NBA DFS Picks For Fanduel 7/30/2020

The NBA is back! Although the first slate for the NBA return is a very small one with only 2 games, there is still a chance for money to be made. Since the pool of players is so small for this slate, just one player could be the difference between cashing in or not.

Injury News:

- Patrick Beverly is listed as a GTD, but didn't participate in shootaround today. Don't expect him to play.

- Zion Williamson is a GTD. Even though he should play, he will probably have a minutes limit, so I will be steering clear of him. (Update: Playing with minute restriction)

- Lebron James/Anthony Davis are both listed as a GTD, but I fully expect them to play. Nonetheless, make sure you check on them before lock to be safe.

- Kyle Kuzma/Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are both listed as probable, and are expected to play.

Point Guard:

Mike Conley - $5,700:

Going to be chalk and you shouldn't ignore it. He has a nice price tag and is playing in a high-tempo game without one of the Jazz's better scorers, Bojan Bogdanovic. Expect him to reach 5x value.

Reggie Jackson - $3,800:

Another chalky play due to the absences of Lou Williams and Patrick Beverly (not expected to play). Plug him in and don't think about it, unless you like the risky game with Lonzo. Conley and Jackson will be my point guards for the small slate. He is the highest projected value player on most models.

*Lonzo Ball - $7,900:

I will not be playing Lonzo at this price tag, but I thought it is important to include him since there are really only 3 options at point guard for today's slate. New Orleans is one of the most fast paced offenses in the league, so there is upside for a big game, but you're expecting him to hit nearly 40 FD points at that cost, which is too rich for me.

Shooting Guard:

Paul George - $7,400:

Paul George is still priced around the same as when he was on a minutes restriction due to injury. Don't expect that price tag to remain low for long, grab him while you can, especially with the Clippers missing a few key players.

Donovan Mitchell - $7,200:

Donovan Mitchell has the chance to boom in a match-up that should be relatively high scoring. If you are playing LeBron tonight, he might be the player who you have to downgrade, but I don't want to miss out on a player who should come close to 35 minutes and 40 FD points.

Jordan Clarkson - $4,300:

Great value play. Clarkson should eclipse 25 minutes in tonight's game and is a great scoring option behind Donovan Mitchell as he averaged almost 15 points per game before the pandemic. Wouldn't be surprised at all to see him hit 6x value.

Small Forward:

LeBron James - $11,400:

LeBron is the highest priced player on the slate. He is dealing with groin soreness and draws one of the best defenders in the league in Kawhi Leonard, but should still be considered in your player pool. In his last 5 starts before the league postponement, LeBron finished with 55+ FD points. *Make sure to check status before lock.*

Kawhi Leonard - $9,500:

At $9,500, I consider Kawhi to be slightly under-priced for the opening day slate. Like Paul George, expect him to carry a larger load due to Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell missing the game. I expect the game to be close, so I wouldn't be concerned with Kawhi going under the minutes projection like he is known to do, especially with it being the first day back.

Brandon Ingram - $7,300:

Brandon Ingram should see a high usage rate tonight, especially with the likely absence or restriction of minutes of Zion Williamson. The Jazz do have one of the better defenses in the league, but that doesn't concern me much with how fast-paced the Pelicans like to play. The MIP candidate is a solid play.

Joe Ingles - $5,500:

I highly recommend playing two of the players above, but Joe Ingles is a fine play for those wanting to take a more high-risk, high-reward kind of approach. With Bojan out, it is likely Ingles sees over 30 minutes tonight. The Pelicans defense was fantasy friendly for opposing players before the Covid-19 situation, so there is definitely upside here.

Power Forward:

Anthony Davis - $10,400:

It is never easy for me to pass up on playing AD, and tonight is no different. Every time he steps onto the court, he has a chance of putting up a monster fantasy performance. The Clippers won't have a dominant big man to stop him, so a big performance is likely. I think LeBron and AD will post similar numbers tonight, so I will take AD with the lesser price tag. *Make sure to check status before lock.*

Royce O'Neale - $4,900:

Not one of the more interesting plays of the slate, but he has to be talked about with the amount of minutes he will be getting. Royce O'Neale isn't likely to have an explosive performance, but is relatively safe to come close to value given his price.

Marcus Morris - $4,200:

My favorite play of the slate, although he will be high owned. With Williams and Harrell not playing, I fully expect Morris to be the number 3 scoring option behind Kawhi and PG. Most projections have him for about 5.5x value, but I like him for even a little more than that.

Nicolo Melli - $4,100:

Melli will draw the start for the Pelicans if Zion doesn't play. I prefer Morris by quite a bit given their almost identical price, but he deserves to be listed based on potential value.

Center:

Derrick Favors - $5,400 :

Derrick Favors draws the start tonight and should see a slight boost in his numbers with the Zion injury. I struggled to find a way to fit him in my lineup, but he is cost friendly if you have the cap.

Ivica Zubac - $4,500:

Zubac will draw a lot of ownership tonight, and rightly so. At $4,500 you aren't expecting him to do more than score a few points, grab some boards, and get a couple blocks, which he should do easily with the minutes he will receive tonight. He is the second highest projected value player on most models.

Javale McGee - $4,400:

Javale is similar to Zubac in a lot of ways, but likely won't receive the same play time with Dwight Howard on the roster as well. He is a good pivot off of Zubac if you want to have more uniqueness in your line, but Zubac is the safer option for cash games.

*Rudy Gobert - $8,200

Will not be playing him due to the way the slate unfolded, but Mr. Corona himself is certainly not a bad play. He should rack up rebounds in a fast-paced game, so if you are alright with taking a risk and fading someone else, he is a good option.

Punt/cheap options if you absolutely need it (not recommended for cash games):

Alex Caruso (PG) - $3,500

J.J Reddick (SG) - $4,000

Dion Waters (SF) - $3,800

JaMychal Green (PF) - $3,600

Dwight Howard (C) - $3,900

Core/Example Lineup:

You are going to play 2/3 of the "big" players between LeBron, AD, and Kawhi. I like AD/Kawhi because it gives me more cap to fit in the second tier players who have big shots of exploding for points, but playing LeBron is almost never a bad play. My core 3 for the slate are Anthony Davis, Paul George, and Marcus Morris, although most of this slate is going to be chalky.

PG - Mike Conley - $5,700 PG - Reggie Jackson - $3,800

SG - Paul George - $7,400

SG - Donovan Mitchell - $7,200

SF - Kawhi Leonard - $9,500

SF - Brandon Ingram - $7,300

PF - Anthony Davis - $10,400

PF - Marcus Morris - $4,200

C - Javale McGee - $4,400