Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic dribbles the ball against the Phoenix Suns during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Phoenix, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
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Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 56.28 DK - 61.39
It’s only two games in, but it’s easy to see that Luka Doncic will be making a strong MVP case all season long. He’s averaging 34 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists right out of the gate, taking 23 shots per game and looking very much in shape this time around to start the year. He’s expensive on both sites but worth the pay up on this slate which will feature plenty of ways to save with a couple of teams resting key guys. He should be one of, if not the, highest-owned play on Tuesday.
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 29.76 DK - 32.52
The Thunder are sitting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey in this game and have already firmly entered the tank for this season. It’s going to mean a whole season of games of not being able to really trust these plays for DFS purposes. But on a shorter slate, we have to roll the dice and make some decisions around the starters. Mann should draw the start at the point for OKC and has enough of a floor to play at these prices. But it might be closer than you’d think. He’ll need to see about 30 minutes and that could be a push based on how the Thunder are running things these days.
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 43.5 DK - 47.09
The Wizards have started the season 2-1 and Beal has played well after sitting out the end of last season with an injury. His usage isn’t through the roof, taking about 16 shots per game, but he’s facilitating the offense and is averaging more than six assists per outing. The Wizards have the highest implied total of the slate and will likely have a couple of guys who are popular plays on Tuesday. Beal is one of them and the FanDuel price really makes things easy on that front.
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 45.31 DK - 48.96
Booker has lit it up to start the season, taking 21 shots per game, shooting 53% from beyond the arc, and scoring 32 points per game through the first three. He’s added it in other areas as well, but the scoring has been the main source of upside. There’s always some risk of that in terms of DFS scoring, but I don’t think we have to sweat it too hard in this matchup against the Warriors. It’s a tough one, but this could be a max minutes game for Booker if the Suns keep it close.
Strongly consider Aaron Wiggins (FD 3600 DK 3100) who is coming cheap and should draw the start for OKC.
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 24.23 DK - 26.18
The Clippers draw a Thunder team that is already well in the tank and will be resting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. And for the Clippers part, Paul George and Marcus Morris will also sit this one out. With Kawhi Leonard likely still coming off the bench, Powell should draw the start. He ran with the first five on Saturday against the Kings and wound up playing 32 minutes. The problem was he shot 1-10 from the field and added little else in the box score. The good news, is the price has barely moved and the FanDuel salary is sitting near punt levels.
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 30.25 DK - 32.84
If anyone represents a “safe” play from the Thunder, it’s probably Dort. He’s taking more than 13 shots per game so far and playing 30+ minutes consistently. That’s more than you can say for most of the rest of the guys on this team not named SGA and Giddey. He should be in line for a usage bump with the latter two out this game and the run, unlike many of his teammates, at least comes in on the safer side of things. He’s a better DraftKings deal than FanDuel, but is definitely in play on both sites.
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 23.27 DK - 24.15
Kenrich Williams should also be in the starting lineup for the Thunder on Tuesday when they sit out two of their main guys in Giddey and SGA. Again, this is something of a dice roll with the minutes from a team that definitely is not interested in winning any games this season. And just because you start for the Thunder doesn’t mean you actually play a ton of minutes. Just another fun thing about this squad. But it’s a short slate and we are going to need to make decisions around some of the cheaper plays from this team.
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 41.26 DK - 42.99
Stacking Beal and Kristaps Porzingis in cash on FanDuel is pretty easy considering their respective price points. Kuzma is in the mix as well, though I think Staps is a bit safer here. The plan appears to be playing him around 33 minutes per game in close ones, and he’s averaging 16 points, eight rebounds, and 2.4 blocks+steals out of the gate. The 42% is down off his career averages so there’s room for a bit more scoring as the season goes on and I don’t think he’s priced correctly on either site.
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 36.22 DK - 38.62
Ayton failed to get it going against the Clippers on Sunday, and he could face some issues with the way the Warriors play here on Tuesday as well. But the good news is that we don’t have to pay a ton to find out. He’s coming $7K and lower on both sites and the plan, in close games, is definitely to run him around 33-34 minutes. With that kind of run, double-doubles are in sight for a guy who’s averaging 19 points and eight rebounds on the season.
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