Chicago @ Philadelphia 

Total: 220

PHI -11

It's quite interesting to watch the Vegas odds early in the year as this games over/under opened at 215 and we're now all the way up to 220. This game, despite the high total, isn't projected to stay very close however. We've already seen the 76ers play once this year and even though they didn't impress anyone, there is a reason why they play 82 games. That said, they're projected to be one of the better teams in the NBA. Both of these teams were in the top-10 in pace last year, which is indicative of the high game total. 

Bulls

If you take a look at who gave the 76ers problems in the first game, the Celtics two leading scorers in Marcus Morris and Jayson Tatum both play at the forward position. That's where we should start here with the Bulls and take a look at Bobby Portis . Portis has already been announced the starter and with injuries in their front court, he should see solid run. When Portis sees time, he could be elite DFS option. On a per 36 minute basis last year, he averaged 21.1 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Hopefully he can see similar type minutes on Thursday. Jabari Parker is Portis' backup and could be in play on this three-game slate as well. He's likely going to see backup minutes at the three and four. 

If the Bulls are going to stay in this game, Zach LaVine is going to be the one scoring frequently. LaVine played in five preseason games this season and in the three he played 20-plus minutes, he scored 20 or more points. He averaged 22 actualy points per game in the three meetings against the 76ers last year and J.J. Redick, who played the bulk of the minutes at SG in Game 1 despite coming off of the bench, has no shot at actually staying in front of LaVine on the defensive end. Redick had a -5.1 DBPM, which is one of the worst marks in the entire league.

Cameron Payne and Justin Holiday are the last two I'm interested in. I could understand playing Wendell Carter Jr. because he's starting, but I do not like his first professional game having to be matched up with Joel Embiid . It's a three-game slate though, everyone is truly in play. I like Holiday as a price point play, especially if Denzel Valentine is ruled out. UPDATE: Denzel Valentine  has been ruled out. Although Jabari Parker will see some minutes as the backup small-forward, he will see his primary minutes at power-forward, leaving Holiday with a lot of opportunity. This is someone we saw the Bulls rely upon HEAVILY early on last year and that could once again be the case here until they're full strength. Kris Dunn was ruled out as this was being written, which slides Cameron Payne into the starting lineup. If you dare play cash games on this slate, it's impossible not to include Payne at his price point.

76ers

So Brett Brown thinks Ben Simmons is capable of averaging a triple-double for an entire season and after seeing him almost accomplish that feat against one of the league's best defenses, I won't put it past him. Simmons is the top pivot off of LeBron James who's the top play on the slate. There were only two teams worse than Chicago in terms of defensive efficiency last year, so you can really roster anyone on Philly as long as the game stays close.

If you think it stays close, I prefer J.J. Redick, but if not, I'm kind of feeling Markelle Fultz . Fultz is going to be the starter here, so he gets the initial shot against a poor Bulls wing defense. He did only play four minutes in the second half, so if this becomes a blow out, look for that number to rise. Redick took a healthy amount of shots (17) in Game 1 for the 76ers, which is nice to know that the second unit didn't impact Redick's usage at all. 

Dario Saric seems like one of the better values here. He was in foul trouble for a lot of the first game which limited his upside. Recency bias in DFS and fantasy sports in general is a helluva thing. His ownership could be depressed because of it but you'd be making a mistake if you do fade him. He averaged 20.3 actual points and 36.5 DK points in three meetings against the Bulls last season. Portis has been less than stellar on defense this year posting a 106 DRtG or worse all three seasons of his career. Oh yeah, Joel Embiid . He's absolutely in play here if you're interested in him. He should abuse Wendell Carter Jr. especially after that horrible performance his team put forth in the first game of the year.

 

Miami Heat @ Washington Wizards

Total: 214

WAS - 5.5

The Heat are the only team on this small three-game slate playing on a back-to-back, after an opening night loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. They're also very banged up as they'll be without James Johnson and Justise Winslow and Wayne Ellington are already listed as doubtful. UPDATE: Wayne Ellington has been upgraded from DOUBT to QUEST (1:40 EST). The Wizards are opening night favorites, but Dwight Howard is listed as questionable here as well, which would obviously give the Heat bigs a giant boost.

Heat

Something that Jon mentioned on the pod that is important to note here is the fact that there shouldn't be any concern with the Heat resting players in just the second game of the season. Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic are the two heat players that stand out right off of the bat. Whiteside had 12 points and grabbed 18 rebounds on Wednesday but most importantly he played 34 minutes, which wasn't the case very often last season. Dragic was the leading scorer for the Heat on Wednesday pouring in 26 points. The Wizards are generally a good defensive team, including John Wall , who Dragic will match up against. It'll be a tough sell to have Dragic follow up Wednesday again with a similar performance, but he'll likely be lower owned because guys like Simmons, Wall, Lillard and a cheap Payne are on this slate.

