Thursday’s slate has a nice combination of teams finally making their season debuts as well as teams we get to see for the second time. With the teams playing for the first time, you have the chance to play some potential breakout players at a low price. When it comes to the teams who have played already, you often have to decide whether game one performances were a fluke or a sign of things to come.
One thing that stands out in this four-game slate: all five positions are pretty even. Shooting guard is probably the weakest position, as will often be the case when James Harden is not playing, but at each position, there is at least one stud worth playing and one or two cheaper players who should at least be solid enough to allow you to afford the aforementioned studs. While I often like to fill the weakest positions first and go from there, today I simply plugged in the two or three guys I liked best and then built around them.
Point Guard
If anyone is going to completely go off at a middling price like Myles Turner did Wednesday, it will likely be Dennis Schroder. Schroder averaged 21.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 8.6 assists per 40 minutes last season, and if the 23-year-old has improved at all
Ty Lawson played a team-high 36 minutes in Sacramento’s season-opener, and he should continue to play a ton until Darren Collison returns from his suspension. Lawson may not pull in six rebounds again, but he is unlikely to be held under 10 points again, either.
I’m not sure you can go wrong with any of the top three point guards in Thursday’s slate, but John Wall gets my vote after he averaged 19.7 points, 11.7 assists and 2.0 steals against the Hawks last season. He gets the slight edge for me over Chris Paul and Damian Lillard.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | MPG | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | ACEPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
| John Wall | WAS | A | ATL | 36.2% | 115 | 1531 | 379 | 789 | 145 | 59 | 318 | 42% | 16.36% | 42.3 | 45.4 | 42.6 | 43.1 | $9,400 | $8,200 | $6,500 |
| Dennis Schroder | ATL | H | WAS | 20.3% | 77 | 879 | 204 | 349 | 70 | 9 | 183 | 42% | 16.33% | 20.3 | 22 | 20.4 | 20.8 | $6,500 | $6,500 | $5,350 |
| Ty Lawson | SAC | H | SAS | 22.2% | 31 | 309 | 89 | 180 | 43 | 6 | 82 | 39% | 8.24% | 13.2 | 14.4 | 13.3 | 13.5 | $5,100 | $5,600 | $4,550 |
Shooting Guard
He was overshadowed a bit by his backcourt mate, but C.J. McCollum scored 25 points on 8-16 shooting against the Jazz Tuesday. McCollum is probably the safest shooting guard on the slate, even if he doesn’t have the same upside as Jimmy Butler or Dwayne Wade.
Much like Ty Lawson, Avery Bradley’s DFS value is as much about playtime as anything else. Bradley played a game-high 34 minutes Wednesday, scoring 17 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists. So long as Marcus Smart is out, Bradley should continue to put up double-digit points while stuffing the stat sheet.
At some point, you will have to go cheap so you can fit a couple of studs in your lineup, and Jamal Crawford is a good way to do it. He averaged 16.5 points per game against the Trail Blazers last season, and he is capable of scoring 30 points on any given night.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | MPG | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | ACEPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
| C.J. McCollum | POR | H | LAC | 34.8% | 197 | 1666 | 259 | 341 | 97 | 23 | 196 | 45% | 14.71% | 31.7 | 34.3 | 31.8 | 32.9 | $6,900 | $6,300 | $5,000 |
| Avery Bradley | BOS | A | CHI | 33.4% | 147 | 1155 | 220 | 158 | 117 | 19 | 109 | 45% | 10.39% | 23.9 | 25.8 | 24.1 | 24.9 | $5,600 | $4,800 | $4,200 |
| Jamal Crawford | LAC | A | POR | 26.9% | 117 | 1120 | 145 | 183 | 52 | 12 | 113 | 40% | 13% | 20 | 21.6 | 20.1 | 20.8 | $4,800 | $3,600 | $4,100 |
Small Forward
I suspect Kawhi Leonard will be the most-owned player in Thursday’s slate, but I will probably put him in most of my lineups anyway. There are few situations better than hosting a Kings team playing the second leg of a back-to-back, and I suspect the premature Kawhi-for-MVP buzz to begin in earnest Friday morning.
Jonathon Simmons may have had his best game of the season already, but his price is small enough to make this a worthwhile investment. Simmons should continue to play between 25 and 30 minutes a night with Danny Green out, and the Kings do not have a single above-average wing defender on the roster.
