Welcome back for the 2015-2016 NBA season! The NBA season is full of underdogs, disappointments, and best of all surprises. We welcome all the excitement of the NBA into Fantasy Sports to try to pick the underdogs and surprises to make the best lineup possible. In order to have the best fantasy team, you need to have your high tier players that you normally would pay more money for, your middle tier players that are consistent at an average price, and then your value aka your sleeper picks.
Free NBA DFS DraftKings Lineup and Analysis 10/27/15
Point Guards
Stephen Curry $9,400
How much explanation do I need for Steph? He knocked out the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the playoffs while averaging 33 points, 7 assists per game, 5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. This game is going to be a fast-paced game and it won’t benefit anyone more than Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Anthony Davis who I will mention later on.
Mo Williams $4,900
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be opening up the season against the Chicago Bulls. With Kyrie Irving out for at least a month, it will give the bulk of the minutes to the former Cavaliers and now the newest addition. His preseason numbers are sub par, but don’t let those numbers fool you. With Kyrie Irving out, LeBron will need help with the scoring load, and LeBron and Mo already have the teammate connection as they both played together between the years 2008-2011.
Nate Robinson $3,500
Robinson will be a player that I will be using for a tournament play. Robinson is currently priced at $3,500 and will be getting a chance to play major minutes for the Pelicans. With Tyreke Evans recovering from right knee surgery, Norris Cole out 6 weeks with a high ankle sprain, and Jrue Holiday, on a 15-minute restriction it leaves Nate Robinson the majority of the minutes. During the 2015 preseason, he is averaging 9 points, 3 assists, and almost 1 steal a game in 20 minutes per game. I fully expect the amount of minutes played will be around 25 to 30, which will give Nate Robinson more than enough time to surpass his value.
Matthew Dellavedova $3,000
If you need an even cheaper player but more than capable at reaching value, than Matthew Dellavedova is your man. With Irving out as I said earlier, Iman Shumpert also sidelined, there will be many minutes to be distributed for Dellavedova and Mo Williams. I prefer to play Mo as it is the safer bet, but if you need a cheaper player than play Matthew Dellavedova with confidence!
Shooting Guard
Jimmy Butler $7,600
Butler is the most expensive shooting guard for the season opener at $7,600. Butler saw the opportunity of Derrick Rose’s absence last year and ended up running away with the Most Improved Player of the Year Trophy. He had an incredible season, averaging 20 points, nearly 2 steals, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game. He also shuts down any player that the coach tells him to guard. Another reason I pick him is because he averages 38 minutes per game. Any time a player averages a lot of minutes, it means that they have plenty of opportunities to increase their fantasy production per game.
Klay Thompson $7,200
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Let’s go back to the Pelicans versus the Warriors, I personally love this game because it will be played at a fast pace. Klay Thompson will really benefit because of the lack of size and strength at the opposing shooting guard position. He is the second most expensive SG at $7,200. During the 2014-2015 season, Klay Thompson was able to use his size and strength to get to the line more times than in the previous season. I see him capitalizing on it again this season and it will start against the New Orleans Pelicans!
Eric Gordon $5,200
My Mid-tier option will be Eric Gordon; my reasoning for Eric Gordon is similar to Nate Robinson. With a number of guards out for the Pelicans, it leaves many minutes to both Eric Gordon and Nate Robinson. Nate Robinson, Eric Gordon, and Anthony Davis are the 3 players on this team that will have the ball in their hands. There will be plenty of fantasy points to go around. In the preseason, Gordon averaged 13 points per game while averaging around 30 minutes a game. Since it’s the preseason, players tend to take a seat back, but as soon as the season starts I see Gordon getting the load of the offense right next to Anthony Davis.
Kent Bazemore $3,000
Kent Bazemore will be my punt play of the day with high upside. Bazemore in 5 preseason games put up 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal per game in 22 minutes. I see his numbers and minutes rising when the season starts with Thabo Sefolosha still recovering from his altercation with the police from last season and breaking his leg. Kent Bazemore will be starting against the Detroit Pistons Tuesday night.
Small Forward
Stanley Johnson $4,700
My small forward position is where I really tried to go cheap for tonight. I like the rookie for the Pistons and Harrison Barnes from the Golden State Warriors. First let’s start with Stanley Johnson. Since Johnson is a rookie, it is hard to judge what their role will be, but Stan Van Gundy has high expectations for his rookie and plans to play him major minutes! He is averaging 13 points, 7 rebounds and nearly 2 steals a game during the preseason. He is my must play Tuesday night if you need someone cheap with high expectations.
Harrison Barnes $4,600
If you need to save $100 for another position, you can choose Harrison Barnes who seems to be very safe at the price your spending. He is averaging 10 points and 1 steal per game. Since this is preseason his minutes will rise along with his fantasy production. Play Barnes with confidence if you need a cheap SF.
Power Forwards
My power forward position is where I wanted to spend the most money I could because the chance of double-double’s is high
Anthony Davis $10,400
Unless you lived under a rock last year, you know Anthony Davis had an incredible breakout 2014-2015 season. The Kentucky product averaged 24 points, 10 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. Davis will be going up against the Golden State Warriors that eliminated his team from the playoffs, he will be playing with fire and revenge on his mind! During that 4 game sweep, he averaged 31 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and nearly 1.5 steals per game. I have a strong feeling that he is going to want to get revenge on the Warriors! Over the summer, Davis showed signs of being able to shoot the long ball, which will make him nearly impossible to guard both inside and out. Davis’ overall performance and his off-season work ethic are just astronomical and I see no sign of him slowing down. He is the most expensive player for the Opening season games at $10,400 but is 100% worth the price. Play Davis with the outmost confidence!
Paul Millsap $7,700
Thirdly, my pick is Paul Millsap. He averaged 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, nearly 1 block and almost 2 steals a game during the 2014-2015 expedition. Millsap is a player that takes over on both sides of the court and has a favorable matchup versus the Detroit Pistons on the opening day of the season. He will be going up against Detroit’s undersized forward position that consists of Anthony Tolliver, Marcus Morris, and Ersan Ilyasova, who are all stretch 4’s. There is no way that Millsap can’t take advantage of this matchup.
Pau Gasol $8,000
If you need another option, I also love Pau Gasol. Pau Gasol is also a double-double machine. He is averaging 10 points and 7 rebounds in the preseason. Don’t let those numbers fool you, Pau will be averaging a double-double during the 2015-2016 NBA season. Play Pau with confidence and fully expect him to get 16 points 12 boards and 2 blocks during the contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is priced at $8,000.
Center
Andre Drummond $8,200
At the center position, I personally will only go with Andre Drummond. Drummond is a double-double machine that always takes advantage of the big man who are smaller than him. He will be going up against the front line of Al Horford and Paul Millsap, who are both undersized at their position. With Greg Monroe on the Bucks, I see Drummond having a stronger impact on the game while receiving more minutes, and the main target down on the block. He is the most expensive Center at $8,200 but worth every penny!
Anderson Varejao $3,400
Andre Drummond is my must play at the center position, but if you’re the player that prefers to go cheap at center than I believe you can play it safe with Anderson Varejao. Before he went down last season he was averaging 10 points and 7 rebounds per game. With news coming out that Timofey Mozgov is still bothered by his surgical right knee, it should leave enough minutes for Varejao to reach his value. It is safe to put Anderson Varejao in your lineups.
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