NBA DFS Playbook: October 21

The point guard position is top heavy tonight and there is no reason why we shouldn’t start there. Doncic’s price tag might make things tough (especially on FD), especially in cash lineups, but it’s hard to argue there is better upside out there. He can score at will and a triple-double is a reasonable expectation on a nightly basis. 

Speaking of triple-doubles that’s how Curry began his season on Wednesday against the Lakers. This isn’t going to be a nightly occurrence, and instead of being happy with his 10 assists and 10 rebounds, the greater concern is Curry’s inefficient shooting night. 

Dropping down to Young, and essentially making the same trade Atlanta did on draft day a few years ago, could prove to be a solid strategy tonight. We know that the game will focus on Young and Doncic as they try to keep up with each other, and last spring it was clear that Young can put the Hawks on his back after averaging 26 points and 9.4 assists per game last season. It's hard to ignore the $500 price difference as well. 

We didn’t get much of Lowry in the preseason, especially offensively, but we know what he is capable of and he didn’t waste anytime jumping into a playmaking role from an assist perspective. We know that aspect of his game will be there, but until we see more out of Lowry in his new home, I’m unsure of his offensive upside even though DK is already bullish on it. 

Whether I use Poole at the PG or SG position tonight, he brings value on a three-game slate. If it’s not in the budget to pay up for one of the top three, Poole can be a more than sufficient pivot. In the season opener Poole put up 20 points in 25 minutes of action while handing out three assists and picking up two rebounds. Until we see more, that appears to be floor for Poole. 

Jackson is a reasonably priced starting point guard, and that isn’t insignificant. With that being said, it’s hard to get overly excited about him after averaging 12.2 points and 3.1 assists per game last year. However, Jackson does have offensive upside and he did up greater than 30 FD points in three of his last four playoff games when we last saw him. Avoid him on DK as I have a hard time paying up to that level for Jackson. 

After leaving early Tuesday night with a heel injury, Jrue Holliday will now be sidelined tonight. Hill  now shapes up as a value option although he only managed to score five points and pick up three assists in 23 minutes of action, so perhaps it’s better we aren’t tempted with Hill. At the same time, it's hard to truly ignore that price?

With Kawhi Leonard sidelined, it’s George’s team offensively. Last season he averaged 24.1 points per game along with 7.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists and he should pick right back up stuffing the stat sheet. That is especially true on the offensive side of the game as the Clippers don’t have many other options. 

Golden State limited Wiggins’ minutes on Tuesday to start out the season, but even with that being the case, he had a solid debut with 12 points and seven rebounds. As the Warriors begin to ramp up his usage, I would expect that output to increase after playing 25 minutes to kick off the season. With his pricing though, Wiggins isn't a consideration on FD though. 

At the moment, Huerter is slated to be the first man off the bench for Atlanta and it’s a good sign that they just made a four-year, $65 million commitment to him. Huerter showed the ability to score in bunches last season and he also averaged 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game with a salary tonight that should fit nicely into your lineup. Although, we should note the price difference as this works a lot better on FD. No Danillo Gallinari helps here. 

We know that Herro has tons of scoring potential even if it he didn’t show it at all times last season averaging 14.7 points per game. He closed out the pre-season with 29 points after breaking the 20-point mark in four of his five games. Adding Lowry to the mix should be a positive for Herro’s value. 

The fact that Connaughton came off the bench didn’t matter on Tuesday as he played 30 minutes. He was efficient from the field making eight of 13 shot attempts which was good for 20 points on his way to a 33 FD point outing. At this point, it’s hard to bank on 13 shot attempts on a nightly basis (remember Holiday left the game early) but the usage will be there. With the news that Holiday will now be sidelined tonight, it's safe to assume the same level of usage out of Connaughton again. 

On the heels of Holiday's absence, Allen is a late addition to the PB. There is no reason why he can't repeat his 10 point, six assist, four rebound performance tonight and his price hasn't caught up. Again it is just one game, but I like him more than Hill for tonight. 

