patrick Beverley, Danilo Gallinari and Austin Rivers, the Clippers are already hurting for depth and we have early confirmation that Lou Williams ($5,000) will enter the starting line-up tonight for the Clippers. Sweet Lou is nothing more than a volume scorer but he did lead the Clippers in shot attempts last game and with the amount of bodies on the sidelines tonight it wouldn’t surprise me to see the same outcome this evening!

FanDuel NBA – Top Forward and Center Plays:

With the lack of star power on this slate I expect near universal ownership for Blake Griffin ($8,700) tonight and with all the usage flowing through him in the Clippers offense, I see no reason to even entertain a fade here. His teammate DeAndre Jordan ($7,900) will likely be the most popular center tonight as he is averaging a double-double so far this preseason in only 23 minutes a game so locking in the Clippers front-court is a great core play tonight.

The Mavericks front-court is not one I would normally look to roster in DFS but on a two game slate, they do offer the kind of minute stability and core production we can utilize to fill out our roster. Harrison Barnes ($6,400) has put up double-digit shot attempts in each of his last two games while playing 25 minutes a night so locking him in as a safe mid-range play tonight feels like a play that will likely keep you in contention while others try to get cute.  If you are looking for a more volatile, but higher upside option, Skal Labissiere ($4,100) is a player that has been a Picks and Pivots preseason favorite who has played 33+ minutes in two of his four preseason games and has double-digit shot attempts in three of his four outings thus far!

Justin Jackson ($3,600) continues to see solid minutes for the Kings thus far in the preseason with 24+ in each of his three games, starting last game and putting up 16 points with 10 shot attempts. Taurean Prince ($3,400) is another dirt cheap SF option with GPP upside and volatility who is locked into consistent minutes and usage in the Hawks up-temp offensive attack. Prince has two games thus far with 3 steals, critical in the new FD scoring, which combined with his rebounding ability and double-digit scoring, makes him an ideal target for those looking for multi-category upside.

FanDuel NBA– Sample Line-Up and Slate Overview

Please Note: This is NOT an optimized line-up, it is simply illustrative to show the type of roster build we can have using the logic previously laid out in Picks and Pivots. My actual line-up may differ from the line-up shown here.  

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PG: Dennis Schroder ($7,500)

PG: Dennis Smith Jr. ($4,300)

SG: Buddy Hield ($4,600)

SG: Lou Williams ($5,000)

SF: Taurean Prince ($3,400)

SF: Justin Jackson ($3,600)

PF: Blake Griffin ($8,700)

PF: Harrison Barnes ($6,400)

C: DeAndre Jordan ($7,900)

Slate Overview: Salary is not an issue on this slate so ignore pricing completely and simply play the guys in the best spots. From a roster build perspective, I would mix and match between the stable core starters(Blake/DeAndre) and be willing to take some risks on more volatile younger players (Jackson/Prince/Skal) if you are playing GPP’s. Since this is a two game slate, the roster variations will be minimal so there will be many of the same rosters in tournaments so try to focus on the smaller field GPP’s on slates like this and do not be afraid to take some risks!

Next: DraftKings NFL GPP Plays

Best of luck in your FanDuel NBA contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all your DFS news and analysis across the NBA, NFL, EPL and NHL!