NBA Deep Dive October 29th

Photo: USA Today Sports

PACERS AT BULLS

Vegas Line: Chi -3 
Total- 211

Indiana Pacers

Projected Lineup
PG- Jeff Teague ($7,500 FD, $7,700 DK)
SG- Monta Ellis ($4,400 FD, $4,100 DK)
SF- Paul George ($9,900 FD, $9,400 DK)
PF- Thaddeus Young ($7,100 FD, $7,100 DK)
C- Myles Turner ($4,400 FD, $4,700 DK)

The Pacers are coming off the end of a back to back as they played against the Nets last night in a bad loss. The Pacers are still looking to get into an offensive rhythm as they shot just 37% from the field. Defensively the Bulls are a very good unit with the exception of Dwyane Wade who is a sub-par defender as he is increasing in age. Paul George has had past success going up against Jimmy Butler, and this offense runs through George so he should be in a good spot in this one.

Top Plays-
Paul George

Secondary Play-
Myles Turner, Jeff Teague, Thaddeus Young

Chicago Bulls

Projected Lineup
PG- Rajon Rondo ($7,500 FD, $7,700 DK)
SG- Dwyane Wade ($4,400 FD, $4,100 DK)
SF- Jimmy Butler ($9,900 FD, $9,400 DK)
PF- Taj Gibson ($7,100 FD, $7,100 DK)
C- Robin Lopez ($4,400 FD, $4,700 DK)

This is a new paced Bulls team as they have revamped their roster going with a guard attack in Rondo, Wade, Butler. Vegas has this as one of the highest scoring games of the day. In the season opener, Rondo was awful shooting as he was just 1-9, while Wade and Butler carried the load offensively. This is likely going to be the way the season is going to go as Rondo will likely take a back seat and be a facilitator of this offense.

Top Plays-
Jimmy Butler

Secondary Options-
Dwyane Wade, Taj Gibson

CELTICS AT HORNETS

Vegas Line: Bos -3
Total- 203

Boston Celtics

Projected Lineup
PG- Isaiah Thomas ($6,500 FD, $6,200 DK)
SG- Avery Bradley ($6,100 FD, $5,300 DK)
SF- Jae Crowder ($9,500 FD, $8,400 DK)
PF- Amir Johnson ($6,000 FD, $5,700 DK)
C- Al Horford ($6,900 FD, $7,100 DK)

Boston is showing that they’re looking to be one of the highest scoring team in the NBA this year as they put up 122 in their season opener against Brooklyn. This was a team that was one of the fastest pace teams in the NBA last season. One key reason they are scoring so much is that Avery Bradley continues a solid start to this season as he saw 41 minutes last time out against the Bulls. Traditionally he has never been a big peripheral stat guy with rebounds and assists, but so far this season he is averaging 7 rebounds and 5 assists per game. He is going up against Nicolas Batum who has really struggled so far this season allowing 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists to defenders so far so this one sets up really well for Bradley and can be safely used in cash or GPP’s.

Top Plays-
Avery Bradley

Secondary Plays-
Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford

Charlotte Hornets

Projected Lineup
PG- Kemba Walker ($7,900 FD, $7,100 DK)
SG- Nicolas Batum ($6,200 FD, $6.400 DK)
SF- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ($5,600 FD, $5,400 DK)
PF- Marvin Williams ($5,100 FD, $4,900 DK)
C- Cody Zeller ($4,600 FD, $4,100 DK)

Check the status on Frank Kaminsky and Roy Hibbert prior to this game as he is questionable for this game, but if he is out, Marvin Williams becomes a top play on this slate. Williams is going up against Amir Johnson who is a very poor defender and the Celtics gave up the 4^th most fantasy points to power forwards last season. Williams has double-double upside which at that price is very intriguing. The Celtics so far this season have been a very poor defensive team

