Main Slate Breakdown for NBA DFS 10/31:
Oct 25, 2021; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (2) shows his traditional salute after a three point shot against the Boston Celtics during the second half at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome to another year of the DFS Army NBA Full Court Press! Members had a ton of success using the Full Court Press along with various articles and tools that DFS Army provides last season, so we are glad to be back with another year of the all-inclusive article. You have to start your research somewhere, and oftentimes going game by game and breaking down every matchup and its key players is the first step in our process. My name is Mike aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter, make sure to give me a follow as I’ll occasionally make updates to the advice in the article. But, you’ll mostly find me in our VIP coaching forums where I provide detailed lineup maneuvers and answer all lineup questions. With that said, let’s get it started!
Sacramento Kings @ Dallas Mavericks
Vegas Total: 218.0
Vegas Spread: Dal -4.0
We’ll get this Halloween Sunday started with an island game this afternoon, this game is on the all-day slate on FanDuel, but you’ll have to play the showdown on DraftKings to get some action. Starting with the Kings, De’Aaron Fox hasn’t started the season all that great but I do like this spot as a “get right” game for him against the Mavs. We know the ceiling is there on him, so on a one-game slate, if he goes off and you don’t have him, your lineup is probably dead at that point. Then we get to the group of Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield, and Tyrese Haliburton who are all solid secondary options. Barnes is going to be your most consistent and has started the season really well but will also be the most expensive. Then, Richaun Holmes owns this frontcourt right now with Marvin Bagley essentially being out of the picture. I always like targeting big men against this Mavericks frontcourt which has been pretty weak since last season. If you’re looking for a cheap option on this team I would go down to rookie Davion Mitchell who has at least 29 minutes in three of their last five games. From the Mavs, we will need to keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed with Kristaps Porzingis coming into this one as questionable. He’s missed their last couple of games, so for now I’m just going to operate under the assumption that he’s out again here. The people who cased Maxi Kleber’s 45 point fantasy game probably weren’t all that thrilled when he went out and got 13 fantasy points last time out. He’s more of a GPP value in my book with extended run potential with Porzingis out. You can throw Dwight Powell in with him as well, both are solid value’s on a short slate but don’t expect the world from them. With Kristaps off the court this season, Luka Doncic has a 36.5% usage rate and 1.54 fantasy points per game, he would be a guy I go right back to even after a bad past couple of games. Then the last two pieces I’ll have interest in from the Mavs are Tim Hardaway for tournaments and Jalen Brunson continues to produce at a nice price tag for cash games.
5-star play: De’Aaron Fox, Richaun Holmes, Luka Doncic
4-star play: Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield, Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson
Deeper Value: Davion Mitchell, Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell
GPP Sleeper: Buddy Hield, Tyrese Haliburton, Maxi Kleber, Tim Hardaway
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Portland Trailblazers @ Charlotte Hornets
Vegas Total: 229.0
Vegas Spread: Por -15
Starting with the Trailblazers on the main slate, Damian Lillard has started the season really slow and we’ve yet to see a 50 point fantasy performance from him. That being said, man, the FanDuel price is getting hard to ignore at $8.4k, I’ll list him as an elite play over there and just deal with it if he has another bad shooting game in a great matchup against the Hornets. Jusuf Nurkic kept it rolling last time out with a 45 point fantasy game. I love targeting big men against this Hornets frontcourt when the first line of defense is Mason Plumlee. CJ McCollum has started the season sneaky well and taken a lot of that production from Dame, I have no issue going right back to him in this spot but probably more of a secondary option. From the Hornets, Terry Rozier sounds like he’s finally going to return for this one which will likely push Kelly Oubre back to his bench role, which I’m okay with as he’ll soak up more usage. Keep an eye on our Breaking News Feed for updates as to if Rozier will be on any sort of minutes limit as well. Miles Bridges is on an absolute tear right now and has at least 37 FanDuel points in each game this season. I do like the price tag a bit more on DraftKings, but with all the minutes he’s playing right now, he’s a great option in a great matchup. LaMelo Ball has the largest ceiling on this team and is a guy I’m good with at a fair price tag as well. We have seen him held under 25 DraftKings points in two straight, but in a pace-up spot, I like getting right back to him here. Lastly, Gordon Hayward and Mason Plumlee are solid secondary GPP pieces, Hayward may lose a little usage with Rozier back, but nothing that is going to stop me from playing him.
