It’s only been a couple months since the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Championship and the regular season is already slated to begin. That means NBA DFS is back! We will only get a two game slate to begin the year but it will be a star studded two games and should be a good one to break the ice. Without further ado, lets dive right in and break down my favorite plays for NBA DFS Tuesday, December 22nd.
Golden State Warriors (+7.5) @ Brooklyn Nets (-7.5) 7:00 PM
Over/Under: 231.5
Los Angeles Clippers (+2.5) @ Los Angeles Lakers (-2.5) 10:00 pm
Over/Under: 222
Point Guard
Embed from Getty ImagesStephen Curry PG $9,300 – Curry is my favorite play of the two games. Not only can we get him at a discount but he will be on the court without Kevin Durant ($9,800), Draymond Green (Foot), and Klay Thompson (Achilles) which means his usage rate will sky rocket. When Curry played without them last year his usage rate was at 33.6%. This will also be a great matchup for Curry going up against a Brooklyn Nets team who will get theirs on offense but are questionable on the defensive side of the ball. The Nets are also one of the faster paced teams so Curry should get plenty of possessions, which lead to more opportunities to score the rock.
In Steph’s final pre-season game against the Sacramento Kings he shot 13 three-pointers and put up 29 points while logging 29 minutes. Stephen Curry is going to put up crazy numbers even in a shortened season and have a killer usage rate with no Klay Thompson. I love Curry tomorrow and will be locking him in a majority of my lineups even though he could be chalky.
Embed from Getty ImagesKyrie Irving PG $8,500 – Irving in my opinion is going to love playing for the deep rostered Nets alongside Kevin Durant ($9,800). He should be one of the leagues top-scorers this year with the amount of the Nets offense he will account for and should have no problem paying off his $8,500 dollar price tag against the Warriors tomorrow evening. Brooklyn will look to keep an up-tempo pace, running up and down the court which plays right into Kyrie Irving’s skill set. He put up 18 and 17 points in his pre-season games this year while only playing roughly 20 mins in each. With a full workload, in a fast paced matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, Kyrie Irving projects for around 44 fantasy points.
Shooting Guard
Dennis Schroder SG $5,800 – Schroder should get plenty of chances to score in this Lakers offense. He did sprain his ankle during the preseason game against the Suns last Wednesday but the Lakers injury report is empty going into the opener vs the Clippers. That means Schroder should be ready to go and I think he will get the starting nod as the secondary ball-handler to Lebron James ($9,600). Even if he comes off the bench he will be the primary ball handler with a boost in usage. Last year in a 6th man role with the Thunder, he averaged 19 points per game. In either role I expect Schroder to give us a good return on our investment of only $5,8000 with plenty of chances to score in this Lakers offense.
Joe Harris SG $4,800 – Shooting guard is a spot I’m willing to pay down for on tomorrow’s slate because there’s a lot of value at the position and this slate is shaping up to be a stars/scrubs build. Harris is going to be one of my go to value plays because I think a lot of the field is going to overlook him with so many other viable plays on the Brooklyn Net’s deep roster. The Warriors will be worried about doubling Durant ($9,800) and slowing down Kyrie Irving ($8,500) so there should be plenty of open looks for one of the NBA’s best three-point shooters in Joe Harris ($4,800). I love the discount and the floor Harris offers, take advantage while the price is low.
Embed from Getty ImagesSmall Forward
Kelly Oubre SF $6,700 – I love Oubre to even out my lineup with the multi-category upside he offers. He has looked great this preseason for the Warriors in multiple categories including shooting 3-pointers, rebounding and protecting the rim. With Draymond Green already ruled out (foot) Kelly Oubre ($6,700) is going to see plenty of minutes at both SF and PF. He has looked excellent alongside Andrew Wiggins ($7,000) and Stephen Curry ($9,300) this preseason and I think he continues to stuff the stat sheets to start the regular season on Tuesday.
Kyle Kuzma SF $5,500 – You will see a lot of the field go to the value plays of Luke Kennard ($3,600) and Talen Horton-Tucker ($3,500) if they aren’t playing the obvious studs at the position. Personally, I think we’re going to see the Lakers ease they’re starters into the season which means we’ll see a bump in usage for their bench players. Kuzma just signed a three-year, $40 million extension on Sunday and is a major part of the Lakers rotation. Lebron was publicly vocal about wanting to start the regular season in January so it will be interesting to see if the Lakers give their stars their normal run in the first game of the season. Either way I think Kuzma will see a good amount of minutes, he’s mid-priced and will be a low ownership play.
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Power Forward
Kevin Durant PF $9,800 – I’m playing Durant off pure excitement alone! I can’t wait to see the return of the former MVP going up against his old team. We also should see a decrease in ownership being only $200 cheaper than Anthony Davis ($10,000) and coming off sitting out the entire 2019 season after tearing his achilles. The Nets capped Durant’s minutes during the preseason but when he was on the court they let him loose, playing at a possession pace of 107.8. Durant saw a total of 51 minutes during the preseason putting up 40 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assist. Durant will be ready to put on a performance going up against his former team and I think he could be the top fantasy scorer of the night. Give me all the Durant I can fit in to my lineups.
Eric Paschall PF $3,800 – Paschall should be the value play of the night with Draymond Green out (foot) and rightfully so. Paschall took advantage of each and every opportunity he was given last year with Golden States depleted roster. He was almost a point per minute fantasy producer last season (0.9), at $3,800 he should crush his price tag. He averaged 27.6 mins a game last season while scoring 24.7 fantasy points per game. Paschall will most definitely be chalk but with the production you will get at his price point, it’s chalk you should be willing to eat.
Center
Serge Ibaka C $5,200 – I expect Serge to get the start for the Clippers to start the season and at his price point he’s my favorite play at the position. Last year Ibaka averaged 27 minutes per game and put up 41.1 fantasy points per game. He’s not a high usage rate type of player, especially with Paul George ($7,800) and Kawhi Leonard ($9,100) on the court at the same time but he can get you blocked shots and easy buckets at the rim. While I don’t expect last years production, I still think Ibaka is a viable option at center on opening night while carrying a decent price tag.
Montrezl Harrell C $5,300 – This play goes back to me truly believing the Lakers will do their best to ease their two superstars into the season, opening up a lot of minutes for their second unit. Harrell is a high-energy player who gets buckets and rebounds in bunches. Last time he went up against the Clippers he put up 19 points and 11 rebounds in just 26 minutes. We could see the revenge narrative at it’s best here as Montrezl obviously will be hyped to go against his old squad.
Keep an eye on Golden States rookie James Wiseman ($4,900), he’s not on their injury report and all signs are pointing to the Warriors No.2 pick this year being able to make his debut. If he get’s the starting nod I will be sprinkling him in some lineups, especially in GPP’s.
That will round up my plays for opening night of the NBA season. Even on a two game slate there is plenty of ways to get different and a lot of nice value. Good luck to all of you and remember it’s long season so don’t put to much of your bank roll into opening night with only two games, especially with a huge slate the next day.
And remember…
When you cash, be sure to stash so you make sure your bank roll last!
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