The biggest beneficiary to the Heat injuries in game one was clearly Josh Richardson . He not only played a team-high 38 minutes, but he led the team in shot attempts and poure in 21 points as well. What popped right off the bat was the 10-three point attempts he hoisted on Wednesday, which obviously is a boost on DraftKings where made three's give you bonus points. If Ellington is officially ruled out again, it's pretty hard to ignore Rodney McGruder tonight as he's min salary on FanDuel and just $3,900 on DraftKings. He played 32 minutes on Wednesday and if a few more of his nine shots fell (2-of-9), he would have crushed his evaluation.

I was burned by Kelly Olynyk on Wednesday and here I am, ready to go right back to the well on Thursday. This is a player, on a per 36 minute basis last year, that averaged a double-double. It's only a three-game slate and we need to get creative, and this is one way to do so. He burned everyone that used him and recency bias probably keeps people off of him here. I'd also be willing to take a shot on Dwyane Wade if he's not limited and maybe even Tyler Johnson as well.

Wizards

As I mentioned on the podcast last night, it's hard not to like John Wall from an ownership perspective here. Everyone is going to look to roster Damian Lillard and Ben Simmons and now Cameron Payne as the value option since Kris Dunn has been ruled out. Wall could check in lower owned and will cost you less than both Simmons and Lillard. I don't love attacking Miami's defense as they ranked seventh in the league in defensive efficiency last season, but Wall can put up big fantasy nights because of his ability to pass the ball and play in the passing lanes. We're obviously going to move to Bradley Beal next and although some people think he was better with OUT Wall last year, he put up essentially the same production. He averaged just over a fantasy point per minute with and without him, meaning he's relying on Wall to facilitate his baskets.

I would really like to play Dwight Howard here because he'll have all the opportunity in the world to bang down low with Hassan Whiteside and rack up a lot of rebounds, but he's currently questionable. That said, he's practiced since Monday and all signs point to him playing. If he doesn't suit up, Ian Mahinmi would fill in and probably play somewhere from 25-to-30 minutes. He'd be viable value if he starts.

IF Howard sits, someone I prefer over Mahinmi is Markieff Morris . Morris' rebounding numbers this season should take a big hit, but if Howard is out he should be someone who could grab five-plus boards in a game, which was his season average last year without Howard. I'm not really interested in Otto Porter here. If he isn't shooting the ball, he doesn't really bring us much value, and there are plenty of examples from last year in which he played a secondary offensive role and let other's shoot before he did.

Another "if Howard sits" scenario, but I could see the Wizards playing a lot of smaller lineups, which would mean more Kelly Oubre Jr. and potentially more Austin Rivers . I prefer both if Howard sits, but both could be GPP darts if he plays as well.

 

Los Angeles Lakers @ Portland Trailblazers

Total: 223.5

POR -3

The LeBron James era with the Lakers begins tonight in Portland and it happens to be the most anticipated game of the night, according to Vegas' 223.5 slate high total. We have no significant injury news to note, which is always a plus.

Lakers

Early on in the season, we're going to do our absolute best to figure out who's the next guy after LeBron James on this Lakers team, at least in terms of scoring the basketball. It's quite the cast of characters, which means James is likely going to be, as always, carrying a very heavy load. This team, however, is definitely more talented than his Cleveland team of last year that he took to the NBA finals. He's the top play of this slate and will likely be the highest owned player as well. 

Since we are trying to figure out who's the second man in town, look no further than the two guys -- that are still on the roster -- that tied for the team lead in points per game in Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram . Kuzma seems to fit very well with James who's going to draw a ton of attention when he drives so he'll be able to kick to Kuzma, who attempted over five three-point attempts per game last year, for some open looks. Ingram is just a solid player overall, and there are about 50-plus shots opening up this year with all of the Lakers departed players.

Another guy that likely fits with LeBron for similar reasons as Kuzma did is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope . Caldwell-Pope shot 38-percent from three last year and has a chance to improve on that with all of the open shot attempts. KCP is under 5K on DK and is exactly 5K on FD as well. JaVale McGee could be interesting, even if he only plays 20 minutes. He doesn't need a lot of time to be productive and with LeBron James in pick and rolls, he could be in for a few lobs to throw down. The Lakers point-guard situation is something I'm avoiding and if it bites me in the ass, so be it.

Trailblazers

Damian Lillard is good at basketball. Yet every season, Lillard is left of people's top point guard lists, top fantasy lists, etc. Lillard dominated the Lakers last year to the tune of 35.5 actual points and 51.1 DK per game. Lonzo Ball had a 106 defensive rating and Rajon Rondo had a 109 mark himself, so look for Lillard to take full advantage of that. Like Wall and Beal, Lillard and McCollum are quite the dynamic duo as well. The thing is, McCollum is going to get KCP defense here. NOT FUN. You could play him because of the small slate, but if you can, avoid it.

Are the Blazers going to deploy Jusuf Nurkic this season? Who knows what Terry Stotts is thinking, but if the Lakers chose to go small, one would think Stotts would take Nursuf off of the floor. If that's the case, I love Al-Farouq Aminu . I like Aminu anyways, especially in uptempo games, and the Lakers played at one of the fastest tempo's in the league last season. I could see the Blazers turning to someone like Zach Collins or Jake Layman if the Blazers do in fact play smaller.