NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander! (October 27)

Sunday wraps up the weekend with a four-game featured slate, tipping off at 6:00 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. There are several options in the player pool worth analyzing to find the top NBA DFS building blocks and NBA DFS picks. Let’s dig into the NBA DFS picks and core plays like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giannis Antetokounmpo, along with a variety of secondary players as premium targets.

NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Sunday, Oct. 27

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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks

The OKC defense is shaping up to be one of the best in the league this season. However, the offensive production is going to be highly concentrated in SGA, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. Most everyone is healthy at this time, so the Thunder are running a 9- to 10-man rotation. Last year Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.1 points per game, which were the third most in the league, and in the 2022 season he averaged 31.4 points, good for fourth place.

This year, with a more expansive rotation, he may not average over 30 again, but he should be above 25 points more often than not. Last year the 26-year-old had a solid 2.9 combined blocks and steals, plus 6.2 assists. Those numbers were personal highs, and he should at least reach those levels against his season, as he is one of the best all-around defenders in the game and now has more complementary offensive options around him.

Williams was a featured player in yesterday’s article, and he did not disappoint with 22 field goal attempts, leading to 24 points, accompanied by nine rebounds and eight assists. This is his third season in the league, and the trajectory he is on should have him coming close to 30 points + assists + rebounds per game, which makes for a fine fantasy floor with upside when everything is going his way.

Holmgren crushed last night with 21 points, 16 rebounds, a steal and two blocks in just 29 minutes. He was 8 of 18 (44.4%) from the field, though he missed all five of his 3-point attempts. Last year he averaged 37% on 4.3 triples per game, which, along with his proclivity for blocks and steals, makes him a tremendous tournament target on a nightly basis. He should continue to thrive until Isaiah Hartenstein (hand) is ready to return to action in early December.

Second-year man Cason Wallace is a guard who can do a little bit of everything, which was enough to make him the 10th overall selection in the 2023 NBA Draft after playing for Kentucky. He came off the bench in the opener but started on Saturday. If he continues to start, that gives him a chance at 27 to 29 minutes, whereas he would lose around half a dozen minutes as a reserve.

Isaiah Joe was with the second unit after starting in the opener, so it will be interesting to see how head coach Mark Daigneault handles the starting lineup on a game-to-game basis. Luguentz Dort is a wild card, who can destroy short slates if his threes are falling and he is collecting defensive stats, otherwise he can end up with a lot of empty minutes.

Aaron Wiggins is the heat-check option off the bench, but with the team healthy, he could easily lose time to newcomer Alex Caruso if more defense is needed on the court or Ousmane Dieng if the latter gets a hot from long range.

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The other variable is that this is the first game of a back-to-back, with Milwaukee playing in Boston on Monday. The Bucks are nearly double-digit road favorites, but the games still have to be played. Exhibit A is of course the Nuggets falling in both of their home games, losing to the Thunder by 15 and then last night a heartbreaking 109-104 loss to the Clippers. This team is one year removed from being the NBA Champions and still has four of the five starters from the NBA Finals.

Brooklyn is once again rebuilt and has a roster filled with competent NBA rotational talent, though no stars. Dennis Schroder is the point guard, Cam Thomas the primary scorer and Cameron Johnson rounding out the trio of lead offensive options. Ben Simmons is starting at center, sharing the role with Nic Claxton, though there is a little overlap. Dorian Finney-Smith rounds out the starting five, giving the team another solid defender.

Simmons is one of the three most popular options on both DraftKings and FanDuel, projecting to be on nearly half of all lineups. Schroeder and Johnson also will be well represented, while Finney-Smith and Thomas are wild card differentiators. If this team can knock down threes, they have enough of a defensive presence to make opposing squads work for their wins.

Back to Antetokounmpo, he and SGA have the highest median fantasy point projections, making them the core building blocks for all formats tonight. The Bucks need to bank wins, and with this game more likely to go their way than when they face the defending champion Celtics tomorrow, expect all the stops to be pulled out.

Gary Trent Jr., Bobby Portis and Taurean Prince are the best point-per-dollar options from Milwaukee, with Damian Lillard having the best upside. Brook Lopez is an afterthought at the center position, but he is a strong pivot away from a very popular Ivica Zubac, who played 39 minutes last night in Denver.

Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick

Deni Avdija is one of the most well-rounded players in the league, good at just about everything, though elite at nothing. In his first game for the Trail Blazers, Avdija had two assists, in the second he dished out six dimes. For his last 153 games, 117 as a starter, he has 4.2 assists per 36 minutes.

That, along with his role in Portland, has the over 3.5 assists prop worthy of our attention tonight. Keep in mind that Shaedon Sharpe is out, while Scoot Henderson is still coming off the bench. Anfernee Simons is better off as a scorer, which should lead to Avdija serving as the secondary facilitator more frequently than he has in the past.

By using Portfolio EV to do the heavy lifting when researching favorable bets, we can quickly spot inefficient lines like this one, and having accounts at multiple sportsbooks allows us to pivot to the best number quickly. This pits the books against each other, which shows that the DraftKings line has jumped way ahead of all the other major operators.

Lines are constantly shifting and moving, so when you find a good number, pounce on it. That is the beauty and power of Portfolio EV to find the best lines at any point in the day.

Stokastic’s Advanced NBA Statistical Projections have Avdija projected for 30.4 minutes and 3.44 assists. While that is still below the four helpers needed to reach the over, the 56% projected win rate has this wager forecasting a solid 5.1% expected ROI.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today

Do not get lulled to complacency by the NFL tonight and forget to set your lineups! This is the first Sunday where the two leagues cross over and two months of not thinking about the NBA on Sunday could be costly.

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