Last season Butler often took on the role of playmaker for Miami, but now with Kyle Lowry in town, there is the potential for improvement here. It remains to be seen what that will ultimately look like for Butler after he averaged 21 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game last year but it wouldn’t surprise to trade a few assists for points here. 

One of the good things about Middleton is his consistency. That was on display to begin the season as the forward scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his debut and he should continue on that pace as the true second option for the Bucks. 

Atlanta has a plethora of wing players, so it will be an ongoing process to monitor the playing time and usage. Bogdanovic can score in bunches and I expect the pace to be fast tonight against Dallas. No Danillo Gallinari helps here. 

The price is right with Hunter, and that is even more so the case with him expected to be in the starting lineup. After dealing with a knee injury in the preseason, Hunter appears to be healthy and ready to build on the 14.2 points and 4.6 rebounds he averaged last season. No Danillo Gallinari helps here. 

There isn’t much upside here, but there is the security in knowing that Finney-Smith is in the starting lineup and will eat up some playing time. With 9.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game last season, he has a solid performance base and he should be a solid bet for around 25 fantasy points. Just note that $1,000 more he costs on DK will eat into a good portion of that value. 

It was just another day at the office for Antetokounmpo on Tuesday as he scored 32 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and picked up seven assists. Ultimately the main question to ask tonight, is what elite point fits into your lineup with him? This does work better on DK. 

This is a critical season for Porzingis as it remains to be seen whether or not he can take the next step to be a true second option to Doncic and if he can stay healthy. He did average 13 points and six rebounds in just 19 minutes in the preseason and this is likely the healthiest we will see Porzingis all season. 

Just like with Doncic and Young, dropping down to Collins from Porzingis could be advantageous as it saves you that very important cap space. The 16.8 points and 7.7 rebounds Collins averaged per game last season was a little overwhelming but Atlanta committed to the forward in a large way this summer and we can’t over look his eligibility at center either depending on the site. 

Perhaps the biggest thing to note with Bjelica from opening night is the fact that he played 26 minutes off the bench in a role that saw him used almost as Golden State’s backup center. Expecting a double-double (15 points and 11 rebounds on Tuesday) on a nightly basis might be a little much but I wouldn’t completely right it off, and his price, it’s not a requirement either.

With Bobby Portis out once again, Nwora will see big minutes as Milwaukee’s first forward off the bench like he did on Tuesday. Milwaukee kept their rotation tight on Tuesday which meant Nwora saw 26 minutes of action and he capitalized on that putting up 15 points and grabbing six rebounds in what I would consider to be an easily repeatable performance. Now that both Holiday and Brook Lopez will be sidelined tonight, the offensive usage will be there as well as the playing time. 

I like the most expensive center of the night more on DK than FD where he is $600 cheaper, but from a lineup build perspective this might not be the preferred approach as he lacks the ceiling of other high-priced options. With that being said, Adebayo does have a solid floor and a 20/10/5 performance is a reasonable expectation. It is also interesting to see how the addition of Lowry works to Adebayo’s advantage. 

The double-double machine seems to be past his Achilles injury but we have to keep an eye on his workload here after he was limited in preseason. 

Zubac is the starter with no real threat behind him for playing time at the center position. Last season he averaged nine points and 7.2 rebounds per game and seeing a double-double here wouldn’t be surprising at all. I do like Zubac more on FD than DK though as you get a nice $800 savings on the former. 

On a per minute basis, Looney did pretty well on Tuesday. The problem with that though is the fact that he played just 15 minutes. At his price, seven points and four rebounds still guarantee 4x value, but you can do better unless he gets more playing time; and that is not something I’m planning on. 

Listed as the starter for Dallas, Powell gets our attention as he is pretty close to minimum price. Of course, you get what you pay for as he averaged just 5.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game last season. If you really need the salary relief, this is GPP only. 

With Brook Lopez missing tonight's game, you had to see it coming that Mamukelashvili would make an appearance as a GPP option. With Milwaukee missing other front court pieces, Lopez's 26 minutes from opening night have to go somewhere along with the seven minutes Mamukelashvili played on Tuesday. He didn't do much with just one rebound and one assist but the center did show some offensive upside in the preseason. Just know that this is a true dart.