After the excitement of the last few days things calm down somewhat with just a five-game slate. While we aren’t lacking for star power to kick off the week there are few situations to watch regarding back-to-backs.
LeBron James ($10,000 DK, $10,500 FD) has been dealing with an ankle injury over the last few days but the Lakers haven’t needed to tax him too much (limiting his upside) and you also have to check his status along with his teammate Anthony Davis ($10,100 DK, $10,200 FD) who sat out on Sunday with a calf injury. Additionally we have to watch to see how the Nets handle Kevin Durant($8,600 DK, $9,500 FD) who is coming off a 29 point performance on Sunday in which he played 36 minutes in Charlotte.
For those who have yet to subscribe, what are you waiting for? Until then you will get one free pick to whet your appetite. Thanks to the postponement of Wednesday’s game with Houston we have only seen Oklahoma City once so far this season. But in that game it was clear who their go to player is as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($8,000 DK, $7,800 FD) filled up the stat sheet with 24 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists. It didn’t seem to matter that Gilgeous had an off night from a shooting perspective (40%) as he put up 20 shots. That is a trend that will likely continue as the Thunder aren’t exactly flush with offensive options.
Subscribers can now expect us to continue digging into today’s slate. Just the because the Thunder are rebuilding it doesn’t mean we will ignore them as there is another cheap option we are targeting. 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.
I would expect to see an ugly affair in Atlanta tonight as the Pistons are resting both Derrick Roseand Blake Griffin for maintenance purposes. Regardless of how you feel about that, the upside is that there is potentially some value to be found. After getting off to a slow start in his Detroit debut with just nine points and one rebound Jerami Grant ($5,900 DK, $5,700 FD) rebounded in a big way with 28 points and 10 rebounds. That is more in line with my expectations for him entering the season (albeit on the high end) but I am comfortable expecting something similar as he also will be picking up the slack for Griffin. As a really cheap option Svi Mykhailiuk ($3,600 DK, $3,700 FD) moves into the starting lineup after scoring 12 points in 24 minutes in his last game.
From the Atlanta side how can you ignore Trae Young ($9,500 DK, $9,800 FD) who should feast against Detroit as he is averaging 36.5 points and eight assists through his first two games of the season? We have to keep an eye on the Hawks’ starting lineup but Bogdan Bogdanovic ($4,700 DK, $5,300 FD) could be a solid lower priced option as he is averaging 11 points and eight rebounds to start the season.
While we have to keep an eye on Durant, it is all about the battle of the point guards in Brooklyn. Kyrie Irving ($9,000 DK, $9,400 FD) looks just like the superstar the Nets thought they were getting through his first three games of the season averaging 29.3 points and six assists per game. In this game though I will be looking for a little more upside while saving a little salary cap space with Ja Morant ($8,300 DK, $8,500 FD) as he looks to build on his rookie success. Morant’s first game of the season saw him score 44 points along with nine assists which he then followed up with 28 points and seven assists. Targeting players like Morant and Gilgeous-Alexander who are a step below the elite class, while maybe fitting in Young might be the approach to take tonight.
However that means we are avoiding James Harden ($11,200 DK, $11,500 FD) after he scored 44 points and put 17 assists in his debut Saturday night. While his performance wasn’t exactly surprising you also don’t want to immediately bet on a repeat and do so potentially while sacrificing at other positions. The same logic could also be applied for Damian Lilliard ($10,200 DK, $9,400 FD) who went off for 32 points and nine assists in the same game. Based on the other options available tonight, I wouldn’t consider either must plays but at the same time if they can comfortably fit into your lineup the choice does become a lot easier.
A cheaper alternative in Portland’s backcourt is CJ McCollum ($8,100 DK, $7,800 FD) who actually outscored Lilliard with 44 points and eight assists on Saturday. The Trail Blazers front court also deserves some attention. There is Robert Covington ($5,200 DK, $5,200 FD) who did a solid job of rebounding from a scoreless debut with nine points and eight rebounds in 38 minutes of action against Houston and Jusuf Nurkic ($6,800 DK, $6,800 FD) who is averaging 12 points, seven rebounds and 4.5 per game to start the season. However there are other options who I do feel more confident in.
If you want to talk about a debut, it’s pretty hard to match what Christian Wood ($7,200 DK, $8,100 FD) did in his first game with the Rockets as he put up 31 points while tallying 13 rebounds. While his price clearly rose he is still a reasonably priced option but I’m not in the business of hunting for a repeat. Wood will have his hands full with Nikola Jokic ($9,800 DK, $10,000 FD) as we get to the reason why I am looking to fade the top tier of guards tonight while building my team around the Denver center. I know it is just two games but it’s hard to get past the fact that Jokic is averaging a triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists per game.
The key now is to find a few players at the lower end of the salary scale that still offer some predictability in their performance and a solid floor. Let’s go back to the Thunder but this time looking at Lu Dort ($4,200 DK, $4,700 FD) who scored 15 points to go along with five rebounds while playing 34 minutes in his season debut. Almost by default, Dort will be heavily involved in the Thunder offense.
Grayson Allen ($3,800 DK, $3,700 FD) has a secure role in Memphis’ starting lineup and at this price he won’t break the bank either. Through the first two games he is averaging eight points per game along with three rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, but he doesn’t have much to overcome to return a solid return on your investment.
The other direction to go in to save some salary cap space is to target Houston and pick your poison between David Nwaba ($3,700 DK, $4,100 FD) or Sterling Brown ($3,900 DK, $3,500 FD) among others once their starting lineup comes out.
