Daily Fantasy NBA Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings Wednesday 10/29

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Point Guard

Look there are a ton of good point guards going tonight. I think you are going to see the percentage starts spread out. I could make strong cases for a number of different guys on the high end. I couldn’t blame you for playing a mix and match style here. I’ll highlight who I think is worth it in the upper tier.

Russell Westbrook - FD 10000 DK 10400
He’s so, so expensive. But man, if there was a guy to pay for tonight, it’s Westbrook. Now, he doesn’t have a big track record without Durant. But with KD out for short term, Westbrook clearly becomes the catalyst in the offense. I think we are going to see crazy volume from the guy. Losing Durant leaves an enormous void. Last season, in only 46 games, Westbrook averaged 22/7/6. I think you see the assist numbers dip some and scoring bounce up in a big way. He’ll be carrying the team. Honestly, I almost can’t pay enough for him at PG tonight, though DK is pushing it a little for me. It might be an overpay, but I don’t see any other PG carrying as much of the offense as him.

Goran Dragic - FD 8100 DK 7300
I’m much more inclined to use him on DraftKings where I like his price better. Dragic turned it on last season, and proved that he could be the focal point of the offense with Bledsoe out or co-exist with the latter in the lineup. Against the Lakers he makes a solid play, especially is Jeremy Lin is guarding him. Much of the Suns’ roster remains the same (Frye gone, IT2 in) and it appears they’ll continue to play a fast-paced, running style. They ranked 8th in the league in PACE last season, with Dragic dictating much of that.

Donald Sloan - FD 3500 DK 3000
Welcome to the wonderful world of NBA DFS. Where guys like Donald Sloan get more than four sentences written about them. Yesterday it was announced that George Hill would be out for the first few weeks. Backup point guard CJ Watson is also out. Paul George is also out. Lance Stephenson is no longer with the team. David West is out. Because the Pacers need someone to dribble the ball over half court and do something, Sloan looks to be the guy. He isn’t good. But at the minimums, he doesn’t need to be. If he’s playing 30 minutes against a terrible team in the Sixers at these prices then you kind of just need to play him. He allows you tons of flexibility elsewhere.

Strongly consider Jeremy Lin, Ty Lawson and Mike Conley

Shooting Guard

Eric Bledsoe - FD 7400 DK 7000
A much better deal on FanDuel, I’m willing to go with Bledshow at a short position this evening. It’ll be interesting to watch this matchup. Assuming Kobe guards him (not positive on that one) I think there is reason to suspect Bledsoe will have considerable opportunity. Kobe is coming off a last year to injury and is instantly playing a back-to-back. Bledsoe adds enough rebounding and dishing to keep his floor high on a given night, and has the ability to bust it out of the box if he gets to scoring early and often. I think the Suns will run all night in this one and I’m rolling Bledshow in a lot of spots.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope - FD 3800 DK 3600
Pope isn’t the sexiest guy in the DFS landscape but he has a couple of things going for him. First of all, he’s been confirmed the starter for the Pistons and with Jodie Meeks out, won’t have someone eating into his minutes at the two. Last season Pope played around 19 minutes a game and averaged a 6/2/1. Those numbers look ugly of course. But if you pencil him in for about thirty minutes a night you can reasonably expect a 9/3/2. Those numbers aren’t great either, but for his prices, with a slim position you can take it in some cash games.

Rodney Stuckey - FD 5600 DK 5600
It’s hard to know this early in the season exactly how a player will fit in with a new team. What we do know is this: without Paul George and Lance Stephenson, the Pacers lack dudes who can score or create on their own. CJ Miles doesn’t cut it really, or at least isn’t terrific. I suppose Stuckey isn't either, but I do think he’ll be given an opportunity to score considering the other options on the court. The Pacers don’t play a fast face, much slower than the Pistons last season. But Stuckey should be able to pay these prices with the starting opportunity. And if he's handling some backup point guard duties in addition to starting at the two, then the volume should more than be there.

Strongly consider Jimmy Butler (Update: Looks like he's out tonight) against the Knicks and Kyle Korver on FanDuel.

Small Forward

Some things never change. Small forward is once again a disaster of a position where value is hard to come by. Welcome back NBA!

