Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) goes up to shoots while defended by Charlotte Hornets center Willie Hernangomez (9) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Karen Pulfer Focht)
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Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 51.14 DK - 54.5
Morant came out of the gate firing, putting up 24 shots in the Grizzlies’ overtime win against the Knicks on Wednesday. He finished with 34 points, and nine assists in his 38 minutes (33 in regulation). He’ll have a chance for another big game on Friday against the Rockets who allowed 117 to the Hawks in the first game and will make for one of the better DFS matchups this whole season. Morant is a bit expensive on DraftKings, but there are ways to save and FanDuel is definitely in play.
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 48.25 DK - 53.38
Concerns around Trae’s ability to still put up upper-level fantasy production after the addition of Dejounte Murray were quelled a bit on Wednesday when he took 22 shots and finished with 23 points and 13 assists. And he wasn’t efficient at all, going 1-9 from three. All we care about is whether the volume was there, and it was. He’s still very much a bargain on FanDuel at $8700 and draws another good matchup against the Magic.
Dejounte Murray (FD 9500 DK 9600) was a popular play and delivered on Wednesday. He’s a bit expensive on both sites, but is definitely in the mix here.
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 29.55 DK - 31.91
With Zach Lavine still on the shelf for Friday, Ayo Dosunmu is going to get another start (which he might be in line for anyway) and also see a big bump in overall opportunity and production. He sees about a 7% uptick in usage and 4% in assists with Lavine off the court. And the minutes should be there as well. On Wednesday, his 14 shots were the second-most on the team after Derozan and he finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists. The price on both sites is still too low.
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 35.54 DK - 39.83
We liked Tyler Herro as a cash game play in the first game of the season because of the new role, and he warrants consideration again here. The matchup isn’t amazing against the Celtics for sure, but he’s still underpriced relative to what the Heat are going to need from him now. Against the Bulls, Herro played 34 minutes and tied for the most shots o the team with 15. He finished with 23 points and six rebounds while adding a couple of steals as well. The minutes and opportunity are very safe for him and he makes for a higher floor play at these prices.
In the upper tier, DeMar DeRozan (FD 9600 DK 8700) and Devin Booker (FD 8300 DK 8900) are definitely in play here.
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 31.19 DK - 33.45
With LaMelo Ball hurt and Miles Bridges effectively gone, Kelly Oubre got the start in the first game of the season. He got in foul trouble and ended up only playing 23 minutes in the blowout. But he still took 10 shots and finished with 25 FanDuel points in limited run. That should tick up here in the game against the Pelicans on Friday. The price didn’t move enough on either site relative to the opportunity and I think he could be a popular play once against here.
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 29.99 DK - 30.44
The Grizzlies are going to be without Dillon Brooks again on Friday and that’s going to leave minutes and opportunity for a couple of cheap guys. One of them will be Konchar who drew the start in the first game and wound up being one of the plays of the slate at his price. He played 33 minutes and finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The usage isn’t going to be tremendous in this offense, but at the FanDuel price, you don’t need it to be.
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 58.33 DK - 62.92
Jokic struggled in the first game of the season (and he also decked Colin Sexton) and the Nuggets were shockingly blown out by the (presumably) tanking Jazz. But even in a *bad* game, Jokic still managed his way to 27 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Now he’ll have a chance for a bounce back against the Warriors and we’ve seen him put up huge numbers in this spot before. The additions of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. could cut into the production we saw from last season, but this is still one of the game’s truly great fantasy guys we are talking about.
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 31.04 DK - 32.85
Like Konchar, Aldama saw more opportunity because of the Grizzlies’ injury situation, but the latter is likely to have it last a bit longer seeing as how he’s starting for Jaren Jackson Jr. who is going to be out longer. Aldama played 35 minutes in regulation (39 total) and finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds against the Knicks. Now he’ll get to face off against the Rockets and we’ve already seen that the minutes' floor is very high here. He’s close to a lock on FanDuel at a weaker power forward position.
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 31.85 DK - 33.12
He drew the somewhat surprising start over Alperen Sengün in the first game of the season and that looks like it’s going to continue at least to start the season. It helps that he was decent in his 25 minutes, finishing with seven points, nine rebounds, and seven assists while adding a couple of blocks. The price hasn’t moved enough on either site considering the opportunity.
Strongly consider Michael Porter Jr. (FD 5900 DK 5400)
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