Wednesday, November 2 brings a gargantuan 11-game featured slate tipping off at 7:30 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s look at the player pool and discuss the top NBA DFS picks today for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups. As always, you can head over to the Stokastic NBA DFS & Fantasy Basketball home page for all the fantasy basketball content you need for any given slate. Now we shall dive into our NBA DFS Building Blocks.
NBA DFS Building Blocks Today: Tuesday, November 2
Core Play of the Day — Giannis Antetokounmpo: Milwaukee Bucks-Detroit Pistons
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 61.25 | FanDuel: 59.59
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 8.4% | FanDuel: 25.3%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $12,600 | FanDuel: $11,600
Today there will be plenty of value options, with the best options coming in at point guard and center. That makes players like Giannis Antetokounmpo coveted selections for the ability to provide massive fantasy production at both forward positions.
Through six games this season, Antetokounmpo is averaging 34.2 minutes which is the most we have seen from him since the 2017-18 season. This has resulted in a career high 61 fantasy points per game and he is posting an elite 1.8 fantasy points per minute. Of course this will subside somewhat when Khris Middleton is able to return and of course Antetokounmpo will likely be one of the first to the bench in blowouts, but that is beyond our control.
We just saw this matchup on Halloween and Detroit took the game down to the wire with the Bucks pulling off a 110-108 victory to remain the last undefeated team in the league. Detroit is allowing 116.5 points per 100 possessions this season which is ahead of only the Brooklyn Nets.
Luka Doncic: Dallas Mavericks-Utah Jazz
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 59.64 | FanDuel: 55.95
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 8.7% | FanDuel: 11.2%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $12,300 | FanDuel: $11,800
Rostering both Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic tonight is quite feasible with all of the injuries across the league opening up plenty of opportunities for other players and reserves. The current optimal lineup based off of the Stokastic median fantasy projections is only seven points better than the best lineup with both Giannis and Luka. On FanDuel it is even closer with just a five point gap.
Doncic leads the league with 36.7 points per game along with his 40.9% usage rate. He is fifth with 8.7 assists and also leads the Mavericks with 9.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals per appearance. On an availability note, Christian Wood (illness) is questionable and his absence would thrust even more responsibility onto Doncic. The savvy gamer will do their best to have one or both of these superstars on a majority of rosters tonight.
Additional NBA DFS Picks Today – Sports Wagering Opportunities
Saddiq Bey currently has a 3.5 over/under rebounds prop for his matchup against the Bucks in Milwaukee. The Stokastic NBA player projections have him for 5.3 rebounds, which gives him a 75% likelihood of surpassing this milestone. Through is career, Bey has averaged 5.0 rebounds per game and his 5.9 per 36 minutes is in line with his career rate. Bey has played fewer than 28 minutes only twice this season and those are also the only two games he has failed to record more than four rebounds.
Sacramento Kings-Miami Heat
The Kings are on the road in Miami and they will unfortunately be without the services of De’Aaron Fox who suffered a bruised knee, playing only nine minutes on Halloween. This vaults second year guard Davion Mitchell into the mix as the best value option on the slate.
So far in 163 minutes on the court with Domantas Sabonis and without Fox, Mitchell is averaging 0.82 fantasy points per minute. In these same circumstances Sabonis is averaging 1.23 fantasy points. Though taking on the Heat is never an easy proposition, they have been far from impressive on defense this season. Harrison Barnes and Kevin Hueter should also see an uptick in minutes and contribute as secondary facilitators.
Last night Tyler Herro suffered an eye poke early in the game last night and did not play in the second half. Currently he is questionable to play tonight and his absence would have a significant trickledown effect. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo would see additional offensive responsibilities and Kyle Lowry would see an uptick as well both in scoring opportunities and assists.
Max Strus and Gabe Vincent would become solid discount dandies and even Caleb Martin would see increased usage. If Herro starts, then the Heat are average options, buoyed by a good matchup against Sacramento.
Chicago Bulls-Charlotte Hornets
Fresh off a win in Brooklyn last night, the Bulls are back home hosting the Hornets. It is unlikely that Zach LaVine plays on the back-to-back, though there is a chance Coby White (quad) and Andre Drummond (shoulder) are available. If White is out, Alex Caruso becomes a bargain and Goran Dragic is available as an extreme punt.
Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan are strong options as long as LaVine is out and they are favorably priced considering the marginal defense Charlotte brings to bear most nights. If both Drummond and White are out, Patrick Williams is a decent value on the mid-evening slate.
LaMelo Ball (ankle) remains out, while Terry Rozier (ankle) and Cody Martin (quad) are game time decisions having each missed the better part of the season. If this trio is once again sidelined, Dennis Smith Jr. remains an interesting option, despite his rising salary. Kelly Oubre Jr., PJ Washington and Gordon Hayward are all in play to varying degrees depending on your DFS site of choice as well as positional eligibility and salary cap constraints.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Today
The two West Coast games will potentially have additional news with Anthony Davis (back) questionable against New Orleans and Josh Hart (concussion) questionable against the Grizzlies.
Memphis also has a couple of question marks with Desmond Bane (ankle) and Steven Adams (jaw) game-time decisions. Keep an eye on any updates as gamers may not be planning ahead for these uncertain situations.
