A few days into the NBA season and the pricing on DraftKings seems to be tightening up a little bit already. Unless injury news opens up some more cheap value options, we might have to take a leap of faith to roster some of the lower priced options that have potential but haven’t realized it yet on the young season. So, on Saturday’s 10-game slate I’m going to jump and hope a few of these players are there to catch me.
LeBron James (SF/PF – LAL): $10,700 vs. HOU LeBron will make his home debut for the Lakers on Saturday night in a game with a huge Vegas total of 235 points in a matchup with the Rockets. James Harden on the other side of the matchup is also a strong play but his salary is a little bit higher ($11,300) and he has a better collection of offensive options around him. Meanwhile, James will need to take the lead for the Lakers to find any success and should have his hand in a lot of their scoring opportunities. His 28 percent usage from the opener will definitely go up on Saturday.
A few days into the NBA season and the pricing on DraftKings seems to be tightening up a little bit already. Unless injury news opens up some more cheap value options, we might have to take a leap of faith to roster some of the lower priced options that have potential but haven’t realized it yet on the young season. So, on Saturday’s 10-game slate I’m going to jump and hope a few of these players are there to catch me.
LeBron James (SF/PF – LAL): $10,700 vs. HOU LeBron will make his home debut for the Lakers on Saturday night in a game with a huge Vegas total of 235 points in a matchup with the Rockets. James Harden on the other side of the matchup is also a strong play but his salary is a little bit higher ($11,300) and he has a better collection of offensive options around him. Meanwhile, James will need to take the lead for the Lakers to find any success and should have his hand in a lot of their scoring opportunities. His 28 percent usage from the opener will definitely go up on Saturday.
Core Plays
Kawhi Leonard (SG/SF – TOR): $8,400 @ WAS It sure is nice to recommend and write about Leonard again after the debacle in San Antonio last season. Leonard has started the year strong in Toronto averaging 27.5 points and 11.5 rebounds through the first two games. He is making himself right at home north of the border with a 33.7 percent usage rate while playing over 36 minutes in both games. Finding room to roster Leonard and James will be a difficult task that may require some cheaper value to emerge, but it may be worth it.
Hassan Whiteside (C – MIA): $6,700 vs. CHA Whiteside’s minutes and production can be volatile, but he has logged 34 and 29 minutes in the first two games of the season for the Heat while averaging a double-double with 10.5 points and 14.0 rebounds per game. He will be at home on Saturday night in a favorable matchup against the Hornets who don’t have the athleticism down low to contend with Whiteside.
Jamal Murray (PG/SG – DEN): $6,300 vs. PHO Murray got off to a slow start in the opener for the Nuggets connecting on just 3-of-12 shots from the field on his way to a mere seven points. However, that was a tough matchup against Patrick Beverley‘s strong defense. Open shots and fantasy production should come much easier for Murray on Saturday night with a matchup against the up-tempo Suns. Last season, the Suns allowed the most points and assists to opposing PGs while also allowing a high steal rate. Look for a big bounce-back night for Murray.
Bobby Portis (PF/C – CHI): $6,300 vs. DET With Lauri Markkanen out to begin the season, Portis has been inserted into the starting lineup. He excelled in the Bulls opener 20 points and 11 rebounds against the Sixers while playing 33 minutes. Portis saw his usage rate increase to 27.6 percent with Markkanen off the court last season. Portis should get all the minutes he can handle on Saturday with the Pistons coming to town.
Value Plays
Trevor Ariza (SF – PHO): $5,500 @ DEN Ariza had a big debut for the Suns, filling the box score with 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 37 minutes of action. Ariza comes into Saturday’s matchup against the Nuggets with a reasonable salary of $5,500 for that kind of minute volume and fantasy production. There should be plenty of possessions for Ariza to fill out the stat sheet again on Saturday as the Suns/Nuggets matchup has the second highest Vegas total on the slate.
Carmelo Anthony (SF/PF – HOU): $5,000 @ LAL Here is one of those players that I mentioned in the intro where it will take a leap of faith to roster him in DFS. Carmelo was pedestrian in his first game with the Rockets scoring nine points with four rebounds while shooting 3-of-10 from the field. He did, however, play 27 minutes which was encouraging and he should get plenty of open looks this season with willing passers James Harden and Chris Paul drawing the defense. I’m interested in getting some exposure to the Rockets since the game has the highest Vegas total on the slate and Anthony is a cheap way to do that. Now let’s just hope he gets his shot going.
Wesley Matthews (SG/SF – DAL): $4,800 vs. MIN Matthews isn’t the most exciting player to roster, but he has two things that I look for working for him. He gets big minutes and his salary is low. With Harrison Barnes likely still out on Saturday, Matthews minutes are secure after getting 34 in the opener. Matthews has the ability to get hot from three-point range which does give him a little bit of upside to go along with a solid floor just due to putting up numbers by being on the court so much.
Markelle Fultz (PG/SG – PHI): $4,600 vs. ORL The other big leap of faith guy on my list is Fultz. I’m encouraged by the 32 minutes and 15 shots he took in their last game which generated 28.5 DraftKings points. Fultz and the Sixers get a favorable home matchup with the Magic who surrendered 120 points to the Hornets in their last game. If Fultz can get a few more easy looks and improve on his 31.8 percent shooting percentage than he should be able to exceed five times his salary with ease on Saturday night.
Brad Richter is a correspondent at FantasyPros and a contributor at DailyOverlay and GoingFor2. For more from Brad, you can view his archiveor follow him @RotoPilot.
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Growing up, I was always intrigued with stats, from the back of baseball, football and basketball cards to playing dice rolling simulation games, while tracking the stats for the players on my team. My fantasy sports obsession began in college running fantasy football leagues with friends and has expanded into playing in both fantasy baseball and fantasy basketball leagues, and most recently Daily Fantasy Sports.
I consider myself a “stats guy” by nature and lean on data to back up my advice and analysis of strategy techniques and player evaluations. That said, I have also always felt that sometimes you must go with a gut instinct based on things you have seen watching players play, even when the numbers don’t back it up. I feel that it is this mix of analysis that leads to the most successful formula when competing in fantasy sports.
I am married and have twin boys who I am raising to be sports and fantasy junkies just like me.
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