New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) moves to the basket in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Just a heads up about this Sunday slate. With the compressed schedule, 12 of the 20 teams going here are on back-to-backs. That likely means we see more than a few guys rest, opening up some cheaper value down the line.
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Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 44.34 DK - 47.12
The Warriors have had a rough start to the season, losing the first two games by getting trounced in each. But they also had to face two of the best teams in basketball in the Nets and Bucks. Things ease up considerably here against the Bulls. Curry is averaging 20 points a game to start, but the minutes have only been around 30 because the 4th quarters were out of hand. He’s also adding about nine assists and four boards per game. The FanDuel price is too cheap to get away from in what lands as choice matchup against Chicago.
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 38.7 DK - 38.42
Murray has had a solid start to the season mostly thanks to his ability to stay on the floor more consistently than what happened last year. Pop would jack the minutes around at times, sometimes having him see 25 or fewer. But it’s been 30 and 31 in the first two games and he’s nearly averaging a triple-double with 16 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. The defensive stats haven’t been there in quite the same way, but I expect those to come around as the season moves a long.
Considering his start to the season, it’s hard to argue with what Kyrie Irving is doing on a per minute basis. The issue here is that there’s some risk the Nets blow out the Hornets and that cuts the minutes.
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 43.16 DK - 44.4
Kawhi Leonard took a nasty shot to the face on Christmas Day and had to get eight stitches. I’m not sure the Clippers will run him right back out there on Sunday and that could make Paul George a lock and load play. Honestly, George might be a play even if Kawhi is in the game. The former has started off strong in the first two games of the season, averaging 28 points and six assists while playing bigger minutes in each. He’s shooting an unsustainable 59% from three, but he’s also getting up 16 shots per game. The Mavericks haven’t looked all that strong on defense and just allowed 138 to the Lakers on Friday. George’s FanDuel price is way too cheap. DK is more in play if Kawhi sits.
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 34.19 DK - 35.1
Bledsoe was just flat-out bad on Christmas day, finishing with only five points and really struggled shooting going 1-6 from beyond the arc. I’m still a believer in his fantasy floor in the new role on the Pelicans. He’s not the first or second option in the offense, but we saw on opening night that double-digit scoring (he had 18 points) was a reality and the assists have been in there in both games. He’s a much better FanDuel value which is where I can see rostering him in cash. The Spurs are playing a pretty fast pace this season with the guard-heavy rotations and the Pelicans could be in store for a big number here.
The Wizards have hinted the Russell Westbrook could be sitting one half of back-to-backs this season. They are running it back against the Wizards and if Russ sat then Bradley Beal (FD $8500 DK $8900) would be almost an auto play. Along those lines, I think we’d see Ish Smith (FD $3900 DK $5700) in the starting lineup as well.
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 41.83 DK - 43.44
Ingram has come out and played 37 minutes in each of the first two games. Few other players in the league have gotten that kind of run out of the gate. The scoring is coming in bunches with 28 and 24 points respectively. The other stats were plentiful in the first game, but dropped off Christmas day against the Heat. This game’s 228 total is the highest of the main slate and should be an up and down matchup. I like the floor for Ingram on both sites and suspect he’s something of a popular play considering the game’s total.
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 21.46 DK - 21.86
Small forward is something of a problem on this main slate with limited value options at least at the time of this writing. Crowder has had mixed results in the first two games, going only 1-6 in the season opener but then following it up with a 7-13 performance on Saturday against Sacramento. He finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. The boards have been there in each of the first two games which is encouraging even if the scoring is up and down. He’s not all that expensive on FanDuel and that will probably be the key to the position.
If Embiid were to sit then Tobias Harris (FD 6400 DK 6600) would be in play on the back of an expected usage bump.
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 63.92 DK - 66.91
Giannis didn’t have to do much on Christmas Day with the Bucks crushing the Warriors by 39 points. The best sign for Antetokounmpo from a fantasy perspective was the 36 minutes he played in a close game against the Celtics. The issue for Giannis last season was the Bucks were just involved in so many blowouts that his minutes often got cut short. They’ll have a chance to blow out a very bad Knicks’ team on Sunday so that would be something of a concern. But New York has no one who can even reasonably handle him on defense. If there is quite a bit of cheap value elsewhere Giannis would ring in as the best high floor cash game play on the slate.
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 48.2 DK - 48.74
Well, the Pelicans weren’t kidding when they said they wouldn’t have minutes restrictions for their young superstar this season. And they showed as much on Christmas Day when Zion played 38 minutes in a loss to the Heat. Williamson finished with 32 points and 14 rebounds in one of the better performances of the slate. Now he’ll get an undersized San Antonio team who’ve played fast to start the season. Zion isn’t likely to meet a ton of defensive resistance from either LaMarcus Aldridge (too slow) or an undersized Keldon Johnson who’s been starting at the four.
If Karl-Anthony Towns were to sit with the wrist injury then Naz Reid (FD 4200 DK 4200) becomes an excellent punt figuring he’d probably land in the starting lineup.
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 45.52 DK - 47.5
Vucevic is coming on the back-to-back which always makes players a little risky. But he’s also coming off of destroying Thomas Bryant and the other Wizards bigs on Saturday. Vuce put up a whopping 22 points and 17 rebounds in just 31 minutes. He’d be up for a similar production against a defensively compromised Washington front court. The price is still quite reasonable mostly because the minutes haven’t crested higher than 31. And they likely won’t here either, but the production should be there.
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 27.67 DK - 26.99
Biyombo started for the injured Cody Zeller on Saturday and it was a decent fantasy success. He played 30 minutes finishing with four points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. The 2-7 from the field was a little run bad considering his proximity to the basket. The issue in this game is that while the price on both sites is palatable the matchup against the Nets is a little less than ideal. Charlotte could be in the blowout zone here against a team that’s destroyed the Warriors and Celtics to start the season.
If Joel Embiid were to sit, then Dwight Howard (FD $3900 DK $4000) would probably become one of the top values on the slate. He’s already playing solid backup minutes and would be a double-double candidate coming near the minimums on both sites.
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