NBA Preseason: Wednesday, October 12th
Happy hump day! We finally made it to the top of the hill and I can see greatness on the horizon. Last night was my best night of the preseason so far and I’m hoping everyone that read this article felt that way as well. Let’s keep the winning ways going, there’s plenty of room up here on top of the leaderboards for all of us. I’m still not satisfied because I tinkered out of a lineup that would have scored 271.25. I went with Jordan Clarkson as my guard instead of having Goran Dragic. I went for the late hammer move and that’s two nights in a row that decision made my lineup worse. Well, enough of dwelling on the past, time to dominate another 4-game slate.
Tonight is pretty interesting because I feel that Devin Booker is going to be the highest owned player on the slate. This guy is a younger Klay Thompson without having to deal with passing the ball to Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. The Suns still have some explosive scorers aside from Booker which should force the defense to not focus all their attention on him. By the way, they play the Jazz and I still HATE YOU RODNEY HOOD. Make sure to follow me on Twitter to get all the late breaking news: C_Hira24.
San Antonio at Orlando
San Antonio
Confirmed Starters: Patty Mills | Danny Green | Kyle Anderson | LaMarcus Aldridge | Pau Gasol
Elite Plays: N/A
Secondary Plays: LaMarcus Aldridge,
Update: Tony Parker has been ruled out, no starter has been named in his place at this time.
Update: Kawhi Leonard and David Lee have been ruled out.
Analysis: The Spurs played their new “Big 3” all over 20 minutes against Detroit and I can see that trend continuing tonight. Kawhi Leonard dominated against the Pistons and we might have to go back to the well with SF being a wasteland again. There’s some solid options up top and then it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. I’m more fond of LMA tonight out of any of the Spurs and he is also the most expensive PF on the slate. Ibaka is a better help side defender than he is on the ball. He cheats off his man a lot to get blocks and is a roamer. Maybe that changes on the Magic, but I still like the prospects of Aldridge and on FanDuel I’m inclined to say he is a must play. The prices STILL have not adjusted over there and there’s a couple of minimum priced options that can be used as PF2. I really don’t like that they have not adjusted the pricing and will only being having my action on DraftKings today.
I also like Gasol in this game because he gets to deal with a more finesse center in Vucevic, but he’s still getting used to this system and needs a couple more games. Center is pretty deep today and I don’t feel like he is mandatory.
Orlando
Confirmed Starters: Elfrid Payton | Evan Fournier | Aaron Gordon | Serge Ibaka | Nikola Vucevic
Elite Plays: N/A
Secondary Plays Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier
Analysis The Magic will have what is expected as their normal starting lineup tonight. All the starters are also expected to see a lot of minutes. I’m not sure what that means, but I’d have to say all of them will play 22-24 or more minutes. I like Nikola Vucevic to attack Pau Gasol and Evan Fournier to continue his hot start to the preseason. With all the starters out there I’m not sure how high Fournier’s ceiling is. I just feel that he’ll get a solid amount of looks with Aaron Gordon having to deal with Kawhi Leonard and Serge Ibaka having to deal with LaMarcus Aldridge.
Elfrid Payton can’t shoot so he’s not even being considered against a solid defensive team like the Spurs, who exploit weaknesses. With Aaron Gordon expected to play a lot, he’s definitely in play, but I need to get more clarity on the minutes for the Spurs. I’m avoiding anyone that gets locked up by The Claw this season, but this is preseason so he might get some time against the bench of the Spurs in his first home game.
Milwaukee at Indiana
Milwaukee
Confirmed Starters: Malcolm Brogdon | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Jabari Parker | Thon Maker | John Henson
Elite Plays: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Secondary Plays: Jabari Parker, Thon Maker
Update: Vaugn and Delly are not starting. Thon and John Henson will start tonight. Brogdon is the starting PG
Update: Matthew Dellavedova has been ruled out.