Top Plays- Marvin Harrison

Secondary Plays- Cody Zeller, Michael Kidd Gilchrist

GRIZZLIES AT KNICKS

Vegas Line:  NY -2
Total- 199

Memphis Grizzlies

Projected Lineup
PG- Mike Conley ($5,900 FD, $5,700 DK)
SG- Andrew Harrison ($3,500 FD, $3,000 DK)
SF- James Ennis ($5,600 FD, $6,100 DK)
PF- JaMychal Green ($5,500 FD, $5,900 DK)
C- Marc Gasol ($7,800 FD, $6,500 DK)

This team is turning into Mike Conley’s team and with Marc Gasol likely going to see a limits restriction it make Conley’s production as something that is very intriguing. He scored 24 points while shooting the ball 14 times in his last game and should see similar opportunity in this one. The one weak spot the Knicks have is guarding the point guards as Kyrie Irving had a monster game against Derrick Rose in the opener.

Top Plays- Mike Conley

Secondary Plays- Andrew Harrison

New York Knicks

Projected Lineup
PG- Derrick Rose ($5,900 FD, $5,800 DK)
SG- Courtney Lee ($3,600 FD, $3,800 DK)
SF- Carmelo Anthony ($7,800 FD, $7,400 DK)
PF- Kristaps Porzingis ($6,800 FD, $7,300 DK)
C- Joakim Noah ($4,800 FD, $5,200 DK)

The Knicks showed against the Cavs that providing Carmelo Anthony talent around him make him a much better player than what we have seen over the past few seasons. In a tough matchup against LeBron James, Anthony put up 19 points, five rebounds and three assists while shooting the ball 18 times.  This is a great matchup against James Ennis and the 39 year old Vince Carter who he should have no trouble with. Anthony is one of the top plays at the small forward position.

Porzingis is a matchup nightmare for the Grizzlies, as he is too big for the 6’9’’ JaMychal Green to guard and too athletic for Marc Gasol to guard. Porzingis shot the ball 13 times in the season opener and while he only made five of those shots, he should expect so make more of those shots tonight. The last matchup he was matched up against a combination of Lebron and Tristan Thompson who could match his athleticism, but there isn’t anyone on the Grizzlies that should concern you from a defensive standpoint. Porzingis price will continue to rise throughout the season so take advantage of it while you can.

Top Plays- Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis
Secondary Play- Derrick Rose

MAGIC AT CAVALIERS

Vegas Line:  Cle -11
Total- 204

Orlando Magic

Projected Lineup
PG- Elfrid Payton ($5,900 FD, $5,600 DK)
SG- Evan Fournier ($5,800 FD, $6,100 DK)
SF- Aaron Gordon ($5,600 FD, $6,000 DK)
PF- Serge Ibaka ($5,500 FD, $5,800 DK)
C- Nikola Vucevic ($7,800 FD, $6,500 DK)

The Magic are coming off a back to back after they were blown out by 28 against the Pistons and are now going up against the NBA Champion Cavaliers. This team just cannot be trusted at this point as they showed that if they are getting blown out that they will pull their starters early and limit the minutes.

Top Plays: None

Secondary Plays: Aaron Gordon

Cleveland Cavaliers

Projected Lineup
PG- Kyrie Irving ($7,500 FD, $7,700 DK)
SG- J.R. Smith ($4,400 FD, $4,200 DK)
SF- LeBron James ($9,900 FD, $9,600 DK)
PF- Kevin Love $7,100 FD, $7,000 DK)
C- Tristan Thompson ($4,400 FD, $4,700 DK)

Great matchup for Kyrie Irving going up against Elfrid Payton and Kyrie is averaging 27 points scored per game early in this season carrying over his great finals performance. He is cheap enough to make a great play and is the best play in cash and GPP’s for us this week on the Cavs.

The price is too high for the expected production for LeBron James in this one, as he may only play three quarters in this game.  He is a GPP play only as if this game stays close the matchup is not a bad one as the Magic allowed the 10^th most FanDuel points last season to the SF position.

Love has a nice matchup going up against Serge Ibaka who likes to block shots inside and is not a great perimeter defender. Love should see some open looks for three in this game, but so far this season he has been off with his shooting as he is only shooting 40% from the field so far this season. He is a GPP play only this week.

The concern in this game is the point spread is double digits, which if this game gets out of hand like it did last night for the Magic, none of the Big 3 may reach value.

