Daily Fantasy NBA Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and DraftPot - 11/10/15

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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POINT GUARD

Isaiah Thomas - FD 7300 DK 7000
Opponent - MIL FD Proj. Pts - 36.19 DK Proj. Pts - 38.56
He was well on his way to a fantastic game the other night against the Wizards and then all of a sudden the Celtics decided to just blow the doors off of Washington. With Marcus Smart out of the lineup (and he's looking doubtful for this game) Thomas becomes option 1 and 1A for the Celtics first team on offense. He just gets up an insane amount of shots even in limited run because the Celtics play at such a crazy pace. Thomas gets up more than 15 shots (at a minimum) and can crush that usage if the minutes are there. I think they will be tonight against the Bucks and as long as he's in the starting lineup, he makes for one of the best plays on the night.

Kemba Walker - FD 7200 DK 6600
Opponent - MIN FD Proj. Pts - 32.69 DK Proj. Pts - 34.33
I love buying guys like Walker when they faster teams like the T-Wolves. As evidenced last night, the Timberwolves are susceptible to opposing point guards on the scoring end. Teague had his way with Rubio and company especially in the second half. Walker could put up a similar line. He's definitely a score-first point and when the minutes are there he's a favorite to get up a lot of shots. That could be the case against Minny tonight. Walker's been run off in his minutes the last couple of games, but this is a prime matchup to buy on.

Russell Westbrook - FD 10900 DK 10800
Opponent - WAS FD Proj. Pts - 48.55 DK Proj. Pts - 50.31
He's a little lower on the list tonight only because I think there is other PG value and you can get your money in slightly better on Anthony Davis at a tougher power forward position. But Russell is Russell and there aren't many other better fantasy players going. He's such a beast and has such a high floor expectation every single night. Washington's been pushing the pace this season, something that really favors Westbrook's style, though they've been solid against opposing point guards. He's expensive of course, but there's always a case for Westbrook.

SHOOTING GUARD

Dwyane Wade - FD 7000 DK 6400
Opponent - LAL FD Proj. Pts - 32.4 DK Proj. Pts - 32.89
It's going to make sense to have a decent amount of exposure to the Heat tonight. They are playing the worst defensive team on the slate and they have the highest expected total on the night. Wade's minutes haven't been there fully to start the season which could effect his upside in this game. But if LA can keep this even a semblance of close then he should be around for about 30 minutes of run with will be more than enough to get him paid off. He's all about the scoring and needs the shots to pay off. If there was any matchup where they'd be available, this is the one.

Eric Gordon - FD 5500 DK 5800
Opponent - DAL FD Proj. Pts - 23.74 DK Proj. Pts - 26.12
His biggest value add by a million miles is the minutes. Few other players in the NBA are locked into as many minutes as Gordon. The Pelicans have so little in the way of scoring threats and need to have Gordon on the court for long stretches for some outside scoring. They just don't have anyone else while Tyreke is on the shelf, Jrue is on a minutes restriction and the rest of the team is devoid of true scorers. Gordon's price is right in the value zone on this slate and I suspect, outside of some injury news, that he'll be a heavy start on this slate.

Consider Giannis Antetokounmpo

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SMALL FORWARD

Gordon Hayward - FD 6600 DK 6500
Opponent - CLE FD Proj. Pts - 31.68 DK Proj. Pts - 33.41
After really struggling from the field to start the season, Hayward's turned it around over the last couple of games shooting 13-23 and getting the three to fall with a little more consistency. I still think we are buying low on Hayward as he's starting to round into form some in this offense. I like the matchup against Cleveland in this one mostly on the price point. Cleveland is a slower, derensively-minded team. But I just think we are getting a discount on Hayward because of the early season struggles.

Khris Middleton - FD 5800 DK 5800
Opponent - BOS FD Proj. Pts - 27.44 DK Proj. Pts - 29.23
If you are looking for a volume play then Middleton could be a fantastic value. The Celtics play at the fastest pace in the league this season by a healthy margin. And though theyare somewhat solid on defense, Middleton could be in play for more shots. His looks can be variable from time-to-time which can screw with the consistency. But his minutes are pretty locked in at this point, he's contributing in other facets of the score sheet.