Analysis Jason Kidd is a coach I’m going to hate waiting for this season because he just randomly changes his lineups without any rhyme or reason. With Paul George expected to miss this game, it’s time for the Greek Freak to EAT. Glenn Robinson III or whoever the Pacers decide to roll out at SF can’t defend him but he is also the most expensive player on the slate. I believe since he’s $8.9k on DraftKings and has the red 2nd next to his name, it should keep ownership levels down. He also has not been playing well but his minutes are pretty secure. The Pacers want to push the pace this year and that means more fantasy goodness for us. Jabari Parker was their best player in their last game and remember this guy is a former number 2 overall pick from Duke. He’s good! He’s definitely in play for me tonight but not sure how much exposure I’ll have to him just yet.
Thon Maker played 21 minutes in his last game and put up 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block. He even attempted a couple triples and is minimum priced on both DraftKings and FanDuel. We’re going to need to save somewhere and he’s the first guy that has popped up on my radar. Michael Carter-Williams sat out Monday’s practice due to an illness and if he misses the game I’ll also look to get Matthew Dellavedova into my lineups. I just haven’t put Delly up as a secondary play yet because I’m waiting for more clarity on the situation. I’m looking for a reason to play Rashad Vaughn because he played well last preseason and this is a good matchup to attack for him. He just carries too much risk at this time, but he’s on the radar as a minimum priced SG.
Indiana
Projected Starters: Jeff Teague | Monta Ellis | Glenn Robinson III | Thaddeus Young | Myles Turner
Elite Plays: Jeff Teague, Glenn Robinson
Secondary Plays: Thaddeus Young, Al Jefferson
Update: Paul George offically ruled out.
Analysis As I mentioned in the Bucks analysis, Paul George is expected to miss this game. That puts Jeff Teague as one of my favorite PG plays of the night. He is also the most expensive point guard on the slate but has been tearing it up in preseason. Delly can annoy him, but I don’t think Delly can stop him. As I mentioned last night, minutes = $$ (hope you played JaMychal Green) and GRIII played 37 minutes in their last game and led the team in shot attempts with 14.
With PG13 not expected to play again tonight we have to give him a loooooooong look at Robinson. He’s 4.8k on DraftKings and a minimum priced SF on FanDuel. Thad Young and Al Jefferson will be expected to carry the rest of the scoring load with Myles Turner still working his way back into game shape after a concussion. Big Al is cool on 2C GPP teams on DK, but I’m rating the more expensive centers ahead of him because I doubt he plays over 20 minutes. Young is very interesting because he played the second most minutes on this team last Saturday and should continue that trend tonight.
Denver at Minnesota
Denver
Confirmed Starters: Jameer Nelson | Jamal Murray | Wilson Chandler | Kenneth Faried | Nikola Jokic
Elite Plays: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray
Secondary Plays:
Update: Arthur, Harris, Gallinari, Chandler, Nurkic, Mudiay all ruled out
Analysis Well, Nuggets Head Coach Mike Malone is unleashing Nurkic on the NBA. Nikola Jokic did not play on Sunday and Faried started at PF. If Jokic starts tonight, I’d move Nurkic to a secondary play. All their starters played over 25 minutes tonight so this is a great spot for Will the Thrill in my opinion. Just not sure if I’m ready to put him into elite status until I find out who is actually playing and starting for the Nuggets. Gallinari is in play for me, but the more I think about it, I expect Andrew Wiggins to lock him down, lowering his ceiling even if he plays nearly 30 minutes. He simply has to be considered because of the minutes. If Jokic ends up starting I’m inclined to plug him in because he will get next to no ownership with everyone box score chasing with Nurkic. I can’t say he’s a viable play on FanDuel because he’s still more expensive than Nurkic. I’ve been riding Nurkic since day one of preseason, but this might be the game to jump off the bandwagon. He will likely be the highest owned C tonight on DraftKings with KAT having struggled last game and barely being more expensive than Gobert. I have to put him in as elite simply because of the minutes and opportunity he’s getting.
From a game theory perspective, I like Karl-Anthony Towns a bunch more. Yes, he is $1K more expensive, but that’s going to drive a ton of ownership off of him. As we saw yesterday, Damian Lillard was a much better play than D’Angelo Russell, but Russell got a majority of the ownership because his price made it easy to fit in other guys with everyone struggling at picking forwards.