If you are looking for a small forward who doesn’t play for Gregg Popovich, Kent Bazemore is a good bet. Bazemore is as solid as they come and is a much safer, albeit more expensive, alternative to Jonathon Simmons.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | MPG | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | ACEPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
| Kawhi Leonard | SAS | A | SAC | 33.1% | 129 | 1523 | 493 | 186 | 128 | 71 | 105 | 51% | 15.45% | 37.3 | 39.3 | 37.7 | 38.2 | $8,200 | $7,800 | $6,350 |
| Jonathon Simmons | SAS | A | SAC | 14.8% | 18 | 331 | 96 | 58 | 24 | 5 | 53 | 50% | 12.14% | 9.8 | 10.5 | 9.9 | 9.9 | $4,000 | $3,000 | $3,500 |
| Kent Bazemore | ATL | H | WAS | 27.8% | 109 | 872 | 379 | 171 | 98 | 38 | 138 | 44% | 11.26% | 22.9 | 24.8 | 23.2 | 23.6 | $5,100 | $5,100 | $4,000 |
Power Forward
This is probably only a play in cash games, but Taj Gibson has a good chance to provide a cheap double-double with a couple of blocks. I like that he is at home against a team that played yesterday, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that the Celtics were fifth in opponents’ rebounds and ninth in opponents’ blocks last season.
LaMarcus Aldridge was awesome opening night, with 26 points and 14 rebounds on 10-20 shooting. Aldridge was pretty terrible against the Warriors last season, which makes Tuesday’s game all the more impressive. The Kings are actually probably a better matchup for Aldridge than Golden State, and it would be moderately surprising if Aldridge fails to post another 20 and 10 night.
I get the feeling a lot of fantasy players have forgotten how good Blake Griffin is, and I expect him to remind everyone by eviscerating Portland’s frontcourt. Griffin should be healthy now for the first time in nearly a year, and he could be in for a big night. Griffin costs just $50 more than Aldridge on FantasyAces, which seems like too little.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | MPG | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | ACEPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
| Taj Gibson | CHI | H | BOS | 26.5% | 0 | 627 | 504 | 106 | 47 | 77 | 78 | 53% | 9.19% | 21.4 | 22.3 | 21.7 | 21.4 | $5,300 | $4,100 | $4,400 |
| Blake Griffin | LAC | A | POR | 33.4% | 6 | 749 | 294 | 170 | 28 | 17 | 83 | 50% | 18.14% | 39 | 40.7 | 39.4 | 39.1 | $8,600 | $8,600 | $6,600 |
| LaMarcus Aldridge | SAS | A | SAC | 30.6% | 0 | 1331 | 632 | 110 | 38 | 81 | 99 | 51% | 15.56% | 32.3 | 33.4 | 32.8 | 32.3 | $7,800 | $7,100 | $6,550 |
Center
With all due respect to Mason Plumlee, Portland does not have anyone who can keep DeAndre Jordan out of the paint or off the glass. On a night when the other top centers have tough matchups, DeAndre could really stand out.
Pau Gasol got off to a rough start in his Spurs debut, with two points and four rebounds in 18 minutes. The Kings are a much better matchup for Pau than the Warriors, so it is pretty safe to expect a bounce back game Thursday. Gasol is probably a bit too expensive on FantasyAces, but he is a nice value on the other sites.
Speaking of nice value, how is Marcin Gortat only $5300 on DraftKings? Gortat averaged 31.8 fantasy points per game on DraftKings last season, and I don’t see why that would change as long as Ian Mahinmi is out. If you are scared of the matchup with Dwight Howard, don’t be. Gortat averaged 15.5 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks against the Rockets last season.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | MPG | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | ACEPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
| DeAndre Jordan | LAC | A | POR | 33.7% | 0 | 980 | 1059 | 90 | 51 | 177 | 107 | 70% | 12.82% | 35.5 | 36.9 | 36.2 | 35.5 | $8,000 | $7,700 | $5,950 |
| Pau Gasol | SAS | A | SAC | 32.1% | 18 | 1002 | 656 | 235 | 35 | 117 | 125 | 47% | 15.12% | 39.3 | 41.1 | 39.9 | 39.5 | $7,100 | $6,900 | $5,900 |
| Marcin Gortat | WAS | A | ATL | 30.1% | 0 | 1012 | 741 | 106 | 47 | 96 | 121 | 57% | 12.51% | 29.7 | 31 | 30.2 | 29.7 | $6,500 | $5,300 | $5,200 |