Welcome back NBA! We missed you!
Okay, so technically the NBA tipped off last night, but tonight we get a nice sized slate to build some good DFS lineups. Tonight’s article will be a little shorter than my usual because there aren’t any stats to go on this early in the season. A lot of this will be based on last year and a bit of guessing on how things should shake out. Let’s jump in.
Nothing But Net My top play of the night at his position.
Dunk A Dunk is a second or third tier player with the highest upside.
Half-Court Shot Otherwise known as a “punt play”.
Blocked Shot A player I’ll be avoiding. Otherwise known as “Fading.”
Point Guard
Nothing But Net | Russell Westbrook @ PHI $12,000
Westbrook is a walking triple-double and will be a man on a mission to prove he can win without Kevin Durant. He is my pick to win the NBA MVP this year, and tonight he gets to beat up on the lowly 76ers.
Dunk  | D’Angelo Russell vs HOU $6,500
The Rocket’s defensive stalwart at point guard, Patrick Beverly, is going to miss a good chunk of the early season, meaning James Harden will likely spend a good amount of time guarding Russell. Harden’s bullfighter defense will allow Russell to do whatever he wants. Kobe is gone and this is Russell’s team now, he’ll be running and gunning. With Mike D’Antoni coaching the Rockets and instituting his 12-second shot clock, this game will be extremely high-paced and high scoring.
Half-Court Shot  | Tim Frazier vs DEN $5,000
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Frazier is a quintessential point guard in that he is a facilitator first, scorer second. Over his last seven games of last season, Frazier averaged over 30 minutes and double-digit assists — and that was without Anthony Davis on the court! I’m expecting his price to rise quickly as I think he is very underpriced for what he can bring to the table for the Pelicans.
Blocked Shot |Â Ricky Rubio @ MEM $6,500
I actually don’t hate Rubio in this spot, but I just think with all the high-paced games on this slate, there will be better options. The Grizzlies are already known for playing slow and now with HC Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota, I expect them to play slow as well.
Shooting Guard
Nothing But Net | James Harden @ LAL $11,200
This game has a great deal of juicy DFS plays and will have by far the highest o/u on the slate. I expect the o/u to be in the mid-220’s if not higher. Harden will be playing with the ball in his hand a lot more this year, which is saying something because he played with the ball in his hand a ton last year. New HC D’Antoni will use him almost like a point guard in this offense and anyone who played NBA DFS last year should already know how bad the Lakers were in defense of the PG position.
Dunk | Devin Booker vs SAC $6,200
This game will likely have the second highest o/u on tonight’s slate, and Booker is now the starting shooting guard in Phoenix. His $6,200 price tag may be a little low for the type of production he can provide. The Kings are a bad defensive team and Booker should have no issues finding room to get his shots up.
Half-Court Shot | Will Barton @ NO $5,100
I’m not expecting Gary Harris to play in this game, leaving the door opened for Barton to move into the starting lineup and see an uptick in minutes. He averaged a healthy 15.7 points per game in two games during the preseason where Harris did not play. He typically won’t give you much more than points, but at $5,100, he doesn’t have to do much more than score to hit value.
Blocked Shot | None
Small Forward
Nothing But Net | Paul George vs DAL $9,500
This pick is more a testament to the lack of depth at the position than anything else. The No. 2 small forward on the slate is Danilo Gallin at $7,100. With that said, 9.5k isn’t a bad price for PG13. He had a tendency to disappear at times last year, and he was probably one of the most frustrating “top-tier” players to roster, but with the lack of depth, he gets the nod as my NBN play at SF.
Dunk | Aaron Gordon vs MIA $5,600
I’m not sure what to expect from Aaron Gordon this year. He is moving from his more natural power forward position to small forward, but he doesn’t have the shooting range that is needed from the SF in the modern NBA. I still expect him to take a step forward over last year, and his freak athleticism will make him an interesting play tonight at $5,600.
Half-Court Shot | Mirza Teletovic vs CHA $4,000
Teletovic is another player that will be hard to judge until we see how many minutes he will get. The Bucks are a team that is in need of shooting, especially with Khris Middleton done for the year already. He could be the perfect complement to The Greek Freak and Jabari Parker or he end up the odd man out due to his lack of defense. I’m betting the Bucks need his offense and he will get enough minutes to exceed value tonight.
Blocked Shot | Andrew Wiggins $6,600
The same reason I’m avoiding Rubio is the same reason I’m avoiding Wiggins. The pace of this game will be slow, and with some of the other games on this slate, I just can’t see myself rostering anyone from this game except maybe Karl-Anthony Towns.
Power Forward
Nothing But Net | Anthony Davis vs DEN $10,200
When this guy is healthy he is capable of putting up some of the biggest DFS games in the league. Health, unfortunately, has been his Achilles heal. Paying 10k-plus for him will be tough to do with the injury risk, so he will be a “GPP only” play for me, but the top play nonetheless.
Dunk | Jabari Parker vs CHA $6,100
Parker averaged over 30 FanDuel points in his two home games last year against the Hornets last year, and there is no reason to think he can’t do that again.
Half-Court Shot | Terrence Jones vs DEN $4,200
Jones will be the primary backup to Anthony Davis at the power forward position, but Davis plays a lot of minutes at the five which could put Jones and Davis on the court at the same time. With Davis likely drawing double-teams, Jones could play a nice complementary role in an offense that does not have very much in the way of offensive firepower.
Blocked Shot | None
Center
Nothing But Net | Hassan Whiteside @ ORL $8,700
Whiteside looked dominant this preseason as he now becomes the face of this franchise with Dwayne Wade in Chicago now. He probably has the highest floor of any of the centers in the NBA this year. His rebounding and block shot ability will keep his floor high, even when his shot isn’t going in. He averaged 38 FanDuel points against the Magic last year, including a 50-point effort on March 25th.
Dunk | Al Horford vs BKN $7,000
Horford’s change of scenery should do him some good. Head coach Brad Stevens and the Celtics lacked a true big-man presence last year. They had a bunch of average big men, but nothing to rest your hat on. Now that Horford is in the mix, the Celtics are the early favorites to finish second in the east. Horford’s price is relatively low and he should have no issue hitting value.
Half-Court Shot | Jusuf Nurkic @ NO $4,600
I’m going back to well with value plays in this game. Nurkic dealt with injuries for most of the season last year, but in the two games in which he received over 30 minutes to end the season he averaged over 40 FanDuel points. At $4,600, I’d be ecstatic to get 30 from him.
Blocked Shot | Marc Gasol vs MIN $7,300
Gasol is expected to see limited minutes. No thanks.
The 6th Man (other plays I like)
- Isaiah Thomas $8,000
- Giannis Antetokounmpo $9,400
- Jordan Clarkson $5,700
- Thaddeus Young $6,600
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