Daily Fantasy NBA Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftPot - 11/5/15

The NBA is back! And honestly, I feel like if never really left us. The Finals seem like yesterday, the off season saw a ton of moves and we are ready to jump back into another season. We'll be bringing you daily picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and more. It's going to be a great season.

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Our projection system handles the little bits of pricing and projecting differences. That being said, for this opening slate I think you are very much going to be taking a stars and punts approach.

POINT GUARD

Russell Westbrook - FD 10800 DK 10400
Opponent - CHI FD Proj. Pts - 48.73 DK Proj. Pts - 50.48
It's going to get old writing him up every single night, but I simply don't think the price is all the way there yet. If he's going to get in the mid 30's of minutes (which he pretty much will in anything but a blowout) then you can just almost book him for in the mid 40's of FanDuel points. That kind of floor is just insane from anyone and especially a point guard. Unless most other guards at this price, Russell can survive a bad shooting night because he literally does everything else.

Kemba Walker - FD 7200 DK 6600
Opponent - DAL FD Proj. Pts - 31.95 DK Proj. Pts - 33.58
Walker's never been a particularly good shooter, though dude at times tries to make up for it with some volume. He'll find the hot hand from time to time and we want to buy him when the opposing one will have trouble matching up with him on the outside. Deron Williams is just the kind of guy I'm talking about. Kemba's minutes should be there and his assist numbers, along with the rebounds are enough to play him in cash games. I especially like the DraftKings price.

Mike Conley - FD 6600 DK 6600
Opponent - POR FD Proj. Pts - 29.85 DK Proj. Pts - 31.64
Our system really likes him, I just am forever worried about him getting undercut just a little in minutes. That being said, this is a great matchup for Conley because Lillard does not concern himself too much with the defense. Portland's been perennially poor defending the opposing one. Conley's prices are really solid, especially on FanDuel.

SHOOTING GUARD

Dwyane Wade - FD 7100 DK 6900
Opponent - MIN FD Proj. Pts - 32.77 DK Proj. Pts - 33.27
He has some headache issues last game which cut into his minutes some. He's more of a safety play than a guy who'll win you any kind of tournament. The top end scoring isn't there for him at this point, but he's productive enough to consider playing at a weaker position. I don't love the DK price as much because he doesn't take enough threes. But on FanDuel he won't totally kill your cap considering he's possibly coming at a slight discount.

Jimmy Butler - FD 8000 DK 7700
Opponent - OKC FD Proj. Pts - 29.95 DK Proj. Pts - 31.18
Our system isn't gaga over the guy in some part because the minutes aren't totally there for the guy anymore. That being said, he's getting more shots per minute than he was last season in part because the Bulls are playing at a faster. That is a big difference for their volume with Rose at the PG over a guy like say, Hinrich. The pace might make up for some of Butler's minutes decrease.

Courtney Lee - FD 4000 DK 4200
Opponent - POR FD Proj. Pts - 18.12 DK Proj. Pts - 19.42
Your cheap guy who gets a bunch of minutes but doesn't do a whole lot with said minutes. Lee is mostly just a dude though he will get his looks from time to time. There's little risk with this salary and you might need it to pay up elsewhere.

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SMALL FORWARD

Nicolas Batum - FD 6600 DK 6800
Opponent - DAL FD Proj. Pts - 28.35 DK Proj. Pts - 30.33
He's found a new role in Charlotte and while I don't know his personal feelings about leaving Portland, his basketball feelings have to be doing back flips. He's averaging about 30% more shot attempts per game and more rebounds as well. This is what happens when you leave a team that featured Lamarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard. There is just going to be more opportunity almost no matter where you go. He's been fantastic so far and there's good evidence to suggest his price will continue to climb.

Nikola Mirotic - FD 6000 DK 6700
Opponent - OKC FD Proj. Pts - 27.88 DK Proj. Pts - 30.16
It's going to be a funny thing with the Bulls all season when it comes to their minutes. Like I said with Butler, these aren't the Tom Thibs Bulls and you can't expect them to just run themselves ragged for no reason. Mirotic would have been the most ideal DFS play in history (behind Jimmy Buckets of course) if he was out there for 35 minutes. Alas he's not and we are in a weird zone of how much to trust the run. I think he gets it enough tonight in a nice matchup against the Thunder. But he isn't exactly safe.

Gordon Hayward - FD 6800 DK 6600
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 33.49 DK Proj. Pts - 35.45
Oof, I know it's starting to feel weird playing this guy, and there are some reasons to be concerned. In fact James and I have argued about him on the regular around here. The case against Hayward is the overall production is down across the board thanks in some part to a minutes' decrease. But he's also running a little bad from the field compared to his career averages. The price is down to a point where on the shorter slate I'm willing to take the risk especially against the defensively challenged (to put it lightly) Denver squad.

POWER FORWARD

Derrick Favors - FD 8000 DK 7200
Opponent - DEN FD Proj. Pts - 32.15 DK Proj. Pts - 32.56
Hayward's loss appears to be Favors' gain this season. He's seen a massive bump in his shots per minutes this season and that's translated to a increased production from Favors. It's coming at the right time because tonight he faces a Denver team that couldn't defend me or you in the low post. The Nuggets are (and have been) one of the worst interior defenses in recent memory and have been crushed repeatedly by opposing 4's and 5's. That should continue again tonight with Favors who I suspect, even at a higher salary, is a popular play.

Marvin Williams - FD 4800 DK 5000
Opponent - DAL FD Proj. Pts - 22.87 DK Proj. Pts - 25.02
His minutes got buzzed off the other night mostly because Charlotte ended up with an unexpected epic blow out of Chicago. When he was in there, Marvin's per minute numbers were again solid. While we maybe can't expect consistent run in the high 30's, even numbers in the mid to low 30's gets it done for him at these prices. This is a good matchup against a Dallas team that's middle of the road in pace and defensive efficiency. But what I'm mostly a fan of is the price and opportunity.

Consider Serge Ibaka

CENTER

Karl-Anthony Towns - FD 6600 DK 6700
Opponent - MIA FD Proj. Pts - 38.35 DK Proj. Pts - 38.97
It's always tough with rookies this early in the season. We need to make some logical leaps when it comes to their production and minutes. The good news on Towns is he looks very much like the real deal. He's put together a couple of fantastic games even though the last one against Portland left a lot to be desired. This matchup against Whiteside and Miami is one I'm still willing to buy on considering the price. Give him a couple more weeks, the salaries will easily be in the 7K range and above.

Hassan Whiteside - FD 8000 DK 7400
Opponent - MIN FD Proj. Pts - 35.59 DK Proj. Pts - 36.19
Oh he's been such a beast. It's always a weird thing to predict NBA players or to understand who's actually going to pay off long term because every season the Gorgui Dieng's of the world appear as fantasy all-stars and then disappear just as quickly. But Hassan is the real deal and he's capitalizing in a big way. The numbers this season have been amazing and he has a solid matchup against the T-Wolves even with Towns.

Zaza Pachulia - FD 5100 DK 5300
Opponent - CHA FD Proj. Pts - 25.41 DK Proj. Pts - 25.81
He's such a minutes disaster which I dislike. But he's typically a per minute guy you can look to for cheap production in a tournament. Dallas isn't committed to the guy (who could be?) but like most NBA players in his situation, if the minutes are there then he can pay in a big way relative to price.

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