5-star play: Damian Lillard (FanDuel), LaMelo Ball
4-star play: Jusuf Nurkic, CJ McCollum, Miles Bridges, Gordon Hayward
Deeper Value: None
GPP Sleeper: Mason Plumlee, Kelly Oubre, PJ Washington
Utah Jazz @ Milwaukee Bucks
Vegas Total: 224.5
Vegas Spread: Utah -2.0
Starting with the Jazz, we’ll need to keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed with Mike Conley as he comes into this one as questionable after missing yesterday’s game. Any time Conley misses I immediately look to Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles to soak up more production, with Donovan Mitchell thrown in there as well, but you generally don’t get the value on him as you do with Clarkson and Ingles. Both of these guys had duds last night in a loss to the Bulls, but I would go right back to them in an up-tempo game against the Bucks. Mitchell looked good in that game and would be a guy I have interest in on a short slate tonight. Rudy Gobert is another guy that had a nice game last night, he’ll have his hands full with Giannis in the lane tonight but again, on a short slate, he’s going to make the player pool. Then you can round this team out with GPP guys like Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale, who could actually be somewhat useful due to the Bucks ability to give up the three-point shot. From the Bucks, it sounds like Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez will miss this one but Bobby Portis will be a go which will hurt the minutes on a guy like Jordan Nwora more than anything. Portis played 15 minutes in his first game of the season last week, if he can get those into the 20’s I would have some interest at his price tag, he’s always a good point-per-minute guy. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a down game last night for his standards… yes 28 points and 13 rebounds is a down game for him as crazy as it seems. I have no issue going right back to him here, he’s the best raw option on the slate. Khris Middleton continues to be a consistent mid-range option as well and a guy I like in all formats. Grayson Allen and George Hill are solid GPP options to round out the team.
5-star play: Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles (if Conley is out), Donovan Mitchell, Giannis Antetokounmpo
4-star play: Rudy Gobert, Khris Middleton
Deeper Value: George Hill
GPP Sleeper: Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen, George Hill, Bobby Portis
Detroit Pistons @ Brooklyn Nets
Vegas Total: 212.0
Vegas Spread: Bkn -12.0
Starting with the Pistons, Cade Cunningham made his NBA debut last night playing 19 minutes on his way to 14.75 DraftKings points. He was on a 20-25 minute limit last night as he returned from an ankle injury. It was intriguing seeing him take eight shots and five threes in short minutes though. I would think that 19 minutes is a floor moving forward and at this price tag is a really nice value option… but we’ve been burned by Coach Casey before. Jerami Grant is the best fantasy producer on the team and a guy I don’t mind going to here, he’s got a nice floor and ceiling. Saddiq Bey and Kelly Olynyk are guys I would prefer to roster with Grant out, but on a short slate, they’ll probably make my GPP pool at the very least due to the upside on them. Isaiah Stewart has been all over the place to start the season but that’s baked into his price tag, I don’t mind him for tournaments either. Lastly, Cade being back hurts Killian Hayes more than everyone, I just don’t love the floor you get with him. From the Nets, we kind of know the deal by now that Kyrie Irving is going to continue to be out for them, it’s going to be hard not to just go right back to Kevin Durant and James Harden. Harden hasn’t looked all that great from his standards to start the season. He’s not getting the foul calls he’s used to and I think it’s in his head a bit. Although a 28.0% usage rate and 1.29 fantasy points doesn’t sound all that terrible, which is what he’s at currently. He had his best game of the season last night out with 56.5 DraftKings points. Durant is boat racing him with ha 31.0% usage rate and 1.49 fantasy points per minute on the season. If you have the extra money, I would get to Durant but still think they’re both solid options even in a tough matchup. Outside of them there really isn’t much that you need to prioritize from this team, they’re more GPP darts than anything.
5-star play: Cade Cunningham (DraftKings), James Harden, Kevin Durant
4-star play: Jerami Grant, Saddiq Bey, Bruce Brown
Deeper Value: Cade Cunningham (DraftKings)
GPP Sleeper: Kelly Olynyk, Joe Harris, LaMarcus Aldridge
Houston Rockets @ Los Angeles Lakers
Vegas Total: 221.5
Vegas Spread: Lal -11.0
Starting with the Rockets, Kevin Porter Jr. comes into this one as questionable, so we’ll need to keep an eye on the Breaking News Feed for updates surrounding him and who benefits if he’s out. Christian Wood is going to be a nice play on this slate, it’s a short four-gamer so he’s going to have one of the better ceilings relative to his price tag on the slate. That doesn’t come without risk of a floor, but on a short-slate, he’s firmly in play. Jalen Green is a guy I’ve been high on all season and has been a bit volatile, so probably more of a GPP guy, but in play nonetheless. That really concludes my interest in the Rockets unless Porter Jr. ends up missing but we’ll keep the VIP Members updated on that. From the Lakers, LeBron James has been questionable for about the past week, so just monitor that situation… if he were to sit, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis would be the obvious beneficiaries. Westbrook probably isn’t a guy I’ll have much interest in if LeBron plays just because they haven’t shown the ability to play together enough for me to want to get him in my lineup. When you play Westbrook you want that 80 point fantasy ceiling, when LeBron is in there, he doesn’t have it. LeBron being out would also open up some value in Carmelo Anthony and Malik Monk, but again, we’ll keep the VIP Members updated on that in our Discord chat and Breaking News Channel.
5-star play: Christian Wood, Lakers TBD
4-star play: Jalen Green, Lakers TBD
Deeper Value: None, Lakers TBD
GPP Sleeper: Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, Lakers TBD
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