Welcome to the 2023-2024 NBA season here at Fantasy Alarm! We have a two-game NBA DFS main slate on Tuesday, 10/24 to kick things off. The start of the NBA season always feels like Christmas and just like Christmas, we're going to bring YOU plenty of gifts all season long. In this article, we'll bring you plenty of NBA Daily Fantasy picks and all of the top NBA DFS value options. If you're looking to get familiar with NBA DFS, here's a primer article with strategies and tips. On top of that, here's an NBA DFS cash and tournament primer as well. Here at Fantasy Alarm, we are a one-stop shop for all your NBA DFS needs. Here are our NBA DFS projections and NBA DFS ownership projections. Tonight's slate is littered with star power such as Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Stephen Curry to name just a few. Now, without further ado, let's dive into the inaugural NBA DFS Playbook for the 2023-'24 season.

 

P.S. Here's the link to our discord to get ALL of your questions answered throughout the day: https://discord.gg/AjSfwD2k 

Here's the NBA DFS Podcast for today's slate. Like the video and subscribe to our channel!

 

Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets

Total: 228.5

Spread: DEN -5.5

NBA Injury Report

Lakers

Nuggets

Lakers NBA DFS Breakdown

Happy opening night, everyone! The Lakers enter the 2023-’24 campaign with many expectations and in their backcourt, they’re starting the campaign with D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves. Reaves and Russell only shared the floor with LeBron James and Anthony Davis for eight games last year and 117 minutes and Russell was much more productive. He averaged .86 FP/min while Reaves was at .75. There is more depth behind Russell, but he definitely did more per minute last season. The depth mentioned is Gabe Vincent, who signed with the Lakers this offseason. Vincent fits best in large-field tournaments if you’re playing multiple entries. He is a volume shooter that can catch fire at times.

LeBron James enters year 21 priced up on DraftKings and might check in lower-owned because of it. He got a solid workload in preseason and shouldn’t be limited in any capacity entering the season. The Lakers announced Taurean Prince is starting for the Lakers with the uncertainty of Jarred Vanderbilt, but Prince is definitely a risk. Even if Vandy doesn’t play, there’s a risk with Prince because the Lakers could elect to use Rui Hachimura for large stretches here. Prince is $1.6K cheaper than Hachimura and makes your lineup construction better, but I prefer Hachimura ultimately.

I really like the Anthony Davis price tag and I’m interested in going there as a pivot off of Nikola Jokic, who will be very popular. I have absolutely zero interest in Christian Wood at $6,200, however.

Top Play(s): Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince (DK)

Secondary Play(s): D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince (FD)

Nuggets NBA DFS Breakdown

The reigning, defending, NBA Champions of the world start their 2023-’24 campaign against the Lakers tonight. In the Nuggets' final preseason game, they ramped up their starters as we saw behind the curtain as to what they could be doing this year with their rotation. Jamal Murray should be all systems go after playing 29 minutes in that final preseason game and he’s owned the Lakers in six straight games, including the postseason. Across eight games last year, Murray averaged 27.6 points and 47.6 DKP/game last season. Reggie Jackson is going to be the primary backup but isn’t an option outside of MME. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a very low-usage player who needs to make the few shots he takes. I prefer Christian Braun for $400 cheaper. We’ve seen Braun really take on a big role in the Championship games against the Heat and now, with Bruce Brown gone, he’ll likely serve as the team’s sixth man.

I don’t love that Michael Porter Jr. didn’t play any preseason considering he’s had a long list of injuries in a short period of time in the NBA. He’s likely going to be somewhat limited because of that, so getting to him at nearly 6K on DraftKings is a no-go for me. I’d rather take a shot at Aaron Gordon who shot the ball really well this postseason, knocking down almost 50% of his threes. One of Peyton Watson, Justin Holiday, and Julian Strawther likely play a solid role off the bench as well. My guess is Watson, but the highest upside of the three is with Strawther.

Nikola Jokic. Yeah. He’s a great play. He had 60 DKP in his final preseason game falling just two assists shy of a 20-point triple-double. Mid-season form.

Top Play(s): Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon

Secondary Play(s): Christian Braun, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

 

Phoenix Suns vs Golden State Warriors

Total: 234.5

Spread: GSW -1

NBA Injury Report

Suns

Warriors

Suns NBA DFS Breakdown

The biggest news of the slate resides in Phoenix as Bradley Beal is expected to sit out of the opener. There are multiple avenues the Suns could elect to go with replacing him. Jordan Goodwin could end up starting at point-guard or the Suns could choose to go with Point Devin Booker and use two of Eric Gordon, Grayson Allen, or Josh Okogie. All four of them are going to play a solid role with Beal out and the starters are top-tier options. Hopefully we get word on who's going to be the final two starters.

Kevin Durant’s price point is fantastic and he looked great as the preseason wrapped up. This game environment is amazing and KD’s going to be one of the highest-owned players of the entire slate.

In the frontcourt, Jusuf Nurkic and Drew Eubanks are whole again. I like Nurkic and he’ll receive a lionshare of the time, but we’ve seen – in Portland – his gas tank lets him down at times and it’s close to an even split. I’d potentially take a shot on Eubanks in a GPP.

Top Play(s): Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Jusuf Nurkic

Secondary Play(s): Grayson Allen, Josh Okogie, Eric Gordon, Jordan Goodwin, Drew Eubanks

Warriors NBA DFS Breakdown

We’re not going to see a full-capacity Warriors squad here with Draymond Green ruled out but that could mean a lot of offense flowing through Chris Paul like it would if Green’s healthy. On top of that, Paul’s priced SO fairly at 5.6K on DraftKings. Obviously getting up to Steph Curry is a good idea considering how out of position Phoenix is playing guys. Beal and Booker will have a tough time chasing Curry around for 30+ minutes.

On the wing, Klay Thompson has a prove-it year incoming despite coming off a season in which he scored 21 PPG and shot 41% from three. The other two wings the Warriors likely turn to here are Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. Kuminga was one of the primary stars this preseason and with Draymond Green out, he’s locked into big minutes off the bench. Moody shot the crap out of the ball this preseason, which bodes well for him. GPPs only, for him.

Andrew Wiggins is safe and secure as the Warriors starting power forward, he just has a very tough assignment with Kevin Durant on the other side. With Green out, Kevon Looney is slated for a big role in this game. We know how good he is as a rebounder when he’s just given the runs. Without Green and Jordan Poole last year, Looney averaged 1.01 FP/min. Someone I’m willing to take a shot on without Green is Dario Saric. He’s a very good FP/min guy. If he found his way to 20 minutes, he could break the slate.

Top Play(s): Chris Paul (DK), Stephen Curry, Jonathan Kuminga, Kevon Looney, Andrew Wiggins (cash)

Secondary Play(s): Dario Saric, Klay Thompson, Chris Paul (FD)

 

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