The wait is over. Luckily the NFL season has kept me and plenty of other fantasy players busy but nothing is quite like NBA DFS. The prices on sites are deflated, (not you Russell Westbrook) and now’s the time to capitalize on those cheap prices on the stars we know and love. I've skipped the data sheets for this piece simply because, with all of the offseason player movement, roles have changed and it's difficult to rely on last season's numbers. If you aren't familiar with a player or his style, perhaps you should check out the NBA Draft Guide to check in and see if his role has been altered in any way for this season. 

Point Guards

D’Angelo Russell has a cake matchup with the Rockets and James Harden. I’m not here to tell you how bad Harden is defensively, because that’s common knowledge at this point. The Rockets were in the middle of the pack last season in terms of fantasy points allowed to PG’s but that was with Pat Beverley playing -- he’s out tonight. 

Tim Frazier makes for a great play with Jrue Holiday out indefinitely. After the All-Star break, Frazier averaged 13 PPG, 7.5 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1.4 SPG. He’s a top value play on the first big slate of the year.

With Darren Collison out for the first eight games, Ty Lawson becomes a very interesting plays. In what should be a very high scoring game, Lawson and the Kings face off against the Suns. The pace of this game should be considerably high and it makes for a great game for guards on either team. The Suns gave up the second most fantasy points to point guards last season.

It’s all about volume here, Ish Smith will be the unquestioned starting point guard for the Pistons until Reggie Jackson returns. The Raptors -- specifically Kyle Lowry -- shut down PGs last season but Ish is a shear volume and value play here. He’s extremely cheap and is a near lock for 30 minutes tonight. 

The Heat will be playing their first season without Dwyane Wade in quite some time. Goran Dragic will be the main ball-handler for the Heat, who are expected to significantly increase the pace. Dragic is by far the most talented offensive player on the Heat and 20 point, 7 assist game could become a regular stat line for Dragic. The Magic are not a team to shy away from, either. 

Russell Westbrook against Philly, he’s expensive but have some exposure. But realize this game will likely be over mid-way through the 3rd quarter. Regardless, Westy can still put up a triple-double. 

Shooting Guards

James Harden. His price is a little bit lower than it should be on most DFS platforms and I’m expecting a huge game to open the season. He’s technically the starting PG but he has SG eligibility on DK and that’s where I’ll be rostering him. The Lakers and Rockets are pathetic on defense and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rockets score 125 points on opening night. 

Yes, I’m picking from the same game. And that’s for a reason. Eric Gordon is very affordable on most sites and his biggest issue is durability. Luckily in DFS, durability is much less of a concern. He should come out firing and a 20 point game would not surprise me one bit. The Lakers gave up the most fantasy points to both PGs and SGs last season.

Gary Harris has already been ruled out for the opener and that leaves Will "The Thrill" Barton a big opportunity to kill it, as he did last season. His minutes are safe and he has a great matchup against the Pelicans which should turn out to be a very up-tempo game. The pace will be high and that’s what we look for in guards. He should be starting as well, which is always a plus. 

Similar to the rationale used for Dragic, Wade is gone. Josh Richardson is also hurt. And no, I’m not recommending Dion Waiters. Tyler Johnson is a sneaky bet for 25+ minutes out of the gate and can get hot in a hurry. I don’t recommend having huge exposure to him but his price warrants strong consideration if you’re trying to fit in guys like Westbrook and Harden. 

The SAC/PHO game is too tough to ignore. Devin Booker is the young phenom who has caught all of our attention. This game should be one of the highest scoring games of the night and I’m not worried about Afflalo or McLemore even slowing Booker down a bit. He’s a great play tonight. 

Small Forwards

The SF position is pretty ugly tonight but when in doubt, target the high-scoring games. Yes, another Rocket. You don’t have to play all three in a lineup but pairing two together is a great way to get exposure to what should be a three-point barrage. Ariza racks up the steals and the Lakers have plenty of young players who struggle with turnovers. He has a very high floor tonight. 

Robert Covington’s ankle is the only thing holding him back from being in every single lineup of mine. He recently sprained his ankle in a meaningless preseason game and that always worries me a bit. With Ben Simmons out, and all of the big men banged up, Cov will shoulder a lot of the workload as the starting SF. The Thunder were solid against SF’s last season but let’s not forget Kevin Durant is long gone now. 

As I keep reiterating, target the high-scoring games. Rudy Gay is a better fantasy player than he is a real-life basketball player and we need to take advantage of that. I don’t love Rudy here and luckily DK has multi-position eligibility so true SFs can be mainly avoided tonight. P.J. Tucker is a good defender so limit your exposure to Gay tonight, just make sure to throw him into a GPP or two. 

Power Forward

GPP ONLY! I had to put that disclaimer out because no matter how enticing it is, don’t play Anthony Davis in cash games. He’s coming off an ankle sprain he suffered in the preseason but he is also going up against the Nuggets. While the Nurkic-Jokic combo is exciting, they won’t be able to stop usage monster Anthony Davis, lock him in. The Nuggets gave up the most fantasy points to PFs last season.

The Rockets have given up the second-most fantasy points to PFs and that leads us to our next guy. His lack of steals and blocks always scare me but Julius Randle seems to be an improved passer this year. With Luke Walton at the helm, I’m expecting Randle to be unleashed this season. Ryan Anderson has no chance against Randle in the post. 

Gorgui Dieng/JaMychal Green

I’m writing these guy up together because they’re playing against each other. Dieng is much safer considering his minutes are not in question. Green may be starting but Z-Bo is still alive and well on the roster, he’s just coming off the bench. Neither team defended the PF well or noticeably bad so we’ll consider the matchup average for both guys. Green will be cheaper on every platform but Dieng is more expensive for a reason. Have exposure to both of these guys if you can’t fit in DMC or Anthony Davis. 

Centers 

Hassan Whiteside is expected to have a bit of an expanded role this season and we had a small glimpse of just that in the preseason. He’s always a threat for a 20-15-5 game and Nikola Vucevic is not one to stop that sort of stat line from happening. He’s going to lead the league in blocks once again and you can almost guarantee yourself 3-5 blocks anytime he plays 30+ minutes. The Magic also gave up the 10th most fantasy points to centers.

This game could be over in a hurry but I’m hoping Linsanity and Bro-Lo can keep it close. Al Horford -- the newest Celtic -- could be even better this year than he was last season. The Nets are basically dysfunctional and Horford should have his way with Lopez in this one. The Nets gave up the 4th most fantasy points to centers last year and I don’t expect anything else to change. 

Like I stated earlier, the PHI/OKC game should be over in a hurry. That’s where Enes Kanter comes in. He had some of his best games of the year against PHI and the same should be expected here. Adams is also a solid play but Kanter is the ideal play when assuming a blowout. If the Sixers are within 10 points by the start of the 4th quarter, I’ll be dumbfounded.

DeMarcus Cousins murdered the Suns last year and despite Tyson Chandler’s defensive prowess, Boogie will still get his. There are some players who are matchup proof and Boogie is one of them. Efficiency is always concerning for him but luckily DFS allows a player to shoot 1-20 and shitt provide value. He and Anthony Davis will make for a very tough decision tonight.