Top Plays: None
Secondary Options: Kyrie Irving (Cash/GPP), LeBron James (GPP), Kevin Love (GPP)

NETS AT BUCKS

Vegas Line:  Bucks -8
Total- 204

Brooklyn Nets

Projected Lineup
PG- Jeremy Lin ($6,200 FD, $5,900 DK)
SG- Bojan Bogdanovic ($4,200 FD, $4,400 DK)
SF- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson ($3,900 FD, $4,200 DK)
PF- Trevor Booker ($4,900 FD, $4,300 DK)
C- Justin Hamilton ($4,800 FD, $3,600 DK)

The Nets are one of the most frustrating teams in the NBA, as none of the players can be consistently trusted outside of Jeremy Lin. Brook Lopez is going to miss this game which should open up some opportunity for Justin Hamilton or Luis Scola against a Bucks defense that struggles against PF and C positions. Jeremy Lin is in a very difficult matchup as he is either going to go up against Giannis Antetokounmpo or Matthew Dellavadova.

Top Plays- None

Secondary Plays- Justin Hamilton, Luis Scola, Trevor Booker

Milwaukee Bucks

Projected Lineup
PG- Giannis Antetokounmpo ($9,500 FD, $8,800 DK)
SG- Matthew Dellavadova ($4,400 FD, $3,900 DK)
SF- Jabari Parker ($6,000 FD, $6,400 DK)
PF- Mirza Teletovic ($3,900 FD, $4,000 DK)
C- Miles Plumlee ($3,700 FD, $3,100 DK)

Giannis is off to the start that we expected so far this season and this is an elite matchup for him in this game. There is no one on the Nets who can guard the 6’11’’ point guard. The Nets so far this season have one of the worst defenses in the league and this is ideal matchup for him this week. The Nets are in the bottom ten in defense against position for all five starting positions, this is a very good spot for all of the Bucks in this one.

Top Plays- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Top play of the day on DraftKings), Jabari Parker
Secondary Plays- Greg Monroe 

PELICANS AT SPURS

Vegas Line:  Spurs -14
Total- 205

New Orleans Pelicans

Projected Lineup
PG- Tim Frazier ($5,300 FD, $5,600 DK)
SG- E’Twaun Moore ($4,500 FD, $4,000 DK)
SF- Solomon Hill ($4,000 FD, $3,500 DK)
PF- Anthony Davis ($10,800 FD, $10,700 DK)
C- Omer Asik ($3,500 FD, $3,000 DK)

Trusting a team that is a 14 point underdog is something that is difficult to do. The Spurs are in the top two in the NBA against the SG, SF, PF, C positions last season, and 7^th against the point guard. The Pelicans can not be trusted in cash in this one even though Anthony Davis is off to the best start of any player in the NBA as he is averaging 47.5 points and 16 rebounds so far this season.

Top Plays- None

Secondary Options/GPP plays- Anthony Davis, Tim Frazier

San Antonio Spurs

Projected Lineup
PG- Tony Parker ($4,500 FD, $4,100 DK)
SG- Kyle Anderson ($3,500 FD, $3,800 DK)
SF- Kawhi Leonard ($8,400 FD, $8,900 DK)
PF- LaMarcus Aldridge ($7,600 FD, $7,200 DK)
C- Pau Gasol ($6,800 FD, $6,300 DK)

Starting a Greg Popovich team in what is expected to be a blowout is always a risky proposition. We have seen him do some things where he just doesn’t play players the proper amount of minutes or scratches the players at the last minute. This early in the season it shouldn’t be too much of a concern, but it is still to be considered that the players sit for the fourth quarter. Kawhi Leonard appears to be developing into a superstar in front of our eyes and if he plays his normal minutes is one of the top plays on this slate.

