Oct. 30 brings another big slate of 11 games, tipping off at 7 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel, and there are several options in the player pool worth analyzing to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups. Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic sit atop the projections, but there are ample options to choose from tonight. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays.
NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Monday, October 30
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Monday’s slate has 22 teams in action, with Atlanta, Denver, Golden State, Milwaukee, Portland and the Los Angeles Lakers on back-to-backs, having played yesterday. That means we are likely to get a few players resting, even though the season is not even one week old.
Core Play of the Day — Jayson Tatum — Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 50.82 | FanDuel: 48.46
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings: 3.0% | FanDuel: 4.4%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $10,500 | FanDuel: $10,700
Boston has been installed as a double-digit road favorite tonight in our nation’s capital. However, that does not necessarily imply that the Wizards are going to roll over; on the contrary, they scored 120 in a loss to the Pacers in Indiana and actually beat the Grizzlies on Saturday 113-106 in Washington.
It is unlikely that the Wizards will be putting forth an effective defense, having been in the bottom-third of the league for the last half decade, but they can certainly pile on the points, which should keep opposing teams engaged into the final frame more often than not. Jayson Tatum has a reasonable salary, and he is discounted by 15% to 20% from the other top-tier players.
Game in and game out, the 25-year-old has a solid baseline of 20-plus field goal attempts, and he is a proven scorer who averaged 30.1 points per game last season. The only knock against Tatum has been his lower rebounding figures, with only a 7.0 per game average for his career. Last year he did have a personal-best 8.8 per game, and with the revamped Boston rotation now missing Robert Williams III (who is in Portland) and Al Horford another year older, we could see the four-time All-Star shore up this portion of his game.
Luka Doncic — Dallas Mavericks at Memphis Grizzlies
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Point Projections: DraftKings: 59.95 | FanDuel: 57.31
- Stokastic’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: DraftKings 3.2% | FanDuel: 2.4%
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $12000 | FanDuel: $12500
It is unlikely that Luka Doncic will see his popularity stay in the single digits as news continues to trickle out this afternoon and more value plays materialize. The six-year veteran looks like he could take another step this season and approach a 60-fantasy-point average. Last year he was at 56.8 on FanDuel and 58.6 on DraftKings, so it is definitely in the realm of possibilities if he can limit the various lower-leg issues that have cost him time in the past.
This year Doncic has a pair of 70-fantasy point outings to his credit, and while he is not going to maintain his torrid success from the field, it is fun seeing him convert 58% of his field goal attempts and a ridiculous 48% on his 25 3-point attempts through two games. Dallas is favored by a bucket in Memphis tonight, and the team last played on Friday and will not play again until Wednesday. That gives Doncic a narrow edge over Nikola Jokic, who did log 30 minutes in Sunday’s thrashing of the Thunder.
Brooklyn Nets at Charlotte Hornets
Nicolas Claxton (ankle) remains out, and now Cameron Johnson (calf) has been shut down for a week and probably closer to two. Brooklyn is far from short-handed, with plenty of players in the rotation, but two starters being out does provided an uptick through the roster. Royce O’Neale and Spencer Dinwiddie stand out as two of the best fantasy-point-per-dollar options on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Cameron Thomas is scoring dependent, but how can we forget last season when he put 40-plus points on the board in three consecutive games for the short-handed Nets? He has a real shot at the 40-fantasy-point plateau as long as he is even remotely successful on what should be close to 20 field goal attempts.
Mikal Bridges has actually been outproduced by Thomas from a fantasy perspective, but it is only a matter of time before that course-corrects. Ben Simmons is not going to look for his shot very often and likely will avoid going to the line, but he should flirt with a triple-double tonight. Now that he is heathy after dealing with back issues, he has averaged a full box score with 7.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 2.5 combined blocks and steals in 27.5 minutes per game.
The starting five for the Hornets looks good tonight on DraftKings, and they warrant tournament consideration on FanDuel. LaMelo Ball just missed out on a triple-double Friday with 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists against Detroit. Brooklyn has good defenders in Bridges, Simmons and even Dorian Finney-Smith, but they are just the first line of defense, and that can be bested without Claxton defending the rim.
Mark Williams had five fouls on Friday, which kept him to just 21 minutes, but he should find greener pastures tonight. Terry Rozier, PJ Washington and Gordon Hayward are tertiary targets who can be sprinkled across tournament lineups.
Additional NBA Building Blocks Pick — Sports Betting Opportunities
Michael Porter Jr. stands out in the sports wagering world with +340 odds of recording a double-double. Through three games this season, the 25-year-old has reached this milestone once, narrowly missing by one rebound yesterday and 1 point on Friday. This is a back-to-back and the third game in four nights, but if Porter is starting, he can be considered for the over on this prop.
NBA Bet Pro currently has Porter with +268 “True Odds,” which is how OddsShopper measures the potential expected ROI; in this case, it indicates a line that is inefficient by nearly 15%. Currently Porter projects for 29.8 minutes, 16.73 points and 5.05 rebounds. Obviously, rebounds are going to be the biggest challenge, but that is why this wager is available at plus money.
Tyrese Haliburton is another double-double candidate, with a -135 line but -156 true odds to reach this milestone tonight. It is an interesting dichotomy between the two players and the same wager. Of course, that is because Haliburton is likely to get there via assists, and while he is counting on other players to convert his passes into buckets, he has a better chance of that happening than Porter battling nine other players for rebounds.
Last year Haliburton had 32 double-doubles in 56 (47%) games. Tonight he projects for 33.5 minutes, 21.03 points and 11.08 assists in a matchup against the visiting Chicago Bulls.
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Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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