RADIO
After a hefty Wednesday night slate, Thursday night's game have plenty of hype to live up to. With the Clippers as the only team playing on the second night of a back-to-back, there still isn't a ton of potential for the Spurs. Bryn Forbes and Dejounte Murray have been gems in the lower-tier of point guards, but outside of those two not many Spurs fall under the must-play category. Instead, a rested Kawhi Leonard against his old team seems like the go-to pick alongside Nikola Jokic despite Denver playing well-below their potential.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 10/31/19. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on FanDuel. You can also check out today's DraftKings lineup picks.
If you have any questions find me in the NBA Chat Room or @HalfCourtJester on Twitter.
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Derrick White - PG, SAS @ LAC ($4,900)
There are very few value plays at point guard for Thursday night. If you want value you are either going with Patty Mills or Derrick White. This will be the first road game of the season for the Spurs so while that might not make the biggest difference, playing against the Clippers bench might give Mills and White the boost needed to exceed their projected. The Spurs rotations are hard to predict and for DFS they are a nightmare.
Luckily, there is plenty of evidence that San Antonio spreads the minutes around with their point guards so expect the same against a stingy defense. The other super value play you could go with here is Frank Jackson, but that's taking a shot in the dark so basically he will be in all my lineups as well.
Kevin Huerter - SG, ATL vs. MIA ($4,000)
It's no surprise that Kevin Huerter hasn't been DFS relevant yet with Trae Young literally doing everything for the Atlanta Hawks offense. Huerter hasn't been able to shoot particularly well in his first few games of the season, but that seems common for a fair amount of shooters. He needs a game he can look back on as a way to get on track. If he gets matched up alongside Tyler Herro, expect the shots to be flying.
FanDuel DFS Forwards
Maurice Harkless - SF, LAC vs. SAS ($4,100)
Of all the small forwards available today, Maurice Harkless is producing the most points for his price. That should be no surprise and you won't find another writer that enjoys talking about how good Harkless is and how important he is to a team's success. Unfortunately, that type of stuff doesn't really matter and since he tends to sacrifice counting stats for hustle points, which gets him overlooked in certain conversations.
What people don't realize is Harkless' ability to fill the stat sheet against any team on any given night. He plays as an undersized-four that stretches the court and the Spurs are ranked 22nd against opposing small forwards through their first three games.
Paul Millsap - PF, DEN @ NOP ($5,700)
Trey Lyles was in a similar situation to Harkless where he is the most productive at his position for his price, but playing against the Clippers frontcourt throws me off. Their ability to swarm to rebounds, cause turnovers and force misses at the rim are a nightmare for slimmer bigs and Lyles hasn't yet proved his ability to hit from outside just yet. Instead, Paul Millsap faces Derrick Favors inside for what should be a miniature sumo match in the paint almost every possession.
Millsap has the advantage but both are going to struggle to keep each other from their spots. That being said, Millsap is the better player and while Favors will produce, Millsap should simply dominate the stat sheet against the Pelicans who rank 29th against opposing power forwards. Millsap's first big game of the season came in a loss to Dallas so expect a similar output from him and a rebound from his team.
FanDuel DFS Centers
Alex Len - C, ATL vs. MIA ($5,400)
Since Bam Adebayo is randomly listed as power forward with Kelly Olynyk at center, it's hard to see many viable picks here outside if the top options. Olynyk has yet to do much this season while Alex Len has been doing more and more with his minutes every game, more importantly capitalizing on block opportunities. Len has paid a significant more attention to his defense and while it has led to easy points for the Hawks offense, that has opened the door for him to see more usage.
Eventually Trae Young will have a bad game and someone else will be forced to score. Whether that is this game versus the Heat or not, Alex Len seems to be the lone true center on the team and he is playing like it. He should see a few extra minutes next to John Collins since the Heat have a decently big team, so look for him to pick up some momentum this week if Young does in fact simmer down just a touch.
