Written By: Ryan Humphries on Twitter/X & LineStar chat @Ryan_Humphries

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NBA DFS & Props Shows w/ Tyler Wiemann

DFS Main Slate Rundown 📰

A modest four-game slate headlines this Halloween eve. As expected with a smaller slate, chalk will be abundant — and while much of it should be “good chalk,” the key to success lies in identifying the right pivots away from the potential traps. There aren’t many injury situations to monitor, and the one notable question mark, Franz Wagner, plays in the earliest game, meaning we’ll have his status before lock. Let’s dive into this mini slate and see if we can crack the code tonight. Best of luck!

Main Slate Match-Ups w/ Game Totals & Point Spreads

Today’s Key Injuries 🚑

^{Note: NBA injury reports can be fickle and often update throughout the day. Be sure to stay up-to-date on all injury news leading up to tip-off as the list below may be a bit outdated by the time you’re reading this.}

^{Additional Note: Players who have yet to play this season will be excluded from the injury report, unless they have either a probable, questionable, or doubtful injury designation, with some amount of chance to make their season debut.}

**Indicates that this would be a player’s season debut if they are active tonight.

• Magic: F. Wagner - Questionable, J. Suggs - OUT

• Hornets: B. Miller - OUT

• Warriors: None

• Bucks: G. Antetokounmpo - Probable, K. Porter Jr. - OUT

• Wizards: M. Bagley III - Available

• Thunder: C. Holmgren - OUT, **I. Joe - Questionable

• Heat: N. Powell - OUT, N. Jovic - Probable

• Spurs: L. Kornet - OUT

Top DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Plays

Note: NBA position designations are never going to perfectly align between the major DFS sites. For the purposes of these newsletters, positional designations will default to DraftKings.

Point Guards/Shooting Guards to Consider 🏀

PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC | DK: $10.8k, FD: $11.4k | vs. WAS

Even with just four games on the ticket, we’ll have a few superstar guards to choose from. SGA will lead the pack as the Thunder continue to play without two of their “big three,” with Jalen Williams (wrist/out) yet to make his season debut and Chet Holmgren (back/out) set to miss a second consecutive game. We’re still working with small sample sizes, but with Holmgren off the floor this season, SGA has taken on a huge 36.8% USG% with a 23.3% AST% and has averaged 1.43 FPPM. On paper, the matchup is elite as the Wizards have allowed the most FPPG to PGs and 126.3 PPG to their opponents. However, even with OKC down a couple of key players, they are still massive 15.5-point favorites. Therefore, blowout potential will be the primary concern here. But, even if SGA doesn’t log full minutes, he is fully capable of hitting value even in a blowout, and I do like the Wizards’ chances of keeping this game semi-competitive.

PG Ryan Rollins, MIL | DK: $5.5k, FD: $5.9k | vs. GSW

Since Kevin Porter Jr. (ankle/out) played just nine minutes in the season opener before going down with injury, Ryan Rollins has been able to operate as the Bucks’ primary point guard. He has done a very admirable job up to this point and is coming off his best performance of the season on Tuesday when he put up a 25-point performance with four steals and secured 42.50 DKFP/43.40 FDFP in just 26 minutes. Rollins has averaged a quality 1.09 FPPM this season, and as long as he plays around 30 minutes again this evening, he’s a good bet to return value against a Warriors team that has allowed 46.4 FPPG to PG starters this season.

SG/SF Pelle Larsson, MIA | DK: $4k, FD: $4.1k | at SAS

With Norman Powell (groin/out) missing Tuesday’s action, Pelle Larsson moved into the starting lineup and posted a 17/5/3 stat line, which equated to 31.25 DKFP/30.50 FDFP in 31 minutes of action. The Heat steamrolled the Hornets in that game by a score of 144-117, and, with Powell out once again this evening, Larsson should earn himself another start. The Spurs have been the second-best defensive team, per DEFRTG, so far this season, but with Victor Wembanyama defending the rim, it would make sense for more of Miami’s shots to come from long range. In Larsson’s ten FG attempts on Tuesday, six came from three-point range. And he has sank 5-of-11 (45.5%) three-pointers so far this season. If he continues to connect from deep and plays another ~30 minutes as a starter, then he’s going to make for an enticing value option on a short slate.

Other Guards to Consider

PG LaMelo Ball, CHA | DK: $9.9k, FD: $9.5k | vs. ORL

PG Steph Curry, GSW | DK: $9k, FD: $8.4k | at MIL

SG Stephon Castle, SAS | DK: $7k, FD: $6.8k | vs. MIA

SG Collin Sexton, CHA | DK: $6.1k, FD: $5.9k | vs. ORL

PG/SG Dylan Harper, SAS | DK: $5.4k, FD: $5.1k | vs. MIA

PG Ajay Mitchell, OKC | DK: $5k, FD: $4.9k | vs. WAS

PG/SG Tre Johnson, WAS | DK: $4.8k, FD: $4.7k | at OKC

PG/SG Anthony Black, ORL | DK: $4.3k, FD: $4.6k | at CHA

PG/SG Tre Mann, CHA | DK: $3.8k, FD: $4.1k | vs. ORL

Small Forwards/Power Forwards to Consider 🏀

PF Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL | DK: $12.1k, FD: $12.2k | vs. GSW

