Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks - Friday, October 25, 2024

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Point Guard/ Shooting Guard

LaMelo Ball FD - $10100 DK - $9300
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 51.09 DK - 55.4

LaMelo Ball balled out in the first game, and the Hornets actually took down the Houston Rockets on the road to start the season. LaMelo’s promise is that he can stay healthy and play major minutes all season.

If so, then the line we saw in the first tilt isn’t all that crazy. He dropped 34 points, added 11 assists, and grabbed eight rebounds. This is on the table for him, and the Hornets will be without Brandon Miller tonight, which could even open up more shots.

Tre Mann FD - $5400 DK - $4300
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 30.03 DK - 32.38

Brandon Miller went down early in the first game of the season and will sit this one out as well. Tre Mann stepped in, played 29 minutes, and ended up with 24 points and six rebounds. His 16 shots were second only behind Ball, a promising sign for his floor in this game. It’s unclear if he’ll get the start or if it will be Josh Green (expected back tonight), but I think Mann might even be a DraftKings play off the bench at these prices.

Dyson Daniels FD - $5200 DK - $4600
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 34.98 DK - 35.49

Dyson Daniels was one of the big performers in the first big slate of the season, a guy we ended up with in cash games on FanDuel because of the lower pricing. He played 35 minutes, went 6-12 from the field, scored 15 points and added five steals. All of this is just a little outlier (ish), but not to a crazy degree if he’s getting all the run. Plus, the Hawks will be without Bojan Bogdanovic in this game, meaning possibly even more opportunity.

Davion Mitchell FD - $4200 DK - $5300
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 24.9 DK - 27.18

Davion Mitchell looks like he’ll draw the start for the injured Immanuel Quickley, with the Raptors entering the season injured all over the place. RJ Barrett and Bruce Brown are already ruled out as well. Mitchell is a lower-usage, more defensively-minded player, so there’s probably a cap on his upside. But the Raptors also are pretty thin on backcourt depth at this point, so the minutes should be there.

Strongly consider Tyrese Maxey (FD 9400 DK 9100) who took 31 shots in the first game of the season.

Small Forward

Scottie Barnes FD - $9000 DK - $8800
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 47.56 DK - 50.14

Scottie Barnes and the rest of the Raptors face-planted in the first game of the season, getting crushed by the Cavaliers 136-106. They all got their minutes buzzed, and Barnes sucked, going 3-14 from the field and finishing with just nine points.

But tonight, he’ll face a Sixers team without Joel Embiid and Paul George coming off their own loss to the Bucks, who put up 131. Philly doesn’t have much in the way of big and agile defenders to deal with Barnes here, and I like going back in his direction. He has double-double upside with ways to score fantasy points across the box score.

Miles Bridges FD - $7300 DK - $7200
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 37.84 DK - 40.45

It was an underwhelming performance for Miles Bridges in the first game of the season, taking only 11 shots on his way to a 10/9/2 line. But the matchup against the Rockets wasn’t ideal, and we have already mentioned how LaMelo Ball and Tre Mann soaked up a ton of the usage.

This is a good bounce-back spot for Bridges, who we’ve seen fill the box score in the past. Plus, with Brandon Miller out, there should be more to do around.

While there’s a new regime in Charlotte, Bridges has seen major run in the past and if the minutes hit the mid-30s again then he’s likely just too low of a price on both sites.

 

Power Forward/ Center

Giannis Antetokounmpo FD - $11400 DK - $11100
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 58.23 DK - 61.48

Giannis Antetokounmpo dominated the Sixers in the first game of the season, dropping 25 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists in just 31 minutes. Milwaukee blew them out, and he had a bit of foul trouble as well.

With Khris Middleton out and the Bucks needing to keep their feet on the gas all season long, Giannis should be in line for monster lines pretty much every night. The matchup against the Bulls is a really good one, considering they allowed 123 points to a Zion Williamson-less Pelicans team in the first game of the season.

Andre Drummond FD - $6900 DK - $6800
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 44.15 DK - 45.96

It wasn’t amazing for Andre Drummond in the first game of the season, but I’m going back to the well here. He had a tougher matchup against Giannis and company and still finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds in just 25 minutes. They got blown out, and he got into foul trouble.

It’s much, much easier this time around against the Raptors, who, well, stink. The price actually dropped on both sites, considerably so on FanDuel. This looks like a smash spot.

Evan Mobley FD - $8200 DK - $7800
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 44.37 DK - 45.07

It’s an encouraging sign that Evan Mobley tied for the most shots on the Cavaliers in the first game of the season, finishing with a team-high 25 points while adding nine rebounds. I don’t know if it’s sustainable, but it’s not nothing. If this is going to be the case, and he’s the second option in the offense after Donovan Mitchell, then he’s priced too low on both sites.