Brandon Miller vs Darius Garland: who to start in Week 1
Brandon Miller plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Darius Garland 3. For that week alone, start Brandon Miller: 98.9 projected fantasy points to 97.5 for Darius Garland. Over the season, Brandon Miller leads in both formats: 33.0 fantasy points a game to 32.5, and 67th against 100th in 9-cat. The two go close together on our board, which is our own ranking order from 2025-26 and 2026-27 box scores, not ADP.
Updated Oct 22, 8:57 AM ET. Rechecked every 30 minutes.
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- Points leagues
- #63
- 33.0 FP/G, slot 6.03, $16
- 9-cat leagues
- #67
- -0.4 z, slot 6.07, $13
The pick in points and 9-cat leagues.
- Points leagues
- #65
- 32.5 FP/G, slot 6.05, $15
- 9-cat leagues
- #100
- -1.3 z, slot 9.04, $9
The call
Points leagues: Brandon Miller. 33.0 fantasy points per game against 32.5, 63rd on our board to 65th.
9-cat leagues: Brandon Miller again, -0.4 in summed z-scores against -1.3 (67th to 100th).
Category by category, Brandon Miller is ahead in 6 (PTS, REB, BLK, 3PM, FT% and TO) and Darius Garland in 2 (AST and FG%).
Per 36 minutes, Darius Garland produces more: 39.0 fantasy points to 38.8, on 30.0 minutes a night against 30.6. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.
Brandon Miller plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Darius Garland 3. For that week alone, start Brandon Miller: 98.9 projected fantasy points to 97.5 for Darius Garland.
Slots are where our board's order lands in a 12-team snake draft (round.pick), and dollars are auction value over replacement for 12 teams with $200 each. Neither is ADP: no free draft-position feed lets us republish it.
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Per game, side by side
| Per game | Brandon Miller | Darius Garland |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 33.0 | 32.5 |
| Minutes | 30.6 | 30.0 |
| PointsPTS | 20.0 | 19.5 |
| ReboundsREB | 4.8 | 2.3 |
| AssistsAST | 3.2 | 6.5 |
| StealsSTL | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.7 | 0.2 |
| Threes3PM | 3.1 | 2.7 |
| Field goal %FG% | 42.7% | 46.9% |
| Free throw %FT% | 87.8% | 82.2% |
| TurnoversTO | 2.5 | 2.9 |
| Games, 2025-26 | 65 | 45 |
Bold is the better number. The line blends 2025-26 with 2026-27 games as they are played, the same numbers the rankings use.
Per 36 minutes
| Per 36 | Brandon Miller | Darius Garland |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points | 38.8 | 39.0 |
| Points | 23.5 | 23.4 |
| Rebounds | 5.6 | 2.8 |
| Assists | 3.8 | 7.8 |
| Steals | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Blocks | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| Threes | 3.7 | 3.3 |
| Turnovers | 3.0 | 3.5 |
Each per-game number divided by minutes and scaled to 36: the rate a bigger role would carry.
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9-category z-scores
| Category | Brandon Miller | Darius Garland |
|---|---|---|
| PointsPTS | +0.6 | +0.5 |
| ReboundsREB | -0.5 | -1.6 |
| AssistsAST | -0.2 | +1.5 |
| StealsSTL | -0.2 | -0.2 |
| BlocksBLK | +0.0 | -1.1 |
| Threes3PM | +1.5 | +1.1 |
| Field goal percentageFG% | -1.6 | -0.5 |
| Free throw percentageFT% | +0.8 | +0.2 |
| TurnoversTO | -0.9 | -1.3 |
| Total | -0.4 | -1.3 |
Each number is standard deviations above or below the top 156 players (a 12-team league's rosters). Field goal and free throw percentage are weighted by attempts, and turnovers count against.
If you punt a category
Punting rebounds and blocks flips the 9-cat answer to Darius Garland.
| Punt | Brandon Miller | Darius Garland |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | -1.0 (#107) | -1.9 (#157) |
| REB | +0.2 (#52) | +0.4 (#50) |
| AST | -0.3 (#69) | -2.9 (#195) |
| STL | -0.2 (#69) | -1.2 (#103) |
| BLK | -0.4 (#71) | -0.2 (#64) |
| 3PM | -2.0 (#138) | -2.5 (#161) |
| FG% | +1.5 (#35) | -0.8 (#80) |
| FT% | -1.3 (#107) | -1.7 (#125) |
| TO | +0.5 (#54) | +0.0 (#61) |
Value is the sum of the other eight z-scores, recomputed with the punted category left out of the pool that sets them; the rank is among all 391 ranked players.
Week 1 (Oct 19-25)
- Brandon Miller: 3 games (Wed @BKN, Fri ATL, Sat MIA), 1 back-to-back.
- Darius Garland: 3 games (Wed SAC, Fri @LAL, Sun @OKC).
Recent games
- Brandon Miller: 23.1 fantasy points a game over his last 1 of 2026-27, against 33.0 on the board.
- Darius Garland: 37.2 fantasy points a game over his last 1 of 2026-27, against 32.5 on the board.
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Other picks at the same spot
NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers
Is Brandon Miller playing tonight? · Is Darius Garland playing tonight?
Rookie cards: Brandon Miller, Darius Garland
Common questions
Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Brandon Miller or Darius Garland?
Points leagues: Brandon Miller. 33.0 fantasy points per game against 32.5, 63rd on our board to 65th. 9-cat leagues: Brandon Miller again, -0.4 in summed z-scores against -1.3 (67th to 100th).
Who wins more categories, Brandon Miller or Darius Garland?
Category by category, Brandon Miller is ahead in 6 (PTS, REB, BLK, 3PM, FT% and TO) and Darius Garland in 2 (AST and FG%).
Who should I start in Week 1, Brandon Miller or Darius Garland?
Brandon Miller plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Darius Garland 3. For that week alone, start Brandon Miller: 98.9 projected fantasy points to 97.5 for Darius Garland.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 22, 2026 at 8:57 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number