NBA DFS Building Blocks for Tuesday, October 26 | Today, 10/26/21

Tuesday, Oct. 26, keeps the fun rolling with a five-game main slate tipping off at 7:30 p.m. ET. Let’s look at the player pool and discuss the top NBA DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo lineups. Do not forget to head over to the Awesemo NBA DFS home page for more great written daily fantasy basketball content.

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NBA DFS Picks: Building Blocks, Tuesday, Oct. 26

Yahoo Play of the Day — Stephen Curry: Golden State Warriors at Oklahoma City Thunder

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 51.2 | DraftKings: 55.08

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 26.8% | FanDuel 30.8% | DraftKings 18.6%

• DFS Salary: Yahoo $49 | FanDuel $10,400 | DraftKings $11,000

Tonight Golden State is looking to win its fourth straight game, while Oklahoma City is one of two teams without a victory on this young season. Stephen Curry has been sublime to start the year, and through three games he is averaging 36.4 minutes and 23 field goal attempts, including a whopping 12 from beyond the arc. This has culminated in a stat line of 31 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and 2.6 combined blocks/steals for 1.55 Yahoo points per minute. These two teams are both top 10 in pace, and the Thunder are ceding 115.1 points per 100 possessions, which is the third-worst defensive efficiency in the league. Even if the Warriors roll out to a big lead, Curry will play a large part in the scoring, which means he has a relatively safe fantasy floor.

Julius Randle: New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 38.57 | DraftKings: 41.12

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 3.6% | FanDuel 10.4% | DraftKings 10.1%

• DFS Salary: Yahoo $44 | FanDuel $9,700 | DraftKings $9,500

This is the third game in five days for the Knicks, and once again Julius Randle is playing heavy minutes. Looking at things on a per-minute basis to account for the double-overtime game in the season opener, Randle is producing 1.52 Yahoo points per minutes, which is elite. While he has been lucky with some early-season blocks, he is consistently averaging 1.22 fantasy points per minute over the last three seasons, and with coach Tom Thibodeau content to play his star upwards of 35 minutes a game, there is still value in today’s salary. Philadelphia does not have the same defensive presence without Ben Simmons, which is in New York’s favor. The addition of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier have dramatically improved the Knicks rotation, and now teams cannot key on Randle nearly as much as they did last year.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 38.07 | DraftKings: 39.05

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 24.8% | FanDuel 42.9% | DraftKings 18.1%

• DFS Salary: Yahoo $33 | FanDuel $7,100 | DraftKings $8,100

After the first two games of the season, the fantasy boo birds were out in full force lamenting how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a flash in the pan. Then he went out and dropped 50 Yahoo points against Philadelphia on Sunday. Last year during his breakout campaign, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 1.23 fantasy points per minute. That should be considered his baseline going forward as the featured player in the Thunder offense. Tonight he gets an up-tempo matchup against Golden State, which is not exactly a defensive juggernaut. Enjoy the salary discount, as he is likely to see a 20-25% increase before Thanksgiving.

Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball Discount Dandies

Jalen Brunson: Dallas Mavericks vs. Houston Rockets

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 22.59 | DraftKings: 23.5

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 28.6% | FanDuel 13.2% | DraftKings 24.9%

• DFS Salary: Yahoo $10 | FanDuel $4,500 | DraftKings $4,200

Aside from blowouts, Jalen Brunson has been running the offense whenever Luka Doncic is off the court. Through two games Brunson is also seeing close to 15 minutes alongside the Doncic. He is capable of chipping in with a little bit of everything, which gives him fantasy relevance for the Yahoo minimum salary. Houston is playing at the third-fastest pace, which is also in line with last year. There should be a lot of fantasy goodness in this matchup, with the Mavericks favored by double digits at home.

Dwight Powell: Dallas Mavericks vs. Houston Rockets

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 20.31 | DraftKings: 19.79

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 17.2% | FanDuel 16.1% | DraftKings 28.8%

• DFS Salary: Yahoo $10 | FanDuel $4,000 | DraftKings $3,300

Dwight Powell has started the last two games for Dallas, and he has played 20 and 25 minutes. While his realistic output is something in the range of 18 to 21 fantasy points, if he lucks into a couple steals or blocks and a few rebounds end up bouncing his way, he could go for 25-plus fantasy points. Maxi Kleber and Willie Cauley-Stein are still around, though Powell has the leg up as the starter based on the rotations through two games.

Daniel Theis: Houston Rockets at Dallas Mavericks

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Point Projections: Yahoo and FanDuel: 20.86 | DraftKings: 20.8

• Awesemo’s Preliminary Rostered Projections: Yahoo 11.8% | FanDuel 8.3% | DraftKings 11.4%

• DFS Salary: Yahoo $10 | FanDuel $4,100 | DraftKings $4,100

While he is not the flashiest play, Daniel Theis is starting and should see 20 to 25 minutes in the rotation against Dallas. Derrick Favors is resting tonight, which should push more minutes to Kenrich Williams, Mike Muscala or Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. The last time Favors was out, Isaiah Roby started but played only 10 minutes, and he did not even see the court in the last game. Otherwise, in the absence of additional unexpected news throughout the day, the extreme discount dandies are looking rather thin on this five-game slate.

Final Thoughts on NBA DFS picks for the Tuesday, Oct. 26 Slate

Tonight the only significant unknown status is with Joel Embiid, who is dealing with knee soreness. Philadelphia kicks off the slate, so his availability should be known before lock, though it may not be up until the final few minutes if coach Doc Rivers has his way. Keep in mind that salaries and scoring formats differ across the various fantasy sites, and a slam-dunk play on Yahoo may be a below-average NBA DFS pick on DraftKings or FanDuel.

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