NBA DFS Picks for October 31, 2026: DraftKings Core, Values and GPP Plays

NBA DraftKings main slate | Saturday, October 31, 2026 | Five games | 7 p.m. ET

Jalen Johnson, Cameron Boozer and Ajay Mitchell are my preferred starting points tonight. Johnson brings rebounding and playmaking into a favorable New Orleans matchup, Boozer gets Sacramento’s struggling defense, and Mitchell has a substantial offensive role in Oklahoma City’s depleted rotation. There is enough useful salary relief to build around that group without filling the roster with minimum-priced long shots.

Overall slate: where to attack

Game	ET	DFS approach
Atlanta at New Orleans	7:00	Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu; Karlo Matkovic for salary relief.
Cleveland at Milwaukee	8:00	Donovan Mitchell’s scoring ceiling and Sam Merrill’s inexpensive shooting role.
Minnesota at San Antonio	8:00	Victor Wembanyama is the premium ceiling alternative.
Sacramento at Memphis	8:00	Boozer first; Cam Spencer offers inexpensive exposure. Darius Acuff Jr. is the aggressive bring-back.
Oklahoma City at Houston	8:30	Ajay Mitchell’s expanded workload; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a different spend-up construction.

Three early-season defensive numbers stand out: Sacramento has allowed 126.8 points per game, Milwaukee 124.2 and New Orleans 121.6. Those are five-game samples, not permanent defensive identities, but they support prioritizing Memphis, Cleveland and Atlanta. Kings stats · Bucks stats · Pelicans stats.

Core plays

Jalen Johnson — $9,700, PF, Atlanta

Johnson supplied 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 34 minutes Thursday. That combination matters more to me than chasing the last game’s leading scorer: he can contribute when his jumper is ordinary. New Orleans also allowed Sacramento 62 paint points Thursday. Johnson’s ability to rebound and initiate offense gives him multiple ways to attack that matchup. His salary is substantial, so I prefer pairing him with one other premium scorer rather than forcing three expensive players.

Cameron Boozer — $7,400, PF, Memphis

Boozer’s Thursday triple-double came with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in 28 minutes. Sacramento surrendered 80 paint points to New Orleans that same night. The appeal is a forward who can score inside and create for teammates against a defense struggling to contain either action. Four made threes on five attempts helped his last performance; that shooting should not be the expectation. The passing and rebounding are the more useful reasons to pay this price. Memphis official box score · Kings–Pelicans gamebook.

Ajay Mitchell — $6,400, SG/SF, Oklahoma City

Mitchell took 20 shots and scored 29 points in 28 minutes Wednesday. Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso remain out, leaving fewer established perimeter options around Gilgeous-Alexander. Mitchell is not a bargain-bin play at $6,400, but his current shot opportunity is attractive for a midrange wing. Houston is playing its second game in two nights; Oklahoma City last played Wednesday. That rest difference is a useful supporting factor, not a promise of an easy matchup. Thunder official box score · Houston’s Friday game.

Onyeka Okongwu — $5,900, C, Atlanta

Okongwu played nearly 33 minutes Thursday and finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Four made threes inflated the scoring, but five offensive rebounds show another route to production. With Yves Missi out, New Orleans is relying on a different center rotation. I like Okongwu as the affordable starting-center choice; I am not pricing in another four-three night. Hawks–Cavaliers official box score.

GPP plays and premium alternatives

• Donovan Mitchell — $8,700, SG: He attempted 19 shots Thursday despite going 1-for-9 from three. Milwaukee’s weak early defensive results make this a reasonable spot to pursue a shooting rebound. Cleveland’s offense is shared with James Harden and Evan Mobley, so Mitchell needs scoring efficiency to separate from the other expensive guards.
• Victor Wembanyama — $10,900, C: He produced 36 points and 14 rebounds in Wednesday’s overtime win. His shot-blocking gives him a ceiling route beyond scoring. Rudy Gobert is out with back spasms, removing Minnesota’s starting rim protector; Stephon Castle remains questionable with a migraine. He is my highest-priced alternative, not a requirement. Spurs–Jazz recap.
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — $10,400, PG: Oklahoma City’s absences keep the offense concentrated. He still attempted 19 shots in 28 minutes during Wednesday’s lopsided loss. An SGA-led lineup is a reasonable alternative to the Johnson-centered build, particularly when using less expensive forwards. Pairing him with Ajay Mitchell is viable, but those two also compete for the same team’s shot volume.
• Darius Acuff Jr. — $7,500, PG/SG: Sacramento gave him more than 40 minutes and 26 attempts Thursday. That is the workload case for bringing him back against Boozer. Memphis is a tougher opponent, and Acuff also committed six turnovers in that game. This is an aggressive bet on continued responsibility rather than a claim that Thursday’s 34-point, 14-assist line will repeat.

