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Dillon Brooks vs Naji Marshall: who to start in Week 1

Dillon Brooks plays 2 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Naji Marshall 3. For that week alone, start Naji Marshall: 83.3 projected fantasy points to 55.9 for Dillon Brooks. Over the season, Dillon Brooks leads in points leagues (28.0 fantasy points a game to 27.8) and Naji Marshall in 9-cat leagues (141st against 178th). 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.

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Dillon Brooks
SFPFSGPHXage 30
Points leagues
#105
28.0 FP/G, slot 9.09, $8
9-cat leagues
#178
-3.2 z, slot 15.10

The pick in points leagues.

Naji Marshall
SFPFSGDALage 28
Points leagues
#106
27.8 FP/G, slot 9.10, $8
9-cat leagues
#141
-2.3 z, slot 12.09, $3

The pick in 9-cat leagues.

The call

Points leagues: Dillon Brooks. 28.0 fantasy points per game against 27.8, 105th on our board to 106th.

9-cat leagues: Naji Marshall instead, -2.3 in summed z-scores against -3.2 (141st to 178th), because the categories pay for a different mix.

Category by category, Dillon Brooks is ahead in 4 (PTS, BLK, 3PM and FT%) and Naji Marshall in 5 (REB, AST, STL, FG% and TO).

Per 36 minutes, Naji Marshall produces more: 33.9 fantasy points to 33.4, on 29.5 minutes a night against 30.2. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.

Dillon Brooks plays 2 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Naji Marshall 3. For that week alone, start Naji Marshall: 83.3 projected fantasy points to 55.9 for Dillon Brooks.

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 gameDillon BrooksNaji Marshall
Fantasy points per game28.027.8
Minutes30.229.5
PointsPTS19.615.3
ReboundsREB3.64.5
AssistsAST1.73.4
StealsSTL1.01.1
BlocksBLK0.20.1
Threes3PM2.20.9
Field goal %FG%43.2%51.2%
Free throw %FT%82.9%76.0%
TurnoversTO1.81.6
Games, 2025-265674

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 36Dillon BrooksNaji Marshall
Fantasy points33.433.9
Points23.318.7
Rebounds4.45.5
Assists2.04.2
Steals1.11.3
Blocks0.20.1
Threes2.61.1
Turnovers2.12.0

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

CategoryDillon BrooksNaji Marshall
PointsPTS+0.5-0.2
ReboundsREB-1.0-0.6
AssistsAST-1.0-0.1
StealsSTL-0.2+0.2
BlocksBLK-1.1-1.2
Threes3PM+0.6-0.7
Field goal percentageFG%-1.5+0.5
Free throw percentageFT%+0.3-0.5
TurnoversTO+0.1+0.3
Total-3.2-2.3

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 field goal percentage flips the 9-cat answer to Dillon Brooks.

PuntDillon BrooksNaji Marshall
PTS-3.8 (#264)-2.2 (#173)
REB-2.3 (#148)-2.0 (#132)
AST-2.4 (#170)-2.3 (#166)
STL-3.1 (#190)-2.7 (#172)
BLK-2.2 (#141)-1.3 (#100)
3PM-3.9 (#223)-1.7 (#122)
FG%-1.8 (#111)-3.3 (#171)
FT%-3.7 (#205)-2.0 (#134)
TO-3.3 (#149)-2.7 (#130)

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)

  • Dillon Brooks: 2 games (Wed @POR, Sat GSW).
  • Naji Marshall: 3 games (Wed @HOU, Fri @IND, Sat SAS), 1 back-to-back.

Dillon Brooks or Naji Marshall: the Week 1 start/sit call

Recent games

  • Dillon Brooks: 12.8 fantasy points a game over his last 1 of 2026-27, against 28.0 on the board.
  • Naji Marshall: 28.4 fantasy points a game over his last 1 of 2026-27, against 27.8 on the board.

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Other picks at the same spot

NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers

Is Dillon Brooks playing tonight? · Is Naji Marshall playing tonight?

Common questions

  • Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Dillon Brooks or Naji Marshall?

    Points leagues: Dillon Brooks. 28.0 fantasy points per game against 27.8, 105th on our board to 106th. 9-cat leagues: Naji Marshall instead, -2.3 in summed z-scores against -3.2 (141st to 178th), because the categories pay for a different mix.

  • Who wins more categories, Dillon Brooks or Naji Marshall?

    Category by category, Dillon Brooks is ahead in 4 (PTS, BLK, 3PM and FT%) and Naji Marshall in 5 (REB, AST, STL, FG% and TO).

  • Who should I start in Week 1, Dillon Brooks or Naji Marshall?

    Dillon Brooks plays 2 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Naji Marshall 3. For that week alone, start Naji Marshall: 83.3 projected fantasy points to 55.9 for Dillon Brooks.

By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 22, 2026 at 8:57 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number