If you were in on James Harden, Christian Wood, or the Portland backcourt then last night likely ended on a high note. Granted it was a sweat up until that point but there is nothing like dropping that hammer in a GPP and watching your team climb up the leaderboards. Seeing the most prolific DFS game of the night go into overtime isn’t a bad thing either. Now let’s see what today brings.
For those who have yet to subscribe, what are you waiting for? Until then you will get one free pick to whet your appetite. If you want to replicate the Harden scenario from last night then LeBron James ($10,000 DK, $10,800 FD) certainly should appear on your radar. But the last thing you ever want to do from a DFS perspective is force things. While James has been playing well through his first two games of the season with 22 points in each game averaging six rebounds and 7.5 assists per game, he is still dealing with an ankle that limits both his upside and minutes and his price isn’t exactly a bargain either. James likely won’t be a disappointment but the situation doesn’t appear to be ripe for upside either.
Subscribers can now expect us to continue digging into today’s slate. Who should we be targeting from the game projected to be the highest scoring match-up of the night? 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.
One of the more lopsided, and the projected highest scoring (230 over/under) game of the night features Brooklyn taking on Charlotte. The Nets enter the tilt with an extra night of rest while the Hornets are on the second night of a back-to-back. Kevin Durant ($9,400 DK, $9,500 FD) saw his minutes increase from 25 to 33 against Boston on Christmas when he followed up his 22-point debut with 29 points while playing a large part in the Nets pulling away in the third quarter. My concern with Durant is that Brooklyn will once again win in blowout fashion and the forward will be rested in the fourth quarter which limits his upside. While we know what the Nets are planning, and have a pretty good idea of their rotation, they have yet to play a meaningful fourth quarter so there is some difficulty in accurately figuring out how to handle things from a DFS perspective. If there is anyone I’m targeting on the Brooklyn side, it will be Kyrie Irving ($9,100 DK, $9,400 FD) who is coming off a 37 point, eight assist, six rebound performance.
Irving’s counterpart is also intriguing as the Hornets will likely be playing catch-up. Devonte’ Graham ($6,500 DK, $5,400 FD) has struggled offensively (he shot four of 16 from the field yesterday) but things should turn around in that department for the point guard who has 10 assists in each of his first two games of the season. The opportunity for some come from behind production is readily available. On the budget side of things Bismack Biyombo ($3,800 DK, $4,500 FD) doesn’t require much of an investment and benefits from the lack of options in Charlotte’s front court. Biyombo has averaged 27 minutes per game to start the season and he will contribute some scoring but the emphasis is really on the rebounds and blocked shots.
With the expectation that Russell Westbrook will be rested on Sunday he certainly went out on a high note with a triple-double on Saturday. The beneficiary of his absence will be Bradley Beal($8,900 DK, $8,500 FD) who is coming off a 39-point outing while adding seven rebounds and five blocks. And just think that his usage should only increase with Westbrook resting.
It goes without saying that targeting Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,500 DK, $11,500 FD) is never a bad thing and that is especially the case when he is facing a struggling Knicks team playing on back-to-back nights. In 27 minutes of play on Christmas, Antetokounmpo had an “off night” 15 points and 13 rebounds. It was his second straight game with 13 rebounds after scoring 35 points in his season debut.
The last game of the night could be the most troubling as Karl-Anthony Towns ($9,600 DK, $10,200 FD) exited, and then returned as a decoy, with a wrist injury and his status is squarely in question for tonight while Anthony Davis ($10,200 DK, $10,600 FD) is dealing with a calf injury. This then leads us to the natural question, of where is the value?
I’m looking for players that already have a steady role and value on their own merits whose upside will just be elevated should the game be lacking some star power. Montrezl Harrell’s ($6,100 DK, $6,200 FD) Lakers’ career has already gotten off to a strong start and things should look even better tonight for him after averaging 30 minutes per game to start the season. After kicking the season off with a double-double (22 points and 10 rebounds), Harrell followed that up with 22 points and seven rebounds on Christmas.
Behind Towns, Minnesota isn’t exactly flush in front court depth but a name to keep an eye on is Naz Reid ($4,200 DK, $4,200 FD) who has played 18 minutes per game to start the season while scoring eight points each. There isn’t much upside if Towns does play, but he has been the one dependable big man for the Timberwolves through the first two games of the season.
Other stars to keep an eye on and consider for your lineup include Joel Emblid ($9,800 DK, $9,900 FD), Stephen Curry ($9,300 DK, $8,300 FD), Domantas Sabonis ($8,400 DK, $9,100 FD), and Jayson Tatum ($8,800 DK, $9,800 FD).
Emblid picked up right where he left off last season with back-to-back double-doubles to start the season averaging 28 points and 12 rebounds per game. The concern is that with Philadelphia playing last night, they might be a little more conservative with Emblid.
It is clear that Curry is the Golden State offense but I’m staying away from him as he struggles with the lack of a supporting cast which also allows defenses to focus their resources on him. The Warriors have struggled to start the season and with just 19.5 points and eight assists per game, Curry has failed to live up to his price.
A large part of Boston’s offense runs through Tatum, with the help of Jaylen Brown ($7,500 DK, $8,000 FD), but his playmaking has suffered with just two assists per game. The offense is there, but Tatum has also struggled with efficiency and Brown is the better option after leading Boston with 27 points on Christmas.
Sabonis got off to a strong start against the Knicks with 32 points and 13 rebounds and all he did was follow that up with a triple-double against the Bulls showing both his versatility and involvement in the Pacers’ offense. At his cost and based on his current production, Sabonis is pretty close to a must play for me.
From a value perspective, Wendell Carter ($5,000 DK, $4,900 FD) is a large part of what Chicago does in their front court. There is nothing that truly stands out from a production standpoint (7.5 points and six rebounds per game) but he plays about 30 minutes a game and has a favorable match-up against the Warriors tonight.
The Knicks are still a work in progress but through the first two games of the season they are leaning on what appears to have been an underrated free agent signing in Alec Burks ($5,400 DK, $5,200 FD). Burks is playing 30 minutes a game with 22 points a night he certainly is a capable scorer whose role in New York’s offense isn’t getting smaller.
Sometimes there is nothing wrong with going back to the well. We were on Dejounte Murray($6,800 DK, $7,300 FD) last night and he certainly didn’t disappoint. Murray followed up his 21-point season debut with a triple-double on Saturday with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists so why wouldn’t we go looking for more?
