The NBA officially tipped-off the 2018-19 season with two games last night. The Boston Celtics handled the Philadelphia 76ers, again, while the Golden State Warriors raised another championship banner before beating the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Boston was happy to have Gordon Hayward return to the court after last years freak injury.
Russell Westbrook did not play for OKC.
Tonight we have an 11 game main slate - let's break it down!
NBA DFS 10-17-18
Make sure you take advantage of the DFS Projections and free lineup optimizer!
Top Scoring Games (Over/Under)
- Pelicans @ Rockets 228.5
- Nuggets @ Clippers 226.75
- Bucks @ Hornets 219
- Cavaliers @ Raptors 215.5
- Hawks @ Knicks 215.5
- Mavericks @ Suns 215
Guards
DeMar DeRozan's first game with the Spurs comes against Jimmy Butler's Timberwolves.
DraftKings
James Harden has a ridiculous $11,500 price tag tonight - and is still projected to hoover around 5x. The Rockets host the Pelicans and this game features an O/U of 228.5 points. Chris Paul is $2.6k cheaper and projected to hit around the same value. You can also turn to Jrue Holiday in that contest who will only cost $7,500 with equal projected value and could still finish as a top 10 guard tonight.
Value
Linsanity returns to Madison Square Garden tonight as Jeremy Lin and the Atlanta Hawks play the New York Knicks. Lin has the highest projected value among guards. At $4.0k, he is $2.5k cheaper than rookie Trae Young.
FanDuel
Harden is priced below Davis/Antetokounmpo on FanDuel.
Luka Doncic, listed at SG on FD, will make his NBA debut tonight when the Mavs and Suns battle in Phoenix. This is a great matchup to play the rookie at what could be his lowest price point of the year! The O/U is 215 in this contest.
Value
Both Knicks PGs, Trey Burke ($4.9k) and Frank Ntilikina ($3.8k) are the top value PGs. Burke is the GPP option.
D.J. Augustin is the starting PG for the Orlando Magic and just $4,200 tonight against the Miami Heat.
Forwards
Kawhi Leonard's first game with the Raptors comes against the LeBron James-less Cavaliers.
DraftKings
Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,900) is a cheaper option than Harden and also projected to hover around that 50 point threshold. There are plenty of ways to spread that money around if you want to fade the high priced guys tonight. There are eight forwards priced between $7-8.6k, including Kawhi.
If you trust Jimmy Butler enough, his price is way down at $6,700, making him a 5.7 value play!
Value
With LeBron no longer in town, Cedi Osman could see 30 minutes tonight. Unfortunately, this Toronto team is going to be one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. At $4,200 I understand why you would want to start the kid, but he's a no go for me tonight.
Another value play that jumps off the projections is Pistons guard Reggie Bullock. Going against the Nets, in Detroit, Bullock's price tag is just $3,900 and is projected for 20 DraftKings points - that's over 5x.
FanDuel
Davis is the most expensive player on FanDuel tonight - $700 more than Harden.
If you aren't spending the money on Davis/Giannis and are not sure what you will get out of Kawhi in his Raptors debut, you can save a ton of money at the SF position.
I expect we will see Will Barton ($6.9k - 4.4x), Josh Richardson ($6.3k - 4.7x) and even Taurean Prince ($6.0k - 4.9x) with high ownership tonight.
Tobias Harris at $7,600 tonight is a solid mid-tier PF play as the Clippers/Nuggets game has a 226 O/U. You can save $300 and play Aaron Gordon against the Heat instead.
Value
P.J. Tucker ($4.1k) is an interesting GPP option for the Rockets. With Trevor Ariza wearing a Suns uniform, Tucker will see plenty of minutes this year. He can play alongside Carmelo Anthony, who will spell Gerald Green/James Ennis off the bench.
There are not great value options on FanDuel at either forward position. This could be the spot where you "punt", as your lowest score will be dropped. Ryan Anderson ($3.8k) or Omari Spellman ($3.5k) are low ownership GPP punts.
Centers
.@AntDavis23 told @Rachel__Nichols why he belongs at the top. pic.twitter.com/JgXYnRQtjo
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 12, 2018
DraftKings
Anthony Davis ($11,100) can save you $400 vs Harden and is just $200 more than Giannis. Behind The Brow, you have Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond priced between $9.5-9.9k.
Suns rookie Deandre Ayton ($6,900) is making his NBA debut against the Mavericks - who signed DeAndre Jordan ($7,700) in the offseason. Should be interesting to see how the kid does, but I want none of that.
Value
With Dedmon and Collins out vs the Knicks, Alex Len ($5,600), who the Hawks signed this offseason, has tons of value. He is currently projected to hit 5.4x value.
Brook Lopez ($4,800) is making his debut with the Bucks against the Hornets and could be a GPP option. He is projected for about 25 DraftKings points, good for 5.2x - very risky though.
FanDuel
Enes Kanter, $7,000, 5.0x value - just do it.
Value
Willy Hernangomez is just $4,000 and while his minutes might be less than ideal, he is capable of a double-double off the bench and could easily hit 5.0x value tonight against the Bucks.
Jarrett Allen has a limited ceiling going up against Andre Drummond, but he is going to flirt with a double-double every single night with superior shot blocking ability.
Click here to download updated projections and to access the free lineup optimizer!
Check out the rest of our 2018 Fantasy Basketball content from our great team of writers.
1 comment
[…] With the season underway, FantasySixPack.net examines tonight’s NBA slate for DFS advice. […]