Josh Smith - FD 7800 DK 7600
If you’ve played NBA DFS you probably feel one extreme opinion or the other about Josh Smith. There’s a chance he’s won you solid money at some point. And also as likely that he’s caused you to want to commit some serious acts of violence. I don’t want to recommend him as anything more than a GPP play, but if we assume Denver and Detroit will play around their PACE from last season, this game should be high scoring. What makes me feel like Smith is just a shade safer is him starting the season at the four where he played in Atlanta. With Monroe out Smith returns back to where he could feel more comfortable, matched up presumably with Kenneth Faried or J.J. Hickson two guys much more interested in the offensive side of the game.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - FD 3600 DK 4000
This is strictly a price and opportunity thing. There are better small forwards in terms of skill out there on the board. But I just don’t see wanting to pay for many of the higher-priced names on the board. He isn't the first, second or third option for Charlotte, but if he's out there for thirty minute or more, then paying these prices off shouldn't be an enormous issue (weird jumpshot or not).

Gordon Hayward - FD 6700
FD only - Our system like Hayward’s projected production at this price, but it might be drawing a little too much on Parson’s defense from last season for the Rockets. By many accounts, Ariza is a defensive upgrade and assuming he’s guarding Hayward out of the three, this could be a struggle for Gordo. Hayward is a dude who does little bits of everything, without excelling in one particular area. The prices are in the mid-tier which helps me stomach playing him a bit more, but I’m not completely pumped about it. He’s a guy who can pull long term disappearing acts. I should note, this is FD only. He’s a SG on DraftKings and I’m probably not running him there.

Danilo Gallinari - FD 5900 DK 5100
GPP play. At these prices I’m only really concerned about the minutes. He didn’t play much in the preseason and he could only see in the low 20’s to start the season. But SF is a weaker bunch and in a fast-paced game with a higher O/U I almost think you can roll the dice and see what happens with him. Again, only really a GPP option because the minutes are up in the air as he returns after a prolonged absence.

Update: If David Lee doesn't play tonight, Draymond Green makes a solid play stepping in at the four.

Power Forward

Jared Sullinger - FD 6600 DK 6600
He's coming off a big preseason in which he just rebounded, scored, rebounded more, chipped in some more scoring, and grabbed a few more boards. Now, it was preseason. And that's not a predetermining factor in our projections. In fact, it doesn't weigh at all (not a Sullinger fat joke. He's not fat anymore). He is in line to play big minutes at the four and handle a significant portion of the Celtics' glass clearing. Many outfits are predicting a great season out of Sullinger. I'm tempering my excitement just a bit until he actually does it. That being said, it's good to be bearish at these prices. Don't love Brooklyn's pace and they defended the PF at an above average clip last season, but not by much. I'm buying Sullinger in the mid tier.

Luis Scola - FD 4000 DK 4500
Another chance to get in on a guy priced like a mid-bench role player who’ll be thrust into some (presumably) big minutes with everyone on the Pacers dead or something. Scola, figuring a bump in his minutes multiplier

LaMarcus Aldridge - FD 9800 DK 9200
Last season Aldridge played four games against OKC. He averaged 26/14/3 and put up some monsters. Not much has changed on the defensive side of the ball for the Thunder so there’s reason to suspect Aldridge can keep this kind of production going. Because there are so many punt options going tonight, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to play him as the top PF option and pair (or team) him with a couple of other big ticket guys. The Portland offense runs through he and Lillard and with Durant out, I can see the Blazers wanting to really stomp the Thunder here. He isn't the best pts/$ PF in our system, but I'm fine paying up for him in this situation.

Kenneth Faried - FD 7300 DK 7300
In a game that should have a fast pace with a bunch of scoring, I like Faried taking advantage of Smith a little down low. Last season the Pistons were below average defending the low post, and though Monroe isn't the best defender in the world, his size will be missed in this one.

Markieff Morris - FD 6100 DK 6500
Could very well be a full time beast this season.

Center

I'm willing to spend here tonight.

Andre Drummond - FD 8700 DK 8700
Could be in for a monster tonight. A real monster. The Nuggets were among the worst teams in the league defending the opposing center, and nothing much has change down low for that squad. Drummond, without Monroe there, could be in line for even more rebounds. While I don't think he's a favorite to do so, putting a 20 rebound game here wouldn't completely surprise me. It's a very tough call for me between Drummond and Jefferson. I'm going to most likely mix and match the two.

Al Jefferson - FD 9500 DK 9100
He's one of the premiere centers in the game and has the ability to go 25/15 (or much better) on any given night. Throw in the blocks and and assist here and there and you've got a guy that can help win a tournament for you. Last season the Bucks were a mess defending center. Granted they were without Larry Sanders most of the season, and there's some reason to suspect he's a better defender than almost anything Larry Drew was throwing out there last season. But Jefferson transcends some of that, and it isn't a definitive thing anyway.

Strongly consider Roy Hibbert, the aforementioned Larry Sanders as well as Jordan Hill on FanDuel.