In terms of ownership, it’ll be interesting to see who the odd man (or men) out is among this small slate’s superstars, since you can’t fit Giannis, SGA, and Wemby all into the same lineup… well, I mean, technically you can, but you’re not gonna like how the rest of the lineup looks. LaMelo Ball deserves an honorable mention as well since he has shown a massive ceiling this season and is close to the five-figure range. But it’s been business as usual for Giannis over the Bucks’ first four games. He has secured at least 31 points in every game (36.3 PPG), and his 37.3% USG% leads all NBA players. He is also tacking on 14.0 RPG, 7.0 APG, and 2.1 STL+BLK/gm while averaging an incredible 2.09 FPPM. The Warriors simply do not have the size to keep him contained, and they’re allowing the 9th-most points in the paint per game, so we’ll anticipate another dominant performance from the Greek Freak this evening.

SF/PF Jaime Jaquez Jr., MIA | DK: $5.4k, FD: $5.7k | at SAS

Jaquez will be a popular target tonight as he takes on an even larger sixth man role with Norman Powell sitting out another game. But he’s still underpriced at the moment and, even in a difficult matchup, he’s tough to ignore. He’s averaging 1.42 FPPM with Powell off the floor this season, and, at the very least, he shouldn’t have to deal with going up against a Wembanyama-led Spurs defense as much since Jaquez will rotate in off the bench.

SF/SG Kon Knueppel, CHA | DK: $5.1k, FD: $4.8k | vs. ORL

If you want a pivot away from the Jaquez (and Aaron Wiggins) chalk, or simply a lower-owned option with some upside, Knueppel could fit the bill. He has stepped up in the Hornets’ last two games, which are the two games that Brandon Miller (shoulder/out) has missed entirely. Knueppel has posted at least 32.75 DKFP/30.60 FDFP in both games while averaging 19.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, and one steal/gm. Orlando is on the second leg of a back-to-back, and they also haven’t been overly stout versus starting small forwards, ranking 26th against the position.

Other Forwards to Consider

PF Paolo Banchero, ORL | DK: $8.8k, FD: $8.7k | at CHA

SF Jimmy Butler, GSW | DK: $7.6k, FD: $7.5k | at MIL

SF/SG Kyshawn George, WAS | DK: $6.9k, FD: $7.1k | at OKC

SF/PF Aaron Wiggins, OKC | DK: $5.5k, FD: $5.2k | vs. WAS (Assuming he starts again)

SF/SG Julian Champagnie, SAS | DK: $4.5k, FD: $4.1k | vs. MIA

PF/C Nikola Jovic, MIA | DK: $4.3k, FD: $4.3k | at SAS

SF/PF Simone Fontecchio, MIA | DK: $3.7k, FD: $3.9k | at SAS

Centers to Consider 🏀

C Victor Wembanyama, SAS | DK: $11.7k, FD: $12.6k | vs. MIA

Wemby is the third obvious stud on this slate. He has averaged 2.05 FPPM this season and has scored at least 24 points with a double-double in every game while posting elite block numbers (4.8 BLK/gm). The Heat have defended opposing centers well, ranking 9th in DvP, but to say that they haven’t gone up against a guy with Wembanyama’s talent and skill level would be an understatement. This is also a significant pace-up spot for the Spurs, who are currently 27th in pace, while the Heat are currently 1st in pace.

C Ryan Kalkbrenner, CHA | DK: $4.5k, FD: $4.8k | vs. ORL

Once you get past Wemby, the center options become dicey in a hurry. So we’ll go with an “aim small, miss small” approach with our second spotlighted center. Ryan Kalkbrenner is under $5k on both sites and sets up as a solid option as a starter who should play around 28 minutes tonight. The rookie seven-footer, whom the Hornets took with the 34th overall pick in this year’s draft, has had some solid outings four games into his debut season. Kalkbrenner has secured at least 25.5 DKFP/26.7 FDFP in three games this season. He’s not going to be a high-usage guy, but he has made 90.5% of his FG attempts (all around the rim) while averaging 9.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 2.0 STL+BLK/gm. He’ll have some decent double-double upside tonight as the Magic have allowed the 3rd most points in the paint per game, as well as the 5th-most opponent blocks per game.

Other Centers to Consider

C Isaiah Hartenstein, OKC | DK: $6.7k, FD: $6.1k | vs. WAS

C Myles Turner, MIL | DK: $5.8k, FD: $5.6k | vs. GSW

C Wendell Carter Jr., ORL | DK: $5.3k, FD: $5.3k | at CHA

C Jaylin Williams, OKC | DK: $4.3k, FD: $3.8k | vs. WAS

C Quinten Post, GSW | DK: $4.2k, FD: $3.9k | at MIL (Only if starting again)

🔥 Props AI 🔥

In LineStar’s ongoing mission to improve, innovate, and help you reel in some cash, we have rolled out Props AI for NBA – available for LineStar Premium users! This tool can help you find value and mispriced odds on player props from sportsbooks and, more specifically, for PrizePicks, UnderDog Fantasy, and other prop apps/sites!

That will wrap us up with today’s “Daily Dribble” edition! Once again, you can find me on Twitter/X or in LineStar chat @Ryan_Humphries. Good luck everyone!