NBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Playbook October 25
Published: Oct 25, 2023
Victor Wembanyama makes his NBA regular season debut today as they NBA kicks off a 12 game slate of games following their successful opening night. Wembanyama makes his season debut at home against the Dallas Mavericks in game where the Spurs are four point underdogs. Dallas may be without Luka Doncic in this game as he is one of many players listed as questionable or already ruled out for tonight's slate.
Today's slate also is chalk full of high-scoring matchups with five games boasting totals opening at 230 or higher which includes the Kings vs Jazz which has the slate high total of 236 where the Jazz are 1.5-point home underdogs.
A big slate means plenty of big names to pay up for and some nice value plays to help you when it comes to your DFS lineups this evening. Make sure to check out today's NBA DFS projections and NBA DFS ownership projections before finalizing your lineups today.
Here's the NBA DFS Podcast for today's slate. Like the video and subscribe to our channel!
NBA DFS Playbook October 25
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
If you tune into the 39 minute mark of today's NBA DFS preview show we discuss at length Victor Wembanyama and what we think his rostership will be and the fact that IF he lives up to the billing that we won't get him at a cheaper price tag all season long. In cash games he is an absolute must play and to me, at least, he is going to be in all of my DFS lineups as I wouldn't be shocked if his ownership approached 40-to-50% in tournaments due to the fear of FOMO and hype surrounding the player. Wembanyama is $8,500 on DraftKings BUT ONLY $7,700 on FanDuel where you get extra points for blocks and steals. Other than Wemby, with this being opening night there are also some pretty soft pricing on players, especially the Bulls starters where Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic are all about $1,000 cheaper on DraftKings where I would expect them to be. On FanDuel they are a bit more appropriately priced. Injuries will also dictate lineup construction here today. We already know that Jarrett Allen has been ruled out for the Cavaliers but we also await news on Darius Garland. With Allen ruled out Evan Mobley is a great price today and should Garland sit then Donvon Mitchell, Caris LeVert and Max Strus become intriguing plays as well. Lastly, we will want exposure to these high game total games. Kings vs Jazz owns the highest total on the board and there is some good value on the Jazz side of this matchup.
Notable NBA Injury Updates
- Jarrett Allen - OUT
- Terance Mann - OUT
- Santi Aldama - OUT
- Brandon Clarke - OUT
- Jaden McDaniels - OUT
- Tari Eason - OUT
- Darius Garland - Questionable
- Luka Doncic - Questionable
- Bones Hyland - Questionable
- Zach Collins - Questionable
- Chris Duarte - Questionable
Highest NBA Game Totals
- Sacramento Kings vs Utah Jazz - 235.5
- Atlanta Hawks vs Charlotte Hornets - 235.5
- Washington Wizards vs Indiana Pacers - 235.5
- Dallas Mavericks vs San Antonio Spurs - 230.5
Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
I mean, did you see the preseason highlight reels? Couple that with his price tag on BOTH DraftKings and FanDuel tonight and this is a must play for me this evening. If he is as good as people are hyping him up to be then there is a 70 FP ceiling here.
Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
Dual position eligibility is a lovely thing in DFS because it allows for us to play BOTH Wembanyama and Mobley in our lineups here this evening. With Jarrett Allen already ruled out we know that Mobley will shift into the starting center role, a spot that is really his true position, and will bring double-double upside with some blocks in this matchup tonight against the Brooklyn Nets whom we always love to play opposing centers against.
Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls
The price tag on DraftKings is criminally low. As we said on the NBA DFS Preview Show last night, we had a rule last year that when LaVine was under $8,000 he was a must play. Well, today he is under $7,000 in what should be a good matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. We actually like all of the Bulls on DraftKings tonight as DeRozan and Vucevic are under-priced. On FanDuel LaVine is still cheaper than the other two and under $8,000 as well.
Jordan Poole, Washington Wizards
James Grande's favorite player this season, Poole was trade to the Wizards in the offseason in the Bradley Beal trade and he will now be the primary focal point of the Wizards offense. Yes, Kyle Kuzma is still on the team and will get his looks but Poole dropped 40 actual during a preseason game a few weeks back just to give you an idea of where his game is going to be at this season. His shooting percentages are likely to be ugly but on DraftKings where you get the three-point bonus he is a pretty interesting look at his price tag. Poole is actually cheaper on FanDuel as well. I think 25 shot attempts is well within reason here as he plays for what is likely to be one of the worst teams in the NBA.
Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Offseason turmoil aside, we know that Herro can be a bucket. When it comes to pure shooting he may be the best the Heat have on their roster with some mild contention from Duncan Robinson. The price tag for Herro tonight is far too cheap for a guy that averages 20+ points and 8.0+ assists/rebounds per night. Now add to the fact that the Heat are without Josh Richardson and Haywood Highsmith along with the news that Caleb Martin is going to be limited here tonight and it feels like Herro is just in a great spot to lead the team in scoring tonight against the Detroit Pistons.
Favorite Value Plays to Use for DFS Lineups
Obi Toppin, Indiana Pacers
Surprisingly, there isn't a ton of OMG these sites messed up values on the slate here tonight but shoutout to our man Sticks in the discord for shouting out that Obi Toppin is one of those mistakes. The Pacers have Toppin slated to be their starting power forward this year and the high energy forward can bring a lot to the table. Whether fair or not when I think Obi Toppin I think Larry Nance and for those of you who have played NBA DFS long enough know that there are nights where Larry Nance would just go bonkers. Toppin feels like that kind of guy who just with his effort is going to put up near double-double production in this new role where Myles Turner likes to sit out on the perimeter unlike when he was with the Knicks and had to content with Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle on the floor.
Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta Hawks
We always say to “follow the money” and that narrative may be in play here as the Hawks just gave Okongwu a contract extension which couples with the long standing rumors that the team is looking to move on from Clint Capela. As it stands now the center position is essentially a time share and Okongwu has proven to be quite the fantasy point per minute monster when given the opportunity to be on the floor over the past two seasons.
Marcus Smart, Memphis Grizzlies
While Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are certainly going to get their looks, Bane moreso than Jackson, we also know that Marcus Smart has never seen a shot he didn't like to take and this Grizzlies team doesn't really have anyone to keep Smart in check in my opinion. After being traded to Memphis from Boston in the offseason I think we see Marcus look for his offensive game a bit more now that he isn't being mandated to defer to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on most possessions. We also shouldn't forget that Smart is a pretty good assist man here so while Ja Morant is out of the lineup we could be seeing nightly stat lines where Smart is scoring 15+ points with 6+ assists and some other counting stats as well.
Talen Horton-Tucker, Utah Jazz
THT was an absolute bad man at times last season when the Jazz were without Lauri Markkanen but even once Markkanen returned there really wasn't a ton of drop off. This season THT is in the starting lineup for Utah and his preseason numbers were wild which included the final preseason game of the season where he went for 26 points with five rebounds and eight assists. The assist numbers are legit for THT as he averaged nearly 6.0 assists per game as a starter last season and this Jazz team doesn't really have a true point guard with Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson being more scoring guards than anything else.
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Player Pool
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