Daily Fantasy NBA Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings Thursday 10/30

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Quick note on the Cavs, mainly Lebron, Love and Kyrie. I'm taking a wait-and-see approach on these guys tonight. For one, I think they're going to blow out the Knicks in a bad way. Early lines have them at -10. Now that in itself wouldn't sway me away from the big new three. It's just that they are so expensive for a team that is a little murky in how it'll fit together fantasy-wise. I just think it's too much money to allocate. I recognize this could easily blow up on me. But it's the line I'm taking.

Point Guard

Chris Paul - FD 9600 DK 9300
Though it didn't show with Lillard last night, I think opposing point guards are going to, in general, be at advantage when playing OKC. Westbrook is going to be called on to do so much with Durant out that it stands to reason his defense will suffer a bunch. Plus, CP3 could make it difficult for him on the other side of the court. OKC was below average against opposing PG's last season (though much of that was without Russ). Coming out of the gate, I expect the Clippers to come out firing on all cyclinders and on a short night it makes a lot of sense to play a safety guy like CP3.

Elfrid Payton - FD 5500 DK 4900
Elfrid was a guy we gave you right out of the gate on opening night and he turned in a value performance for the Magic. He paid of his FD salary at 4x which we will definitely take in a double up format on a short night. I don't think he'll go totally crazy, but he played over thirty minutes in a game that was pretty much a blowout. That's a great DFS sign because it means he should see run for a Magic team that will be down a bunch. The Wiz and John Wall allowed worse than league-average scoring and assists to the opposing PG last season and they are a similar (worse) squad this season. Solid prices here on Payton. I like him especially on DraftKings.

John Wall - FD 8600
I really like his price on FD tonight against the Magic. Though Holiday didn't do much the other night against Payton, Wall is a different story. The Wizards spread around their scoring last night which is actually good news for Wall. He isn't forced to carry an enormous scoring load sans- Ariza, Beal and Nene. Now, the Wiz are definitely missing those guys, but if Wall can score some, distribute some and contribute across the box score this price is pretty advantageous.

Consider Jameer Nelson especially on DraftKings

Shooting Guard

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope - FD 3800 DK 3600
I gave him to you yesterday as a solid cheap option coming out of the two. He rewarded the punt price play with a 7/7/3 throwing in a steal and block. That's more than enough production considering the minimum salary. Not much has changed for me tonight. He gets another fast-paced team in the T-Wolves so the possessions should be there for KVG. Look, he isn't the best player in the world, but our only concern is production compared to price. And if he's going to play in the mid 30's in terms of minutes he is more than acceptable here.

Alec Burks - FD 5100
You are going to see a few Jazz guys on here which has me a little scared. More than a little scared considering there are some real superstars hitting the hardwood tonight. But as with everything we do around here, it's all about price. And he's a solid value on FD tonight. If the shots are there (Utah spread it around last night) Burks could have a game where he pours it on.

Monta Ellis - DK 7700
REally solid price on DraftKings for a guy who can fill the scoring part of the ledger up in a big way. He's added enough assists that the double-double bonus is somewhat in play. But you are going to need him shooting.

Small Forward

Josh Smith - FD 7800 DK 7500
Gave you Smoove yesterday with the idea that he was playing a fast-paced team without any real interior defense. He was also moving back to the four with Monroe out. Smoove obliged. 25/5/3 with some blocks and a steal got the job done. Now he'll face a Minny squad that allowed 25/13 to Z-Bo last night. They'll have trouble defending the four with Thad Young down in the blocks. I'll get to Thad in a second, but I can see Smith having another big night playing his more natural position.

Going site-specific here after Smoove

Gordon Hayward - FD 6700
Said this yesterday, but I love the floor on Hayward simply because he can contribute in a number of different ways. The Mavs are a totally revamped squad, so the jury's still out on how they'll meld defensively. They looked ok against the Spurs, which is kind of a compliment. Though the Spurs were without Kawhi. Our system like the price on Gordo here and I'm tempted to trust it.

Paul Pierce - FD 5500
If he's playing 33 minutes a night then this is a great price on Pierce who will chip in just enough scoring and rebounding to more than pay it.

Tobias Harris - DK 5800
He's shown that he can be real productive when given the minutes. Started the season with a 25/8 and should be able to easily pay this DK price tonight against the Wizards.

Power Forward

Thaddeus Young - FD 7500 DK 6700
If last night was any indication, Thad is going to be happy playing in Minnesota. That is of course if he doesn't care about winning. After coming from the Sixers, the Wolves are probably like playing with an All-Star team. He wasted little time getting acclimated going 26/4/4 and putting up the most shots (18) on the team. It's this kind of volume is any indication of his role, then he won't remain at these prices for long. Without any real clear punting options heading in to tonight, I think it's safe to middle around with guys like Young, Smoove, etc in cash games.

Blake Griffin - FD 9600 DK 10000
Our system doesn't love the guy, but on such a short slate it's sometimes hard to avoid the superstars. He's priced slightly below guys like Lebron and Melo, but he's the one I would take for the dollars He isn't in the best matchup in the world, although in four games against the Thunder last season Blake went for an average of 25/10/5. Not a bad line. If he did that again he'd be value play even at the elevated prices.

Derrick Favors - FD 6000
I'm aware that by this point you might be a little overexposed to the Jazz. That could possibly be a problem. They are just priced so well all things considered. Favors is a real productive player, the issue is the minutes. Dude just can't seem to play over 30+ minutes on the regular and that eats into his top end expectation. For 6K on FD I think he can pay it. He just won't win you a GPP unless he gets full run.

Center

Andre Drummond - FD 8700 DK 8600
I was all over him last night and foul trouble got in his way early. He still turned in a not-quite respectable 11/9/1. But that didn't really get the job done. Again, fouls were an issue. I'm going right back to the Drummond well tonight though. Last night Marc Gasol tuned up the TWolve interior with a 32/9/3. Drummond, if he can stay in control, could put up similar fantasy numbers, replacing some of the points with more rebounds. Let others be dissuaded by the subpar opening night performance. This guy's an elite rebounder and can put up huge games.

Consider Tyson Chandler