Jae Crowder - FD 4700 DK 4800
Opponent - MIL FD Proj. Pts - 22.28 DK Proj. Pts - 23.56
I wish we could trust the Celtics' minutes just a little bit more. Crowder has put together some solid, all-around performances so far this season. The problem is that the Celtics' rotations aren't locked in stone and they can go with hot hands here and there. That being said, Crowder is a per-minute beast and is all over the place on the defensive end. It's hard to imagine the steals numbers to maintain, and yet there he is every game just picking pockets.

Strongly consider Nicolas Batum. Also keep an eye on the Demarre Carroll/ James Johnson situation in Toronto. Either makes an ok play if they stand to get full run.

POWER FORWARD

Anthony Davis - FD 10800 DK 10700
Opponent - DAL FD Proj. Pts - 50.34 DK Proj. Pts - 51.12
The price still isn't where it should be and until the salaries climb at least 5-10% higher, you can safely but Davis almost independent of matchup. He's just such a fantasy beast and few other players have the kind of top-end upside Davis possesses. As far as our system is concerned, he's a must start though I do understand why there'd be some hesitation on that front. He hasn't been the most consistent guy on the court and teams understand that they can bring multiple defensive fronts to Davis because the Pelicans have few other weapons. That being said, it is very tough to fade him especially on slate like this.

Kristaps Porzingis - FD 5400 DK 5700
Opponent - TOR FD Proj. Pts - 28.36 DK Proj. Pts - 29.34
This is a fantastic rookie class of players and Porzingis is a big part of that. He's been averaging a double-double over the last 4 games and been filling it up on a per-minute basis. The latter is really his only issue. The Knicks are bringing him along slowly and he isn't a favorite to see minutes close to thirty. If he was, I'd call him a must play at these prices. As it stands, you are taking some risk if he gets buzzed off on his run. Or he could see a ton of minutes and crush these prices. Probably more of a tournament play, but there's no denying how good he's been in the short term.

Jared Sullinger - FD 5200 DK 5500
Opponent - MIL FD Proj. Pts - 25.99 DK Proj. Pts - 27.33
Julius Randle - FD 5900 DK 6600
Opponent - MIA FD Proj. Pts - 26.96 DK Proj. Pts - 27.47
I'm grouping them together because they fall very much into the same category as Kristaps above. They are able to fill it up when on the court, but don't see enough run to make them anywhere near safe. I still think you can take a shot on both considering how good they are even in limited minutes, but it's a scary proposition.

Consider Marvin Williams who seems a little bit safer, but has less of the upside.

CENTER

Hassan Whiteside - FD 8000 DK 7600
Opponent - LAL FD Proj. Pts - 38.07 DK Proj. Pts - 38.74
He's basically a must start on DraftKings and a fantastic play on FanDuel as well. Whiteside is such a beast and one of those guys who confuses the hell out of you when thinking about NBA player development. Basically teams couldn't figure out how to use this guy and then he comes to Miami where he becomes a block machine with offensive upside off the pick and roll. He'll face a Lakers' team ranked in the bottom third of the league in defending opposing centers this season. They are shredded on the boards and Hassan's a block machine to begin with. Will be a staple for me.

Karl-Anthony Towns - FD 6700 DK 7400
Opponent - CHA FD Proj. Pts - 33.58 DK Proj. Pts - 34.12
He's riskier than Whiteside even from a pts/$ standpoint, but I'm still looking a the upside for Towns. It's taking him some time to get his NBA legs under him and while he's had a huge game, there have been some struggles as well. He absolutely needs to play minutes in the low thirties in this matchup because the Hornets do play at a slower pace than league average. They've been middle of the road against opposing centers, but the T-Wolves are a weird bunch. They can turn on the jets and really get things moving, but the second half of the game against the Hawks last night illustrates their major warts. I like Towns, but wouldn't consider him safe.
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