DFS NBA Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - Thursday 10/20

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Guards

Tyrese Maxey FD - $6600 DK - $5200
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 30.55 DK - 31.07

Like opening night, we have another small two-game slate so we are going to need some value and for me, that comes at the guard position with much more intriguing payups at the forward/center positions. Let's start with Tyrese Maxey who Doug mentioned on Tuesday was underpriced for his potential role and that continues here as the price only came up slightly on both sites. He played 38 minutes on opening night and took the second-most shots(16) on the team finishing with 30 fantasy points which at these prices is a terrific return, especially on DraftKings at nearly 6x. He is very shooting dependant but I feel we need to continue to buy low early in the season. He is in play on both sites but his best value comes on DraftKings in the low $5K range.

Russell Westbrook FD - $7200 DK - $7000
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 30.37 DK - 31.51

It wasn't clear whether Westbrook would start for the Lakers on opening night but that ended up being the case as he played 31 minutes and finished third in shots behind the two usage monsters AD and Bron. There is always risk he just turns the ball over a ton but there is also no denying the high floor/high ceiling with his contributions in multiple categories. He showed this on opening night with his first double-double of the season and the best part is that this is a guy that we got used to paying 8-9K for in the past. At these prices, it makes sense to load up in all formats if he is back in the starting lineup.

Grayson Allen FD - $3800 DK - $4600
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 20.38 DK - 21.33

Let's close out the guard section by going way down the board with a player that really help us to a stars and scrubs type build. Allen is going to cede a lot of the shots to Giannis and Holiday in the offense but was solid in his three preseason starts shooting 48% on nine shots a game and it also helps he is going to provide us with around 4-6 rebounds, as well. That is more than enough considering the price and is one of the cheapest starting players on this small slate which will push him into my builds in all formats.

Also Consider: Kendrick Nunn(LAL) who played 23 minutes for the Lakers in the opener and put up nearly a 7x return on DraftKings. The price came up slightly but on this smaller slate, it makes sense if you are going a full stars and scrubs build

Small Forward

LeBron James FD - $10800 DK - $9300
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 49.89 DK - 51.37

LeBron was the highlight of our opening night article with Doug mentioning the Lakers are going to need every once of production from him and AD this season. That couldn't have been more true in game one as James was the only reason the Lakers kept the game against the 76ers relatively close. he was dominant from a fantasy perspective almost recording a triple-double with 31 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. If that production keeps up, and there is no reason to believe it won't, LeBron is just too cheap and an excellent buy-low early in the season especially on DraftKings where he is our top play tonight.

Wesley Matthews FD - $3800 DK - $3600
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 12.23 DK - 12.72
Jordan Nwora FD - $4300 DK - $5100
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 12.77 DK - 12.8

The Bucks will be without Kris Middleton and Pat Connaughton to start the season and that creates some much-needed value on this smaller slate. It will ultimately come down to who gets the nod as the starter but both Matthews and Nwora are in play. Let's start with Nwora who was excellent in his two starts in the preseason playing 28 minutes in their first game leading the team in shots(15) and finishing with 21 points and eight rebounds then played 31 minutes against the Bulls dropping a 25-5-3 line. For Matthews, there is a little more risk as he missed the entire preseason with an ankle injury but returned to practice leading up to this game and is sub $4K on both sites. Stay tuned for starting lineups as one of these two likely becomes a top PTS/$ play for us tonight.

Also Consider: Lonnie Walker(LAL) as the Lakers likely continue to play small ball around LeBron and AD. Walker played 29 minutes in the opener and while he didn't stand out in any one area, he tallied a stat in every fantasy category and give us a 5x return. Look for the same kind of floor/cash game performance again tonight.

Power Forward

Giannis Antetokounmpo FD - $11300 DK - $10700
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 56.65 DK - 60.02

With the softer pricing to start the season, especially on DraftKings, it won't be hard to jam two of the top three studs on this smaller slate so we better take advantage. The 2x MVP is an absolute beast when it comes to fantasy as he not only logs 35-40 minutes a game he finished the season with an average of 31.6 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists with the addition of another 2.6 blocks+steals per game. He only played twice in the preseason and while he wasn't efficient in the final tune-up shooting just 6 for 21 from the field, he did get to the free-throw line 15 times and finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. He now faces a Philly team that looked sluggish in their opener giving up 126 points to the Celtics with both Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown dropping 35 points each. I am probably out in cash games on FanDuel at over $11K  but on DraftKings, Giannis is easily in play in all formats.

Tobias Harris FD - $6300 DK - $5500
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 32.73 DK - 35.44

The soft pricing on DraftKings continues as we get Tobias Harris in the mid $5K range again tonight. While he isn't going to get elite volume with Harden, Maxey, and Embiid in the lineup, he did take 14 shots in the opener shooting 50% and giving us a 5x return on both sites. He is going to be very shooting dependant but early in the season, we should continue to see some high-scoring games with teams getting their regular rotations set and this game is sitting with a 225 total. At these prices, on this small slate, Harris is in play for me in all formats.

Center

Joel Embiid FD - $10200 DK - $10300
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 58.7 DK - 61.88

At the center position, there is really only one option for me tonight and it's Joel Embiid. Like others we have already discussed, he is slightly underpriced to start the season which again leads us to a heavy stars and scrubs build. We didn't get Embiid's dominant ceiling game in the opener against the Celtics but he was still very good leading the team with 18 shots and finishing with a double-double(26 points-15 rebounds) and adding five assists to give us a 5x return on both sites. The price only came up slightly so even in another tough matchup, I like Embiid as a core paly in all formats.

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