Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden dribbles during an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 35.56 DK - 35.93
The Bulls’ uniform suits Lonzo well so far this season. He’s already averaging more than 35 minutes a game for Chicago and putting it up across the stat line with 14 points, 6.7 rebounds, and five assists per game with four defensive stats per to boot. It’s just offering such a high floor at these price points and it’s hard to imagine him getting buzzed off at these prices because of how diversified his stat lines have become. On FanDuel he’s a tough fade in cash games especially because of how defensive stats are overweighted there.
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 31.48 DK - 33.44
He hasn’t had a tremendous fantasy impact to start the season, but there are a couple of factors at play. For starters, he’s shooting well under his career averages through the first couple of games. Jackson is just 31% from the field despite being a 45% career shooter. And he’s also been just 35% from three despite shooting over 40% over the last two seasons. This should round out with time and we are getting him a little cheaper now because of it. I think the FanDuel price is right in line with where it should be and the matchup against Portland is a really good one for the guard.
If Jaylen Brown is out again then Dennis Schroder (FD 5500 DK 5600) would make a good play once again.
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 53.53 DK - 57.13
It’s been something of an inauspicious start to the season for Harden who has struggled a bit with consistency and is turning the ball over a bunch. But the Nets draw a great matchup against the Wizards in the back-to-back on Monday and this is a spot for him to really put up numbers. Brooklyn has the highest implied total on the slate and one has to assume the assist numbers will tick up for Harden as he gets used to some of the new pieces on the team. He isn’t scoring as he has in the past, but the field goal percentage should tick back up to career marks. Because of some of the early season struggles, I think we are getting him at a value on both sites, but especially DraftKings.
Opponent - MIA
Proj Pts FD - 31.24 DK - 33.12
Cole Anthony had the game of his life as a chalk option on FanDuel on Sunday. We could see him pop again though it’s hard to imagine he’s not a double-digit rebounds guy per game. Stranger things though. Regardless, he is still a good option here if he’s going to be the focal point of the offense along with Suggs. And I think considering how much he was played on Sunday and how much he paid off, folks go back to the well again. It’s unlikely to hurt you all that much even with the Magic in a bad matchup against the Heat.
Opponent - IND
Proj Pts FD - 58.77 DK - 61.18
Though his first game was a vintage Giannis fantasy performance, the last two have been anything but with the Greek Freak turning in games that would, for most players be the games of their respective lives, but for him were merely *meh*. That could change with this one in a game against the Pacers that features the second-highest total on the slate. His per-minute, peripheral stats have been right in line with previous seasons though the scoring has dropped a bit. With Jrue Holiday out for this one, the usage should tick up some and this is a good matchup against the Pacers.
Opponent - MIA
Proj Pts FD - 26.16 DK - 25.93
Franz Wagner was a popular play on Sunday and was moderately effective in his 39 minutes. He scored 10 points and added seven rebounds in the Magic’s surprise win over the Knicks. Orlando looks like they are going to keep running the promising rookie a lot of minutes to start the season and I think we can play him on both sites in the lower tier salary range. His usage won’t be all that tremendous considering he’s sharing the court with Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs, but that’s built into the price some.
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 52.28 DK - 53.57
This is a bit predicated on Jaylen Brown sitting out on Monday once again. If Brown were to play, I think we would need to bump Tatum down a little bit, though on DraftKings I think we could make a strong case to play him again. Through the first three games, Charlotte is playing the second-fastest pace in the league right now at 106.6 and they’ve also been just middle of the pack on defense. That’s just the kind of sweet spot.
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 31.66 DK - 31.69
The Raptors continue to run the rookie Barnes big minutes and that will probably be the case all season as they make him a fixture in their rotation and long-term plans. Foul trouble dusted some of his minutes last game, but 34-35 per game is probably the right number going forward. He’s averaging a double-double through his first three games in the Association with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The price on both sites, in no way, reflects the kind of opportunity he is getting with Toronto right now. On FanDuel it’s especially easy to fit him into lineups and he has a high floor considering the way he scores fantasy points.
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 41.53 DK - 43.62
We said on Saturday that Jonas was in line for a big game, having just not put a full stat line together in his first two. That was completely correct and he dominated the box score against the Timberwolves with 20 points and 17 rebounds though the Pelicans ultimately lost the game. He’ll go right back to the same matchup again with the two teams on the home and home on Monday. The FanDuel price is almost a joke considering what he is able to do and I think he’s borderline a must-play there. The DraftKings price has fully corrected and that is a bit closer.
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 34.79 DK - 31.99
Keep an eye on what is happening with Al Horford on Monday. The Celtics are on a back-to-back and Big Al played a decent amount of minutes on Sunday, ramping up in his second game of the season. They could choose to sit him here or dial back his run because he’s getting a little longer in the tooth. Williams hasn’t been that good after his fantastic game in the first one of the season, the overtime affair against the Knicks. Some of that has to do with Horford being in the lineup. Keep an eye on this.
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