Things could have been better yesterday on the court as for the most part, there were some lopsided affairs. The hope is that your DFS lineups fared better. Personally my cash game tournaments helped to cover my GPP entries but fear not as we are right back at it tonight with a nine game slate. I know all that matters is watching your own account go up so I offer that up as a reminder that it is prudent to include cash games into your repertoire while you chase the GPP payday.
For those who have yet to subscribe, what are you waiting for? Until then you will get one free pick to whet your appetite. When setting your DFS lineups you want to act with as most certainty and conviction as possible. Now that is a futile effort because they only way that is truly possible is if you set your lineup after the games are played. No one is disputing how talented James Harden($10,900 DK, $11,000 FD) is. What he did last season (33.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game) makes him one of the top players in the game and he is priced as such. Entering this season though there are doubts concerning Harden’s fitness and concentration as he has made it clear he doesn’t want to be in Houston after showing up late to Training Camp. After the Rockets’ first game of the season was postponed due to COVID-19 they are slated to begin their season tonight. John Wall and Eric Gordon both are expected to be sidelined so that means the entire offense will be focused on Harden. For as many doubts as you may have with him, someone has to score for Houston and we all know he has no problem becoming the whole offense. All of the above means he is also clearly the most expensive option on the slate and I’m not sure tonight is the slate where you need to force Harden into your lineup.
Subscribers can now expect us to continue digging into today’s slate. What position should we be targeting a high-priced stud at? So, keep on going and take a look at what we have to offer. This is just the beginning though. For a one-time fee of $99 per year we have all sports covered here including NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, PGA, NASCAR, and League of Legends. We know how profitable these picks can be so you can even try it out for one month for free.
You never want to speak in absolutes, but with a combined over/under of 213 the match-up between Cleveland and Detroit doesn’t look enticing. The same can be said for the Thunder and Hornets (217.5) and the 76ers taking on the Knicks (216). Conversely the Suns and Kings are projected for 227 points with the Timberwolves and Jazz coming in at 227.5 while both Houston against Portland and Toronto at San Antonio come in at 226. It is still quite early in the season so we are still in the feeling out phase of what to expect this year and it is important to remember that following along with Las Vegas should be just one piece of your daily analysis. I mean who would expect the game between Orlando and Washington projected to have the most offense at 230 points.
That leads us to the obvious play of the evening. Between the two teams it is clear who the best player is and that is Russell Westbrook ($10,300 DK, $10,000 FD). Any doubts about how he would perform in his new home were resoundingly answered on Wednesday as he went for 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 15 assists in his Washington debut. The only problem though, and you know things couldn’t be that easy, is that the Wizards have committed to resting Westbrook for one half of back-to-back games so we have to stay tuned to the news leading up to game time and have a backup plan in place. From a usage perspective the clear pivot is Bradley Beal ($9,300 DK, $8,100 FD) who scored 31 points on Wednesday and even if Westbrook does play, Beal gets you exposure to what could be highest scoring game of the night at a little cost savings. As far as the starting lineup goes Ish Smith ($5,400 DK, $3,900 FD) would likely see a boost in value as he comes off a solid game on Wednesday with seven points, four rebounds, and three assists.
On the other side of the court my target is Aaron Gordon ($6,900 DK, $6,900 FD) who led Orlando in scoring on Wednesday with 20 points while also contributing seven rebounds. Gordon is also cheaper than Nikola Vucevic ($9,100 DK, $8,200 FD) who despite a double-double being his consistent baseline (15 points and 11 rebounds to start the season) does lack some upside. If I am going to spend up at the center position tonight there are better targets with more upside available.
At the top of the salary chart we have Karl-Anthony Towns ($10,000 DK, $9,600 FD) coming off a 22 point, 11 rebound, seven assist performance. If we are going based on match-ups, Joel Emblid($10,200 DK, $9,800 FD) should be able to build off of Domantas Sabonis’ ($8,500 DK, $8,500 FD) 32-point, 13 rebound performance against the Knicks on Wednesday. And with 29 points and 14 rebounds himself to start the season it is difficult to find much fault with Emblid. Based on tonight’s slate I feel one of these options is a must-play with the variable being how they fit into the remainder of your lineup.
Aside from the Washington backcourt one of my higher priced guard options is Damian Lilliard($9,500 DK, $9,000 FD) who is facing a reeling Houston team. After watching Lilliard uncharacteristically struggle to begin the season with just nine points (although he did add seven assists) I’m thinking he might be a little lower owned than usual tonight as he is clearly a better player than this. Despite that his partner in crime, CJ McCollum ($7,800 DK, $7,200 FD) could be a better option after 23 points, four rebounds, and three assists on Wednesday. Remember, it’s not just about the best player as price has to come into play.
As an alternative Donvovan Mitchell ($8,400 DK, $7,700 FD) looks to rebound from a poor shooting night that limited him to 20 points on six of 16 shooting from the field. While he might not have the same buzz as other candidates Dejounte Murray ($6,400 DK, $6,900 FD) should be busy once again after beginning his season with 21 points, nine assists, and two steals.
We were on Lauri Markkanen ($6,400 DK, $6,400 FD) to start the season and while his price has quickly come up since then he is still relatively affordable after putting up 21 points along with seven rebounds and four assists in his debut. To be honest tonight’s forward slate does leave a lot to desired so this is where I am going to look to save some money.
As it is all about opportunity tonight likely will find Sterling Brown ($3,200 DK, $3,500 FD) in Houston’s starting lineup along with Danuel House ($4,700 DK, $3,700 FD) and you would think there will be production coming from someone other than Harden, right? OG Anunoby ($5,400 DK, $5,200 FD) filled the box score to begin the season as in 36 minutes he accumulated eight points, eight rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocks. At his price that is production I can get behind as it also offers the room for upside in what should be a high scoring game against the Spurs.
In the backcourt we will go back to George Hill ($3,400 DK, $5,000 FD) who had his season opener postponed on Wednesday. While Hill doesn’t do anything specifically well he is cheap, especially for a starting point guard, as we know he will be involved in the offense. Reggie Bullock($3,400 DK, $3,800 FD) is another veteran option who doesn’t exactly bring the excitement but is cheap. Bullock played 26 minutes on Wednesday and despite inefficient shooting day (four of 10 from the field) he did score 11 points along with two assists.