Top Plays- Kawhi Leonard

Secondary Options- Pau Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge Jonathon Simmons

TRAILBLAZERS AT NUGGETS

Vegas Line:  Pick
Total- 211

Portland Trail Blazers

Projected Lineup
PG- Damian Lillard ($9,100 FD, $9,100 DK)
SG- C.J. McCollum ($6,800 FD, $6,800 DK)
SF- Maurice Harkless ($5,400 FD, $4,000 DK)
PF- Al-Farouq Aminu ($4,500 FD, $4,400 DK)
C- Mason Plumlee ($3,700 FD, $3,100 DK)

The Denver Nuggets are very strong defensively against Power Forwards and Centers and struggle a little bit against guards. This sets up very well for Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum in this game. McCollum struggled in his last game as he only shot the ball 11 times for 16 points. He still saw 38 minutes, so he should be able to bounce back in this game. This should be the highest scoring game of the day and a game that you want to target.

Top Plays-
Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum,

Secondary Options-
Mason Plumlee, Maurice Harkless (DK)

Denver Nuggets

Projected Lineup
PG- Emmanuel Mudiay ($5,700 FD, $5,900 DK)
SG- Will Barton ($5,200 FD, $5,000 DK)
SF- Danilo Gallinari ($7,000 FD, $6,200 DK)
PF- Nikola Jokic ($6,000 FD, $6,600 DK)
C- Jusuf Nurkic ($4,900 FD, $6,100 DK)

This is the highest projected scoring game of the day, and with Gary Harris ruled out for this game gives an uptick in production to Danilo Gallinari and puts Will Barton into consideration. With all the productive small forwards in this slate it leaves them to be secondary options on this slate. The Trailblazers defensively are very weak inside as Plumlee and Aminu are not great defenders so this game sets up very well for Jokic and Nurkic. This is a game that you are going to want some piece of and going with one of the big men is probably the best option from the Nuggets side of things. Nurkic is especially cheap on FanDuel.

Top Plays-
Nikola Jokic, Jusuf Nurkic

Secondary Options-
Will Barton, Danilo Gallinari

TIMBERWOLVES AT KINGS

Vegas Line: Minnesota -1
Total- 204

Minnesota Timberwolves

Projected Lineup
PG- Ricky Rubio ($6,300 FD, $6,000 DK)
SG- Zach LaVine ($5,600 FD, $5,600 DK)
SF- Andrew Wiggins ($6,600 FD, $6,600 DK)
PF- Gorgui Dieng ($5,700 FD, $5,900 DK)
C- Karl Anthony-Towns ($8,700 FD, $9,000 DK)

The Timberwolves are seeing a big uptick in pace in this game as the Kings are one of the fastest pace teams in the NBA. All of the Timberwolves are in great matchups in this one as the Kings were in the bottom five against all positions last season as they were the worst defensive team in the NBA. So far this season, it seems that the Timberwolves offense is going to be run through three players, Andrew Wiggins (25 points), Karl Anthony-Towns (21 points), and Zach LaVine (19 points). Wiggins is the one that is really intriguing in this one as he looked to be more aggressive than last year in his first start. Hopefully new coach Tom Thibodeau can motivate Wiggins who at times has seemed disinterested in being aggressive.

Top Plays-
Andrew Wiggins, Karl Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine

Secondary Options-
Ricky Rubio

Sacramento Kings

Projected Lineup
PG- Ty Lawson ($5,200 FD, $5,600 DK)
SG- Arron Afflalo ($3,800 FD, $3,900 DK)
SF- Rudy Gay ($7,000 FD, $6,200 DK)
PF- Demarcus Cousins ($9,800 FD, $10,600 DK)
C- Kosta Koufos ($3,600 FD, $3,100 DK)

The Kings are seeing a decrease in pace as they go up against the defensive minded Timberwolves who are looking to slow the game down and prevent the Kings from getting out and running. The Timberwolves allowed the third most fantasy points to point guards last season as Ricky Rubio is a sub-par defender. Ty Lawson is a cash play until Darren Collison returns or his salary increases, as the minutes that Lawson is seeing are just too great not to start him. Demarcus Cousins is showing tha the is matchup proof as he put up 37 points and 16 rebounds against a very difficult Spurs team. Even though Karl Anthony-Towns is a good defender, Cousins is still a top option in this offense.

Top Plays- 
Ty Lawson, Demarcus Cousins

Secondary Options-
Rudy Gay