Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis dribbles during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
We have a lot of teams coming on back-to-backs on Saturday so we will need to keep an eye out for injury issues, rest and more. Let’s dive into some picks.
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Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 55.68 DK - 58.66
Luka is coming on the back-to-back on this slate, like most other players here. Houston will be without most of their starters seeing as how Christian Wood and John Wall remain injured plus Victor Oladipo could rest on the back-to-back. It should leave Doncic without too much defensive resistance. He’s actually improved his stats on last season which is remarkable and is averaging 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists while also slightly cutting down on the turnovers. This is a smash spot for Luka and he’ll make for a tough fade in cash.
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 25.39 DK - 26.49
Sticking with the same game, Jalen Brunson has found himself in the starting lineup consistently now with Dorian Finney-Smith out and has capitalized on the opportunity. Over the last three games, he’s averaging 31 minutes on the floor and putting up and averaging 16 points, four assists, and three rebounds per. The usage has also been solid and he’s getting up more than 10 shots per game. Like I said with Luka, Dallas is just in such a good matchup here against the Rockets who will be playing with most of their second unit.
If Jimmy Butler sits out again, then I think Goran Dragic (FD 5700 DK 6200) is still in play on FanDuel.
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 32.03 DK - 33.37
Jimmy Butler might return for this game, but Tyler Herro remains out. I think there should still be plenty of opportunity for Nunn even with him coming off the bench in the last few games. In the last three, he’s blown it out of the box playing more than 34 minutes in each and averaging some career-best numbers with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists per game. The 44% three-point shooting is probably a little run hot, but his usage has been awesome getting up more than 14 shots per game. I especially like his DraftKings price where he’s a lock if Butler sits again.
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 27.6 DK - 28.69
He missed a bunch of time due to Covid-19, but returned on Friday night for the Sixers. He shot well, though failed to do much else but score. But over his last four games, if you go back to the time before he missed, Curry is averaging almost 19 points a game plus four assists. If he’s looking at more than 30 minutes against a Detroit team that’s among the worst defensive units in the league, then I think you can play Curry at his very cheap FanDuel price and hope he knocks down his threes.
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 52.67 DK - 55.16
Lebron has the questionable tag hanging over him going into Saturday, but that’s been the case for the guy in most games this season. And he’s played through almost all of them. The Lakers draw such a fantastic matchup against the Bulls in this game and stacking Lebron and Anthony Davis (who we’ll get to in a second) should have a high floor in cash. Lebron is playing a bit fewer minutes than last year but is still putting up 24 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists on the season. His price has dipped some in the short term as well and he’s sub-10K on both sites. I think we will have the injury news on him before lock as well considering this game is an 8PM start time instead of them playing on the West Coast.
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 26.81 DK - 26.77
Tate remained in the starting lineup on Friday and should stick there again on Sunday. There’s a chance his usage looks even better as well if Victor Oladipo were to sit on the back-to-back. His price is still perfectly reasonable on FanDuel where he’s actually kind of mispriced if he gets a lot of run. He got up 13 points on Friday night while chipping in four steals+blocks on his way to a very nice line. Again, I think the run should be there at the minimum and there’s some chance he sees a scoring uptick as well.
If Jimmy Butler misses again I think you can run Duncan Robinson (FD 4900 DK 5900) on FanDuel.
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 52.78 DK - 52.58
There’s some chance that Lebron James sits this one which would make Anthony Davis an automatic play. But even not, I think we can trot him out there against a Bulls’ team ranked as the fourth-worst defense in basketball this season and also playing without their starting center. Davis has seen the scoring drop a little this season, down four points per game mostly because he’s taking fewer shots. But the rebounds, blocks, and steals are still elite. Plus, he’s seen a moderate price dip on both sites and is sitting firmly in the value range right now.
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 23.53 DK - 20.98
Gafford got the start for Wendell Carter Jr. On Friday and ended with an acceptable line. Though he only played 20 minutes, he still put up seven points, six rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. At these minimum prices, I think you can get away with the lack of run if he’s going to pile up stats like this even in his short time on the court. There is some foul trouble risk going against the bigger Lakers, but there’s also some chance he plays more because of that Lakers size.
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 32.23 DK - 32.19
The big question here is what the Rockets elect to do with Cousins on the back-to-back. He got the start for Christian Wood on Friday and was excellent in his 33 minutes. Though he only scored five points (Outlier alert! He was 2-16 from the field) he still managed 15 rebounds and seven assists. If back in the starting lineup he’d be a lock on both sites for cash games. But those minutes concern me considering it’s the most he’s played all year and the turnaround time is quick in this game. We might have to wait a bit closer to game time to get an injury report on this one.
After Cousins, Center does get a little tricky. Joel Embiid (FD 10200 DK 10000) would be a top option though remember Philadelphia is coming on the back-to-back. Embiid has played these this year so he’s probably safe, but it’s always going to be a concern with the big guy. If he were to sit then Dwight Howard (FD 4500 DK 4300) would become almost an auto-play.
Naz Reid (FD 4800 DK 5800) is also an interesting option against the Pelicans. He’s gotten the start for Karl-Anthony Towns over the last three games and is putting up 12 points, four rebounds and a whopping four blocks+steals in that stretch.
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