Minnesota
Projected Starters: Ricky Rubio | Zach LaVine | Andrew Wiggins | Gorgui Dieng | Karl-Anthony Towns
Elite Plays: Andrew Wiggins , Karl-Anthony Towns
Secondary Plays: Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, Kris Dunn
Analysis: First and foremost, Karl-Anthony Towns only played 21 minutes on Monday against Hornets and busted our lineups. I’m inclined to play him again because the Denver Nuggets are not the same strong defensive team that the Hornets are. Not sure what his minutes will be but I’m not really sure I care. He’s the most expensive C on the board and has a red 6th next to his name and let a lot of people down last game. I simply want to go back to the well because this guy did not have very many bad games last season and has improved over the summer. With everyone likely chasing LaVine’s big game, I’ll be swerving to Andrew Wiggins. Before Gallinari got hurt last season, if I saw him on the slate I plugged in the guy he was defending. He’s coming off another knee injury and only cares about the offensive end.
Zach LaVine deserves consideration because he exploded on Monday but there’s too many SG’s available to chase his points tonight. Kris Dunn played more minutes than Ricky Rubio on Monday and is STILL only $4k FanDuel. No PG2 has his upside and I don’t even see another PG I like at that price. Shabazz Muhammad took the most shots off the bench for Wolves and that’s a trend we’re going to see a lot of. Bazz is only $4.5K on DraftKings also $4k on FanDuel. If you need a cheap SF he’s in play but slightly behind Marquese Chriss because Chriss is a ridiculous $3k on FanDuel.
Phoenix at Utah
Phoenix
Projected Starters: Eric Bledsoe | Devin Booker | TJ Warren | Jared Dudley | Alex Len
Elite Plays: Devin Booker, Marquese Chriss (FanDuel)
Secondary Plays: Brandon Knight, TJ Warren
Analysis: Devin Booker went HAM on Friday against the Blazers, racking up 34 points on 23 FGA, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists. I have to consider him an elite play because he has been tearing it up this preseason. After having written all the analysis for the other teams, I’m feeling like I might not play him. His price is too expensive and it won’t allow me to get the Greek Freak and KAT. I usually avoid players against the Jazz in Utah. I’m not saying to fade him completely, but dive further into some research to see how you feel about your roster construction with him. If you’re playing on FanDuel, give a looooooong look to Marquese Chriss. He played 25 minutes in their last game and scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds with a steal and a block. The fact that he is priced at $3k BLOWS MY MIND.
Eric Bledsoe has been taking a backseat to Devin Booker in the starting lineup, but Brandon Knight has been tearing it up against the reserves. I like Knight again because Dante Exum will likely start for the Jazz tonight and Shelvin Mack and Raul Neto are trash on D. TJ Warren also deserves consideration here if the Jazz start Iso Joe. Warren is an active player that cuts to the basket a ton and I don’t see Joe Johnson keeping up.
Utah
Projected Starters: George Hill | Dante Exum | Joe Johnson | Boris Diaw | Rudy Gobert
Elite Plays: George Hill, Rudy Gobert, Trey Lyles
Secondary Plays: Shelvin Mack, Joe Ingles, Dante Exum
Analysis: After George Hill played great the other night against the Clippers, as I thought he would. I have to go back to the well here against the Suns since I’ve been targeting PGs against them since day 1. With Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, and Derrick Favors already ruled out, Hill will get a ton of offensive burden. He’s only $5.3k on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Rudy Gobert dominated the Suns in their previous meeting, but I’m not pulling the trigger unless I know Tyson Chandler has been ruled out. If Alex Len starts again, fire Gobert up.
With Favors out of the lineup, Trey Lyles deserves a ton of consideration. Lyles is a laughable $4k PF on FanDuel but a more risky $5.7k on DraftKings. I’ll play around with some roster construction, but it feels like a good night to load up on the Jazz. Dante Exum will be starting at SG tonight and I want to play him, but his jumper is a work in progress and there’s other PGs I like MUCH more than him. Shelvin Mack is a scoring PG off the bench for the Jazz and with them dealing with so many injuries he is a viable player that got 27 minutes against the Suns last Wednesday. Joe Ingles also played 23 minutes in that game and deserves consideration on DraftKings because he is only $4.2k. On FanDuel, you guys have enough cheapies.
Thanks again for reading and hope to see you guys at the top of the leaderboard tonight.