Saturday, October 22 brings along the first weekend NBA action with an entertaining eight-game main slate on tipping off at 7:00 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. Let’s look at the player pool and discuss the top NBA DFS picks today for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo 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. Let’s dive into our NBA DFS Building Blocks.
NBA DFS Building Blocks Today: Saturday, October 22
Core Play of the Day — Luka Doncic: Dallas Mavericks vs. Memphis Grizzlies
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 56.86 | FanDuel: 53.14
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 19.0% | FanDuel: 23.5%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,700 | FanDuel: $10,800
Tonight Luka Doncic narrowly edges out Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic for top honors on Saturday. This is rare air as Antetokounmpo and Jokic have split the last four NBA MVP Awards and Doncic is currently a slight favorite to bring home the hardware himself this season.
Antetkounmpo and Jokic are perfectly fine options, though this will be the third game in four nights for Jokic and Jamal Murray is slated to make his return. The Bucks did not play last night, but their opponent did and Milwaukee is currently projected as 12.5 home favorites against Houston. Both of these players are likely to flirt with 50 or more fantasy points, but so too will Doncic.
Doncic is a triple-double threat every time he steps on the court and it would not be a surprise if he ends up leading Dallas in all three categories as well. This consistently high level of fantasy production is most valuable coming from the point guard position, with soooooo many great point per dollar options at center every night.
There are enough discount dandies that putting two of this trio in most lineups is not going to be a stretch, but ranking them from a composite perspective including fantasy projection, salaries and position eligibility shakes out as Doncic, Antetokounmpo and then Jokic. Let’s look at some more NBA DFS Building Blocks.
Donovan Mitchell: Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 44.86 | FanDuel: 42.69
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 9.5% | FanDuel: 23.2%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $9,200 | FanDuel: $8,500
Darius Garland is out with an eye injury, so Donovan Mitchell will be the main backcourt option for Cleveland tonight. He looks particularly enticing on FanDuel where he is only $8,500, though he is still viable at $9,200 on DraftKings where he is the highest projected shooting guard coming in a tick above Paul George. This is a back-to-back game for Chicago who fell 102-100 to the Wizards in Washington last night. They will be getting Zach LaVine on the court for the first time this season, but we know their defense can be lackadaisical at times. Mitchell should see somewhere north of 20 field goal attempts while also chipping in across the rest of the box score.
Additional NBA DFS Picks Today – Sports Wagering Opportunities
Harrison Barnes is an intriguing option in the NBA player props market. Currently he has a 1.5 over/under on his assist prop as well as a 4.5 over/under on his rebound prop. The Stokastic NBA player projections have him for 2.9 assists and a 77% probability of surpassing that milestone as well as 6.4 rebounds and a 78% chance of going over 4.5 boards. Each of his four seasons in Sacramento, he has averaged over these benchmarks which makes him the 30-year-old someone to consider in same-game parlays or in straight bets.
Los Angeles Clippers at Sacramento Kings
Kawhi Leonard and John Wall have been ruled out for rest tonight, which will open up quite a bit of opportunity for the remaining Clippers. Load management is going to be something we see a lot this season with the Clippers who have plenty of oft injured players as well as a deep rotation. Most of the time on back-to-backs, Leonard and Wall will be sitting out one game and others may end up in this rotation.
Tonight Los Angeles gets a cherry matchup against Sacramento, which bodes well for Paul George, Reggie Jackson, Ivica Zubac and Norman Powell. Marcus Morris Sr. is likely to be one of the players in the “rest” rotation and it would be a surprise to see him overworked in lopsided scenarios. Robert Covington, Terance Mann and Luke Kennard are discount dart throws and any one of them could flirt with 30 fantasy points if the minutes break their way and their shots are finding the bottom of the net. Powel and Jackson stand out as the best point per dollar plays on both DraftKings and FanDuel. George is not cheap, but he is in the second-tier of stars and it would not be a surprise if he finds his way to 50 fantasy points with his sublime all-around game.
The Kings are likely to see rookie Keegan Murray make his debut after clearing the health and safety protocols. He is in the low-$5,000s on both main DFS sites and a solid late-slate option. For the main slate, Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox are the primary targets and Fox in particular benefits without having to deal with Leonard’s defense. Harrison Barnes and former Atlanta Hawk Kevin Huerter can be mixed into tournament lineups for differentiation. We’re also targeting some NBA DFS Building Blocks from a different game.
Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers
This is a back-to-back game for both squads who were on the short end of the stick on Friday night. Detroit was rolled over in New York 130-106 by the Knickerbockers and Indiana lost at home to San Antonio in a spirited 137-134 affair. Myles Turner is out once again for the Pacers, which means they have very little in the way of frontcourt defense.
The Pistons of course are already looking at losing games and they are likely to play a deep rotation of at least 11 players most nights. The main focus should be on their starting backcourt of rookie Jaden Ivey and second-year guard Cade Cunningham. This duo will likely be close to 30 minutes most games as they need to gain valuable on-court experience. Veteran Bojan Bogdanovic will be one of the primary scorers and at some point Detroit will likely package him to a playoff contender for a second round pick. Saddiq Bey looks much improved with his inside-out game and this is a perfect matchup for him to show off his skillset. Isaiah Stewart will come close to a double-double against Indiana, but it is hard to see him in many lineups with so many better center options.
Tyrese Haliburton had himself a game, despite playing just 27 minutes. Last night the starters were pulled early in the fourth quarter and the bench led a furious comeback with the team rolling up 49 points in the final frame. Haliburton should be back in line for regular minutes and he certainly is not going to be very tired. Jalen Smith went down with an injury, so either Isaiah Jackson or Goga Bitadze will draw the start tonight with the other getting around half of the center minutes and being a viable option. Buddy Hield is always a tournament play with his voluminous three-point opportunities and Terry Taylor is an extreme punt on sites where he is still near the minimum salary.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks Today
Tonight should be a rollicking tournament slate with plenty of premium plays along with a plethora of bargains. Be sure to check out the Stokastic NBA Boom/Bust tool which is a must for tournament players. Clicking on this link will allow you to get 10 days of all-access Stokastic+ for just $10 dollars – this includes projections and tools for every sport.
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