Value plays: real salary relief

Player	Salary	Why he fits	Main tradeoff
Cam Spencer, MEM, PG/SG	$3,700	Played 23 minutes Thursday with eight assists and six rebounds. Jerome and Pippen are both questionable.	More expensive guards returning healthy would reduce the extra opportunity; he is not a confirmed starter.
Sam Merrill, CLE, SG/SF	$4,000	Nearly 27 minutes and eight three-point attempts Thursday; Jaylon Tyson is now out.	Scoring depends heavily on his jumper. Meleek Thomas is now probable, so I would not build Merrill’s value around another Thomas absence.
Karlo Matkovic, NOP, PF/C	$3,700	Started and played 27:31 Thursday with Missi unavailable.	Derik Queen played 22:14; the center minutes are shared, not a guaranteed 30-plus-minute role.
Herbert Jones, NOP, SF/PF	$4,500	A cheaper wing with 32 minutes Thursday; useful when a build needs playing time rather than another expensive scorer.	Low offensive priority. Do not expect his 16 points Thursday to become a new baseline.
Isaiah Stewart, MEM, PF/C	$3,900	Quinten Post’s doubtful status could open frontcourt work.	Only 16 minutes Thursday. His 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting were much stronger than the workload.

Spencer and Matkovic are my preferred sub-$4,000 paths. Merrill is the shooting alternative, while Stewart belongs in the smaller, more volatile part of a tournament pool. Recent playing time: Memphis · Cleveland · New Orleans.

Injuries that change the picks

Latest status, 6:30 p.m. ET: Ty Jerome and Scotty Pippen Jr. are questionable with back soreness; Quinten Post is doubtful with an ankle sprain. Spencer’s appeal grows if either guard sits. Cleveland has Jaylon Tyson out and Meleek Thomas probable. Oklahoma City is without Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber. New Orleans is without Jordan Poole and Yves Missi. Sacramento is missing Keegan Murray, Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell, among others. San Antonio has Tobias Harris out.

Houston has submitted its report: Fred VanVleet, Reed Sheppard and Steven Adams are out; Alperen Sengun is not listed. Minnesota has ruled Rudy Gobert out with back spasms; Anthony Edwards remains out following right-knee arthroscopy. Dejounte Murray is out for personal reasons, keeping Jeremiah Fears in consideration for ballhandling work. Saturday official injury report · Friday official report.

High-risk, high-reward decisions

Ty Jerome at $8,400 is a tournament option only if his back permits him to play without a meaningful restriction. His salary is too high to absorb a reduced shift comfortably. Stewart at $3,900 has a plausible path to more center minutes but a poor floor if Zach Edey absorbs the available work. Acuff at $7,500 is the stronger volume-based risk: Sacramento’s thin rotation supports minutes, while turnovers and a difficult road matchup can still sink the result.

Lineup construction and an example

I prefer two or three midrange players with genuine offensive responsibility, then cheap rotation pieces, rather than squeezing two $10,000 stars into every build. The example below combines Johnson’s all-around role, Donovan Mitchell’s scoring upside and Boozer’s favorable opponent. Ajay Mitchell supplies a second team’s concentrated shot opportunity.

Slot	Player	Salary
PG	Cam Spencer	$3,700
SG	Sam Merrill	$4,000
SF	Ajay Mitchell	$6,400
PF	Jalen Johnson	$9,700
C	Onyeka Okongwu	$5,900
G	Donovan Mitchell	$8,700
F	Karlo Matkovic	$3,700
UTIL	Cameron Boozer	$7,400

Total: $49,500. Remaining: $500. This is a construction example, not a projected winning lineup. Its biggest vulnerability is that both Spencer and Matkovic can lose minutes within shared rotations. Spending more at one of those positions means giving up some of the premium scoring elsewhere; I would rather make that trade than pretend the cheap players have secure star-level workloads.