Follow me on Twitter: @14AdotWalsh
Want to try a free month of DFS Army VIP Membership? See How
POINT GUARDS:
Russell Westbrook (OKC @ DEN)
It looks like Billy Donovan is going to play the OK3 for about 30 minutes tonight. Most people know that Westbrook’s usage will come down with Melo and PG around him, but point guards against the Nuggets have been one of the most profitable moves in NBA DFS over the last few seasons.
Kyle Lowry (TOR vs DET)
It doesn’t look like Reggie Jackson will be playing on the back-end of a B2B, so that means Lowry will go against Ish Smith who is one of the worst on-ball defenders in the NBA.
Ish Smith (DET @ TOR)
Coming right back at ya… with R-Jax presumably sitting for the Pistons, Smith should have a ton of minutes locked in and that’s what we’re always searching for.
Ricky Rubio (UTA @ LAL)
The Jazz did play last night, and Rubio only logged 15 minutes, but managed to score 20 points and snatched three steals. Point guards against the Lakers are one of the best matchups in the biz, but we’ll have to see what kind of minutes he gets on a B2B.
Jerian Grant (CHI @ CLE)
Right back to more minutes, Grant should have a hefty workload after Kris Dunn just suffered a month-long injury. No one ever confused Derrick Rose for being a good defender and he should be able to get into a few different stat categories.
Jamal Murray (DEN vs OKC)
He’s getting the start tonight and this could be a nice ping-pong candidate to go along with your Westbrook lineups. Murray scored 20 points and three steals over 22 minutes in his last preseason outing, albeit, against the Lakers.
SHOOTING GUARDS:
DeMar DeRozan (TOR vs DET)
Great matchup for yet another member of the Raptors backcourt- Avery Bradley would’ve made this more difficult, but he’s out and that’s good news for DRZ.
Justin Holiday (CHI @ CLE)
He’s played at least 27 minutes in three of the four preseason games; 23 minutes in the game he didn’t. Being in the NYC market, I got a chance to see Holiday a great deal in the garbage time portion of the Knicks schedule, which was basically from November on. Holiday has been filling up the stat sheet a lot more with the Bulls and I’m sure this will be a nice value play. I might like Holiday slightly more on DK since he’s gone 8-for-16 from behind the arc in his last two games.
Gary Harris (DEN vs OKC)
The Nuggets just gave Harris a hefty extension and I’m a fan of the move. Now, I’m not a fan of his matchup against Andre Roberson, but the back-and-forth tempo should alleviate some of that stress.
Rodney Hood, Alec Burks (UTA @ LAL)
Hood (14) and Burks (19) had their minutes spared last night in favor of Raul Neto (25) and Donovan Mitchell (23). If logic applies (which it seldom does in NBA DFS), you would think Hood and Burks get their fair share tonight in a dream matchup.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jordan Clarkson (LAL vs UTA)
Obviously, this isn’t the greatest matchup but we should see enough minutes/usage out of both players to make it worth our while.
SMALL FORWARDS:
LeBron James (CLE vs CHI)
It’ll be interesting to see what direction people go in for their studly ammunition, but it seems as if LBJ will play significant minutes in what could be his only preseason appearance.
Paul George (OKC @ DEN)
He has played at least 26 minutes in each preseason game while taking at least 13 shots in all of those. I am worried about everyone in the OK3’s production over the long term, but we’re limited in our choices tonight and I like a lot of players in this game because of the fast tempo we’ll see.
Tobias Harris, Stanley Johnson (DET @ TOR)
Harris was a late scratch last night but should be fully rested in this one; he has played 28 minutes in each of the two preseason games he’s been available. Johnson is just a minutes-based play; he’s not crushing it this preseason but he should see time at the two if Bradley is indeed out.
Jonathan Simmons (ORL @ SA)
It’s an interesting narrative-based play as he used to play for the Spurs. It’s not my favorite play, though, as he played 28 minutes on the front-end of a B2B.
POWER FORWARDS:
Paul Millsap (DEN vs OKC)
He has been a B-E-A-S-T so far this preseason, and that’s even with a 2-for-11 shooting performance in his last game on Sunday against the Spurs; Millsap made up for that with peripheral stats all over the joint. Tonight, he should draw a matchup with Melo, which is basically the same as being defended by an orange parking cone.
Kevin Love (CLE vs CHI)
Holy shit! I can’t believe I forgot to add him in initially. This is a fantastic matchup for K-Love, hope you guys caught this update. If not, myyyyy baaaaad!!!!
Julius Randle, Kyle Kuzma (LAL vs UTA)
Maybe there is something to Randle coming off the bench. After all, he did post a stat line of 17 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Sure, some of that is motivation, but a talented player is always going to take more of an initiative amongst the less-fortunate. Kuzma is free on FanDuel at $3000, but a whopping $6300 on DraftKings.
Carmelo Anthony (OKC @ DEN)
I don’t love the play, but the Thunder starters should be getting enough run. Power forwards have posted decent numbers against Millsap in the past, but it feels risky since Melo will have to shoot lights out in order for this selection to be worth our while.
Aaron Gordon (ORL @ SA)
If we get word that he’s in line for more playing time, I’ll catapult Gordon to probably second on this list. He has been a monster in the preseason, despite playing no more than 21 minutes. Gordon did sit last night, so perhaps this could be the night we get more minutes out of him.
Jon Leuer (DET @ TOR)
He should log plenty of minutes after not playing on the front-end of the Pistons current B2B scenario.
CENTERS:
Rudy Gobert (UTA @ LAL)
The Lakers have been terrible against opposing centers for a while now and the addition of BroLo isn’t going to change anything. Gobert sat last night, and you would guess he should be fully charged for tonight’s dream matchup, but the Jazz haven’t been the most trustworthy team with their minutes in the last couple games. Overall, I still feel like Gobert should make the most of the minutes he gets.
Nikola Jokic (DEN vs OKC)
The Nuggets starters will play meaningful minutes, and while I don’t love the matchup for Jokic, it is one that he should see plenty of volume in.
Jonas Valanciunas (TOR vs DET)
JoVal will get a great matchup against the Pistons tonight with Andre Drummond likely out of the lineup. Even if they do play, JoVal has handled his own against them in the past.
Bismack Biyombo (ORL @ SA)
Nikola Vucevic played 25 minutes on the front-end of the B2B, so you have to wonder if he sits this one out. Biyombo rested last night, so he’s a prime candidate for a solid workload tonight.
Want to try a free month of DFS Army VIP Membership? See How
Join the DFS Army
Do you want access to the most advanced Daily Fantasy Sports tools in the industry? How about the chance to talk player picks and lineups with our DFS Pros and like-minded players? DFS Army VIP Members get all of that PLUS access to our best in the industry projections and optimization tools. Go to DFS Army VIP membership and join the Army today! You won’t find a better deal or a better DFS team to join!