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NBA DraftKings Picks: Tuesday Main Slate (October 27)

By DFS Hero Team

The Spurs carry the slate's highest implied total, 125.5, as 18.5-point favorites over the Kings. The Kings play without Maxime Raynaud and Keegan Murray. Trail Blazers–Lakers carries a 234.0 total, with the Lakers favored by 2 and holding a 118.0 implied total, the second-highest on the slate. Four games lock Tuesday at 7:30 PM ET.

The Celtics are 12.5-point favorites over the Nets, whose 105.3 implied total is the slate's lowest. Pistons–Knicks has a 219.0 total with the Knicks favored by 4.5. The Pistons play without Jalen Duren, and that opens center minutes for Paul Reed (DK $5,200). Ausar Thompson (DK $5,900) is questionable for that game, which tips after lock, so he is a late-swap check.

Injury Watch

  • Jalen Duren (Pistons, out)
  • Maxime Raynaud (Kings, out)
  • Keegan Murray (Kings, out)
  • Derrick White (DK $7,000) (Celtics, probable)
  • Ausar Thompson (DK $5,900) (Pistons, questionable)
  • Tobias Harris (Spurs, out)
  • Scoot Henderson (DK $4,300) (Trail Blazers, questionable)
  • Dylan Cardwell (Kings, out)

Point Guard

Damian Lillard (DK $6,600)

Lillard draws the Lakers in a 234.0-total game, and his team trails by only 2 points on the spread. His 5.49 value is the best at point guard. He carries a 24.9% optimal rate as one of the slate's popular guards.

Books set Lillard at 19.5 points and 2.9 threes. He averages 37.3 DK points over his two games with the Trail Blazers and projects for 32 minutes.

Darius Acuff Jr. (DK $6,900)

The Kings face the Spurs without Maxime Raynaud and Keegan Murray, and Acuff runs their offense with a 34.0% usage rate over 36 projected minutes and a 22.7% optimal rate. He averages 34.7 DK points over his last three games, and books set his points at 20.4. The field is heavy on him.

Luka Doncic (DK $11,300)

Doncic posted 84.5 DK points against the Jazz on October 25, averages 59.0 over his last three games and carries a 22.4% optimal rate. He plays 35 projected minutes against the Trail Blazers on a 42.3% usage rate, which is enough for the top projection at point guard. The field leans on him at the top of the salary scale.

Shooting Guard

Josh Hart (DK $6,100)

Hart averages 34.1 DK points over his last three games. That sits above his 31.6 Hero Projection, on a box score built from rebounds and steals. Books set him at 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals against the Pistons.

Hart plays 33 projected minutes for a Knicks team favored by 4.5 with a 111.5 implied total. His 21.0% optimal rate is the third-best at shooting guard, and he is a well-known play with the field.

Austin Reaves (DK $7,900)

Reaves plays 35 projected minutes against the Trail Blazers for a Lakers team with a 118.0 implied total, and his optimal rate sits at 19.1%. He averages 43.6 DK points over his last three games, and books set him at 22.4 points.

Stephon Castle (DK $7,000)

The Spurs' 125.5 implied total is the slate's highest, and Castle carries a 28.2% usage rate and an 18.5% optimal rate in that offense against the Kings. He averages 37.2 DK points over his last three games and projects for 32 minutes.

Small Forward

Jayson Tatum (DK $9,500)

The Nets bring the slate's lowest implied total, 105.3, and Tatum faces them on a Celtics team favored by 12.5. His 32.2% usage rate over 35 projected minutes backs a 49.1 Hero Projection.

Books set Tatum at 26.5 points and 8 rebounds. He averages 47.2 DK points over his last three games, and his 25.0% optimal rate is the best at small forward. He is a crowd favorite.

Deni Avdija (DK $7,800)

Avdija takes a 28.2% usage rate into a 34-minute projection against the Lakers, good for the second-highest projection at small forward and a 19.6% optimal rate. He scored 44.8 DK points against the Kings on October 23 and averages 43.4 over his two games this season.

Michael Porter Jr. (DK $7,100)

Books hang 21.8 points on Porter against the Celtics, and he carries an 18.5% optimal rate. He carries a 28.2% usage rate over 33 projected minutes and averages 35.5 DK points over his last three games.

Power Forward

Precious Achiuwa (DK $5,000)

Achiuwa moved into the Kings' starting lineup on October 25 and posted 36.0 DK points against the Grizzlies in 39 minutes. He faces the Spurs with a 32-minute projection, and books set him at 7.6 rebounds.

Achiuwa averages 30.3 DK points over his last three games, above his 29.1 Hero Projection, for a 5.83 value. The field is all over him, and his 26.7% optimal rate is the best at power forward.

Karl-Anthony Towns (DK $8,300)

Towns meets the Pistons with a 33-minute projection after averaging 43.7 DK points over his last three games. He is 17.0% owned with a 23.1% optimal rate. That positive leverage makes him a piece to let Build & Sim size.

OG Anunoby (DK $5,700)

The Knicks give Anunoby 33 projected minutes against the Pistons on a 21.0% usage rate, with a 22.3% optimal rate. He scored 29.3 DK points against the Magic on October 25, and books set him at 15.9 points.

Center

Paul Reed (DK $5,200)

Jalen Duren is out, and that opens minutes for Reed, who projects for 27 against the Knicks with a 20.5% optimal rate. He played 23 minutes against the 76ers on October 25 and scored 25.5 DK points. Books set him at 8.1 rebounds.

Reed carries an 18.8% usage rate, and his 5.64 value is the second-best at center. He averages 27.6 DK points over his last three games, close to his 29.3 projection.

John Collins (DK $5,800)

Collins holds a frontcourt spot for the Pistons in 30 projected minutes against the Knicks, carries a 17.3% optimal rate, and books set him at 15.2 points. He scored 35.3 DK points against the 76ers on October 25 and averages 29.4 over his last three games.

Day'Ron Sharpe (DK $5,400)

Sharpe starts at center for the Nets against the Celtics in 24 projected minutes, with books at 7.6 rebounds. He is 6.9% owned with a 10.0% optimal rate, so the field under-owns him.

What The Market Is Saying

The market builds around Kings–Spurs. It takes De'Aaron Fox (DK $6,300) as its cheap way into that game, Paul Reed (DK $5,200) as its default value play and Precious Achiuwa (DK $5,000) as its cheap power forward. Karl-Anthony Towns (DK $8,300) is the market's top forward, and DFS Hero agrees: his optimal rate is 23.1%, above his 17.0% ownership. The market is split on Trail Blazers–Lakers and on Luka Doncic (DK $11,300), and it watches the news on Jayson Tatum (DK $9,500). DFS Hero has Doncic at a 22.4% optimal rate. DFS Hero has Tatum at a 25.0% optimal rate.

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The content in our articles is based on data available at the time of publishing. Always double-check your lineups before locking in your players.

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