Darius Garland vs Precious Achiuwa: who to start in Week 3
Darius Garland plays 3 games in Week 3 (Nov 2-8), Precious Achiuwa 4. For that week alone, start Precious Achiuwa: 102.5 projected fantasy points to 93.3 for Darius Garland. Over the season, Darius Garland leads in both formats: 31.1 fantasy points a game to 25.6, and 164th against 165th 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 Nov 3, 2:36 AM ET. Rechecked every 30 minutes.
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- Points leagues
- #83
- 31.1 FP/G, slot 7.11, $12
- 9-cat leagues
- #164
- -2.7 z, slot 14.08
The pick in points and 9-cat leagues.
- Points leagues
- #139
- 25.6 FP/G, slot 12.07, $4
- 9-cat leagues
- #165
- -2.8 z, slot 14.09
The call
Points leagues: Darius Garland. 31.1 fantasy points per game against 25.6, 83rd on our board to 139th.
9-cat leagues: Darius Garland again, -2.7 in summed z-scores against -2.8 (164th to 165th).
Category by category, Darius Garland is ahead in 4 (PTS, AST, 3PM and FT%) and Precious Achiuwa in 5 (REB, STL, BLK, FG% and TO).
Per 36 minutes, Precious Achiuwa produces more: 36.3 fantasy points to 36.3, on 25.4 minutes a night against 30.9. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.
Darius Garland plays 3 games in Week 3 (Nov 2-8), Precious Achiuwa 4. For that week alone, start Precious Achiuwa: 102.5 projected fantasy points to 93.3 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.
Per game, side by side
| Per game | Darius Garland | Precious Achiuwa |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 31.1 | 25.6 |
| Minutes | 30.9 | 25.4 |
| PointsPTS | 19.2 | 10.6 |
| ReboundsREB | 2.2 | 6.7 |
| AssistsAST | 6.7 | 1.4 |
| StealsSTL | 0.9 | 1.2 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.1 | 0.8 |
| Threes3PM | 2.6 | 0.3 |
| Field goal %FG% | 45.1% | 54.0% |
| Free throw %FT% | 84.9% | 50.1% |
| TurnoversTO | 3.7 | 0.9 |
| Games, 2025-26 | 45 | 73 |
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 | Darius Garland | Precious Achiuwa |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points | 36.3 | 36.3 |
| Points | 22.4 | 15.0 |
| Rebounds | 2.5 | 9.5 |
| Assists | 7.8 | 1.9 |
| Steals | 1.0 | 1.7 |
| Blocks | 0.1 | 1.1 |
| Threes | 3.0 | 0.4 |
| Turnovers | 4.3 | 1.3 |
Each per-game number divided by minutes and scaled to 36: the rate a bigger role would carry.
9-category z-scores
| Category | Darius Garland | Precious Achiuwa |
|---|---|---|
| PointsPTS | +0.5 | -1.1 |
| ReboundsREB | -1.6 | +0.4 |
| AssistsAST | +1.4 | -1.2 |
| StealsSTL | -0.5 | +0.4 |
| BlocksBLK | -1.1 | +0.2 |
| Threes3PM | +0.9 | -1.4 |
| Field goal percentageFG% | -0.7 | +0.8 |
| Free throw percentageFT% | +0.5 | -2.1 |
| TurnoversTO | -2.2 | +1.3 |
| Total | -2.7 | -2.8 |
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 points, assists, threes and free throw percentage flips the 9-cat answer to Precious Achiuwa.
| Punt | Darius Garland | Precious Achiuwa |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | -3.3 (#241) | -1.7 (#160) |
| REB | -1.1 (#100) | -3.5 (#217) |
| AST | -4.4 (#278) | -1.7 (#134) |
| STL | -2.3 (#161) | -3.3 (#202) |
| BLK | -1.6 (#118) | -3.3 (#181) |
| 3PM | -3.8 (#230) | -1.3 (#104) |
| FG% | -2.0 (#127) | -4.3 (#226) |
| FT% | -3.4 (#199) | -0.7 (#77) |
| TO | -0.6 (#76) | -4.2 (#179) |
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 438 ranked players.
Week 3 (Nov 2-8)
- Darius Garland: 3 games (Mon TOR, Wed MIA, Sun NOP), 1 back-to-back.
- Precious Achiuwa: 4 games (Mon @DAL, Wed LAL, Fri SAS, Sun MIA).
Recent games
- Darius Garland: 28.8 fantasy points a game over his last 7 of 2026-27, against 31.1 on the board.
- Precious Achiuwa: 29.0 fantasy points a game over his last 7 of 2026-27, against 25.6 on the board.
Other picks at the same spot
NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers
Is Darius Garland playing tonight? · Is Precious Achiuwa playing tonight?
Rookie cards: Darius Garland
Common questions
Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Darius Garland or Precious Achiuwa?
Points leagues: Darius Garland. 31.1 fantasy points per game against 25.6, 83rd on our board to 139th. 9-cat leagues: Darius Garland again, -2.7 in summed z-scores against -2.8 (164th to 165th).
Who wins more categories, Darius Garland or Precious Achiuwa?
Category by category, Darius Garland is ahead in 4 (PTS, AST, 3PM and FT%) and Precious Achiuwa in 5 (REB, STL, BLK, FG% and TO).
Who should I start in Week 3, Darius Garland or Precious Achiuwa?
Darius Garland plays 3 games in Week 3 (Nov 2-8), Precious Achiuwa 4. For that week alone, start Precious Achiuwa: 102.5 projected fantasy points to 93.3 for Darius Garland.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Nov 3, 2026 at 2:36 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number