NBA OPENING NIGHT!
We are here. We finally made it. We can all finally be honest with ourselves and admit that we hate playing fantasy baseball. The NBA starts tonight! I’ll be coming to you all season long with some DFS GPP (tournament) plays. I’ll cover 5 plays that I really like and one dart throw that should be low owned with a high ceiling. I may even build a lineup or two and drop a screenshot at the end so that way we can all roast me in the morning. Okay, enough of the introduction, let’s do this.
Opening night is very exciting for basketball fans but not as exciting for DFS fans. We are working with a 2 game slate that on paper looks fun but with only 2 games it will make it hard to differentiate. The first game of the night is the defending Eastern Conference Champs taking on a Boston team that barely has any of last seasons team left. Cavs and Celtics. The over/under is set at 212, which on a normal night is fantastic, but a night with the Rockets/Warriors it’s ehhhh. The Cavs are at home and favored by 3. We also have Kyrie returning to Cleveland as a Celtic for the first time. LeBron has a Game Time Decision tag on his name right now so that is definitely something to keep an eye on as we approach lock tonight. But for now, let’s assume he’s playing.
The backend of the double header we have the new look Rockets taking on the ‘We Might Not Lose Ever Again’ Warriors. The over/under has been set at HUGE 231.5 and the Warriors are favored by -9.5. I think with this high over/under and the sexyness of the Warriors and Rockets players, this game is going to be the one everyone goes after. So if we’re trying to win a GPP…LET’S GO CELTS/CAVS! Let’s get into the picks.
Tristan Thompson (5200 on FD/3900 on DK): That’s right baby, we’re saving money IMMEDIATELY. I normally don’t love Thompson but there was one thing the Celtics were really bad at last year and that was rebounding. Sure, the C’s added 38 new players to the roster, none of them can crash the boards. Thompson should have plenty of opportunities for putbacks on the offensive glass and should amass a Double-Double easily. I think he’ll go underowned as most people will gravitate towards Capela on FD and Green on DK.
Marcus Wicked Smart (5300 on FD/4800 on DK) : My boy is wicked smart (Good Will Hunting reference for a Boston team, check). Marcus Smart should get a ton of run tonight. He’s one of the few remaining guys from the squad last year. He can defend all positions and apparently learned to consistently hit 3s this off season. I think his usage is going to be very high and I’m going to include him and thompson in my core tonight and build around that. Wow, 2 cheap guys to start.
Kyrie Irving (8200 on FD/8300 on DK): Okay, finally. Spending some money. Kyrie is going to be the top fantasy point getter tonight. I expect Kyrie to go in and dominate. Derrick Rose will be covering Kyrie Irving. I would be less high on Irving if a minigolf windmill was defending him. Rose hasn’t played defense in a few years. Kyrie in the fast paced, ball moving Celtics offense should put up 35+ points tonight and 10+ assists.
LeBron James (10,400 on FD/10,200 on DK): Remember, check his status before lock but I suspect LeBron is a go tonight. The entire offense is going to run through him. Even though it is Game 1 of an 82 game season, LeBron doesn’t want to lose to the ‘kid.’
Jaylen Brown (3700 on FD/3700 on DK): Jaylen Brown is a great play if you’re trying to go stars and scrubs tonight. He is the starting shooting guard tonight and should be getting a mix of Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose defense. Jaylen isn’t going to be a top 10 fantasy point scorer but he can accumulate points in all categories. He’s a great salary saver tonight and I really expect him to go underowned.
Okay, let’s take our One Big Dart Throw. The Dart Throw is someone that could get us into trouble, but if it hits, we’re printing cash.
Eric Gordon (5200 on FD/4600 on DK): Throwing Gordon on here because of how insanely cheap he is for the type of production he can throw out there. Gordon is going to dominate the 2nd unit and with CP3 out there handling the ball, I think Gordon will get a lot of open 3s tonight. Everyone who is targeting HOU/GS will be going after the big $ guys. If you target CLE/BOS and then bring it back with someone like Gordon and he goes off…MONEY MONEY MONEY.
