High-Upside NBA DFS Picks: Kevin Durant, Nic Claxton Worth Rostering

The news circling though last night before lock was complete chaos. Having Live Before Lock is so helpful when news breaks and our staff can break down the impact. Tune in whenever you get the chance because NBA news is crazy. Also make sure to monitor Stokastic’s starting lineups page to see who is in and out of the lineup. This article features three boom candidates at each pricing tier and one bust/fade option. These plays below are driven by Stokastic’s NBA DFS Boom/Bust Tool. Let’s take a look at some of the best NBA DFS picks for the big slate, prioritizing once again Kevin Durant and Nic Claxton.

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NBA DFS Boom: Kevin Durant: $10,600 DraftKings/$10,600 FanDuel

58.0% DraftKings Boom/46.4% FanDuel Boom

If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. We’re going right back to Kevin Durant tonight in a matchup against the Charlotte Hornets. Last night Durant had a 36% usage rate as he came up one rebound shy of a triple-double. Durant finished with 28 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds in his first game this season without both Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving. We know Kevin Durant can score, but getting these type of peripherals makes him one of the best fantasy players in the league. He leads this seven-game slate in boom percentage on DraftKings and has the second-highest on FanDuel.

Priced at $10,600 on both sites, Durant looks like a great pay-up option. Last season the Hornets ranked 22nd in defensive rating and tied for fourth in pace. They are trending in a similar direction this season as they rank fifth in pace. Several Hornets players are out due to injury making the short-handed Nets five-point road favorites implied for 114.25 points tonight. Durant ranks third in our first ownership run on both DraftKings and FanDuel, which isn’t surprising. This game will be filled with value plays, but make sure to lock in Durant as the best pay-up option on the slate once again.

NBA DFS Boom: Nic Claxton: $6,100 DraftKings/$6,000 FanDuel

42.5% DraftKings Boom/46.7% FanDuel Boom

We’re going to stay with the Nets and recommend starting center Nic Claxton who also benefits with Irving and Simmons out of the lineup. Despite only playing 28 minutes last night, Claxton had 36.75 DraftKings points as he missed a double-double by one rebound. Over his last three games without Simmons in the lineup, Claxton is averaging 15.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. During that stretch he is shooting 22-for-25 from the field and playing 31.3 minutes a night. He has the highest boom percentage on FanDuel and the fourth-highest on DraftKings making him the best mid-range play on the slate.

Claxton will also benefit from this easy matchup against the Hornets who have allowed 53.8 points per game in the paint, which ranks 25th in the league. They also rank 25th in rebounding percentage, so there is a strong chance that Claxton can deliver with a double-double tonight. He has three double-doubles through nine games and several close calls. Claxton also has a ton of upside defensively in this spot. He averages 2.2 blocks, while the Hornets have allowed 7.7 blocks per game, which ranks 28th in the league. Prioritize Claxton on FanDuel where he is the best value play in our Stokastic projections.

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NBA DFS Boom: Isaiah Hartenstein: $4,400 DraftKings/$5,100 FanDuel

51.2% DraftKings Boom/39.2% FanDuel Boom

With center Mitchell Robinson leaving the game early last night with knee soreness, it is expected that he will sit tonight on the back-to-back. That will open the door for Isaiah Hartenstein who is already playing extremely well off the bench this season. In the season-opener, Hartenstein played 40 minutes as Robinson was in foul trouble, so we know he can play big minutes when given the chance. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is known for playing his starters into the ground and it is expected that Hartenstein will enter the starting lineup in this matchup against the Boston Celtics.

Hartenstein is a great play on both sites. He has the second-highest boom percentage on DraftKings and the fourth-highest on FanDuel. Even though his price is higher on FanDuel, Hartenstein is power forward eligible, which makes him much easier to play. In our Stokastic projections, he is the best value play on DraftKings and second-best on FanDuel. The Celtics are a dominant defensive team, but they have taken a little bit of a step back with their interior defense with Robert Williams still out due to injury. It will be impossible to avoid Hartenstein when Robinson inevitably gets ruled out.

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NBA DFS Bust: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: $9,900 DraftKings/$10,500 FanDuel

53.0% DraftKings Bust/63.5% FanDuel Bust

With so many strong pay-up options on this slate, it is tough to get behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander when Josh Giddey is in the lineup. This is a very similar situation to Durant when he plays alongside Simmons and Irving. We know Gilgeous-Alexander will fill it up, but his peripherals get capped playing with a pass-first point guard with Giddey. In three games without Giddey, Gilgeous-Alexander averages 5.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists. Those peripherals drop to 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in the four games with Giddey. So it shouldn’t be surprising that Gilgeous-Alexander has this high of a bust percentage.

Shooting 54.5% from the field for a point guard is unheard of. Also a 98.1% free-throw percentage with only missing one free throw in 52 attempts isn’t bad either. Gilgeous-Alexander is scoring at an incredibly rate averaging a career-high 32.3 points per game this season. That will be put to the test against the league-best Milwaukee Bucks defense. They are the last unbeaten team in the league at 8-0, while the Thunder have a 107.25 implied total tonight. Very tough spot to back anyone on this Thunder team. With his salary on both sites, Gilgeous-Alexander is a strong fade candidate.

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