DFS Alerts
Wednesday's Top Spend
If you played NBA DFS a year ago, you know the common narrative was always “take big men against the Nets.” Brooklyn should be better this year with the addition of DeAndre Jordan, but he is not the best overall defender. Sure, he can block shots, but he is not going to be able to hang with an athletic big like Karl-Anthony Towns. He got in foul trouble in one of the head-to-head meetings with Brooklyn last year, but Towns had 25 points and 21 rebounds in the other meeting. On a dollar for dollar basis, he is my favorite spend-up option on this entire slate.
The Arrow Is Pointing Straight Up
The buzz is definitely there with Tyler Herro, and he could be a breakout rookie in the 2019-2020 season. The Heat have suspended Dion Waiters for (at least) one game for conduct detrimental to the team, and that should give Herro all the opportunity to prove himself in the season opener. Herro put up a 23/5/2 line over 25 minutes in his first preseason start a week ago, and even Jimmy Butler has been glowing about him. This isn’t the greatest matchup, but Herro will be sub-5% owned tonight. I will definitely be overweight on that, and he is one of my favorite sleeper GPP options.
Site-Specific Value
With Isaiah Thomas out for the start of the season, Ish Smith should handle the large majority of minutes at the point guard spot for the Wizards. Smith has been in this role plenty of times before due to injuries, and he is a capable fill-in at the position. Both FanDuel and Yahoo have not adjusted Smith’s price to reflect this role, and he is one of the top point per dollar plays on our first large slate of the year on those two sites.
Rajon Rondo (calf) officially out Tuesday
Confirming earlier reports, Rondo has officially been downgraded from questionable and will be held out of Tuesday’s season opener against the Clippers due to a sore right calf. His absence won’t have an impact on the Lakers’ starting five that consists of LeBron James, Avery Bradley, Danny Green, Anthony Davis, and JaVale McGee, but it has the possibility of opening up more minutes for Alex Caruso and Quinn Cook at the guard positions in the second unit. Barring some kind of minute restriction, Caruso appears to be firmly ahead of Cook in the rotation, making him the preferred tournament flier or showdown target on tonight’s slates across the industry.
As reported by: Tania Ganguli via Twitter
Patrick Patterson will start for the Clippers on Tuesday
Head coach Doc Rivers disclosed during his pregame media availability that Patterson will receive the starting nod ahead of JaMychal Green at power forward for the Clippers opening matchup against the Lakers on Tuesday evening. Patterson has historically been a dreadful per minute fantasy producer, so even in a starting role, he remains firmly out of consideration on tonight’s single-game slates. However, his mere presence in the rotation, albeit limited, is enough to reduce the fantasy appeal of Green, Ivica Zubac, and even Moe Harkless in the frontcourt of the Clippers’ second unit.
As reported by: Jovan Buha via Twitter Rajon Rondo (calf) not expected to play Tuesday
Rondo is still technically questionable on the Lakers’ injury report, but the expectation among beat reporters is that he will be held out of Tuesday’s season opener against the Clippers due to a sore right calf. His absence won’t have an impact on the Lakers’ starting five that consists of LeBron James, Avery Bradley, Danny Green, Anthony Davis, and JaVale McGee, but it could open up more minutes for Alex Caruso and Quinn Cook at the guard positions in the second unit. Barring some kind of minute restriction, Caruso appears to be firmly ahead of Cook in the rotation, making him the preferred tournament flier or showdown target on tonight’s slates across the industry.
As reported by: Ohm Youngmisuk via Twitter Per Raptors beat Blake Murphy, Nick Nurse noted that Gasol would be the starting C. We're under the impression it's a PR error and that Gasol will start over Ibaka. Will continue to update.
Murphy seemed confident that it’ll be Gasol, and he’s one of the most plugged-in Toronto beats. We’ll continue to update through the start time of this game.
As reported by: Blake Murphy Other tagged players: Serge Ibaka
Raptors official account has Serge Ibaka starting at C; nothing from team beats yet. Will continue to update.
Stay tuned.
As reported by: @Raptors Other tagged players: Marc Gasol Don't Overlook the Main Guard on the Highest-Projected Scoring Team Tonight
Fred VanVleet is getting a lot of attention with his discounted price tonight, but let’s not forget that this offense will likely run through Kyle Lowry first and foremost. The Raptors guard should see a bigger role in the offense with Kawhi Leonard now in LA, but tonight he is actually priced at a big of a discount to last season’s prices. Lowry averaged 14.2 points and 8.7 assists last season, and tonight the Raptors have a 118 implied point total that is the highest among all four teams playing.
High-Scoring Bench Guard Could Score Big Tonight
Lou Williams will probably see a decrease in his usage this season with the team adding Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but that won’t be a concern in this Game 1 with George on the sidelines with an injury. Williams should again have a green light with the Clippers bench unit, where he averaged 20.0 points and 5.4 assists in 26.5 minutes a game last season. Williams comes at a salary discount to the other top guards on the slate and should be lower-owned as well, but he has the ability to put up points in a hurry, making him an ideal GPP play.
Large Field Tournament Play
If you’re looking for a tournament large field tournament flyer, Nico Melli is that guy for me. Melli isn’t your typical rookie, as he’s been playing in the EuroLeague since 2010. He’s 28 years old and has some really good experience playing professional basketball. I think he sees anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes, and while I know that’s a wide range, it’s the first game of the season. I don’t want to sit here and act like I know what’s going to happen because I don’t, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to take some shots on him.
Potential High Usage With The Second Unit
With RHJ getting ruled out, Norman Powell could be in for some big-time usage with this second unit. I think him and Ibaka will lead this second unit, and with this game expected to have good pace, I think it creates a lot of upside. Powell could gain some buzz over, but with VanVleet taking up a lot of ownership in this range, he won’t be the highest owned player in this range.
Safer Cash Game Option
I think VanVleet is the chalky value option on this slate, and I think he’s one of the safest options. In tournaments, I think there are a couple different ways to approach this, but in cash games, I’ll be running VanVleet out there. With Green and Kawhi gone, VanVleet should slide into a starting role here, but should still get some time with the second unit. I think playing with the starters could hurt his usage, but could make that usage up with the second unit.
NBA Injury Rundown - Tuesday, 10/22
New Orleans Pelicans – Zion Williamson (O), Darius Miller (O)
Toronto Raptors – Patrick McCaw (O), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (O)
Los Angeles Clippers – Paul George (O), Rodney McGruder (O), Amir Coffey (O)
Los Angeles Lakers – Alex Caruso (P), Rajon Rondo (Q), Kyle Kuzma (O), DeMarcus Cousins (O), Talen Horton-Tucker (O)
As reported by: NBA Official Injury Report This Big Man Should Ball
Before the trade last season, Gasol was still putting up nice fantasy numbers, but after the trade to Toronto he found himself in a fight for minutes. He re-appeared later in the playoffs and showed he still has some life left. Coming in at a nice-mid tier salary to open the season, Gasol should start at center and be needed on the court to battle Derrick Favors and Jahlil Okafor much of the game.
