This article is part of our Daily Games Cheat Sheet series.
Returning readers, welcome back. New readers, I hope you like what you see, and become returners. Before we begin since this is my first Daily Games Cheat Sheet of the season, a quick reminder (or introduction) to how I approach these articles. The specific player recommendations can be found at the bottom. I stand by those, and have spent countless hours over the past few years creating proprietary databases designed to help me identify the best players each and every night. As a show of how strongly I believe in them, every time I write this article, my own DraftKings rosters are made exclusively out of players named herein. The team analyses at the top of the article is a different beast entirely. Those are meant as tiebreakers, or as directions to look in when you start creating your lineup. The "offenses to use" and "defenses to avoid" are not meant to be strict rules, so don't be surprised to see players recommended at the bottom despite undesirable opponents.
TEAM ANALYSIS
Defenses to Avoid
Memphis Grizzlies at Indiana Pacers
Early in the season, I keep this section simple. The Grizzlies are known quantities and defensive juggernauts. Until we have a big enough sample size to make meaningful conclusions about this season, we must rely heavily on information from last year. The Grizzlies have done us a favor on this front by keeping their main rotation largely in tact, so we can feel pretty confident that they will remain a stout defensive unit. An additional reason for confidence here is that the other two games look likely to be high scoring affairs.
Offenses to Use
Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks
Regular readers of this article will quickly notice that I'm not shy about repeatedly broadcasting my favorites. This game combines one of my favorite opponents, the lowly Knicks, with one of my favorite offensive targets, the Hawks. Last season's Knicks were the third worst per-possession defense in the league. This season's edition should improve slightly on that mark, but not until they become more used to playing together. The Hawks are a strong offense with a smart coach and a great system. I'm especially interested in cheaper Hawks off the bench who might get some extra minutes late if this becomes a blowout.
Teams on a back-to-back set:
First game of a back-to-back set: Atlanta Hawks
Second game of a back-to-back set: Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks
DraftKings.com DAILY PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
Point Guard
Chris Paul, LAC ($9,600): Paul's price is approximately fair - certainly within the expected range for an elite talent, though perhaps a touch on the low side. The real reason I'm excited about Paul is his opponent. The Mavericks were a below-average defense last year, and they appear to have only gotten worse during the offseason (at least until Wesley Matthews returns to full health). Which injury-prone past-his-prime member of the Mavericks' backcourt will draw the unfortunate task of standing at the top of the key while Paul whips by them into the paint Thursday? Points and assists should both come easily.
Other suggestions: Mike Conley, MEM ($6,800); Raymond Felton, DAL ($3,000)
Shooting Guard
Langston Galloway, NYK ($4,200): I should probably wait until we get more serious to tell you this: I know it's early in the season, and some of you are just getting to know me, but I have to get something off my chest - I am an unreasonably enthusiastic Langsanity fan. His 16-point (5-10 FG, 4-5 3Pt, 2-2 FT), four-rebound, three-assist performance Wednesday was exactly the kind of encouragement I craved. The Knicks shockingly destroyed the Bucks in that game, and the blowout nature allowed for some unusually large workloads for Knicks bench players - keep that in mind when looking at some of the other Knicks I recommend in this article. Yet even if Galloway will normally play fewer than the 25 minutes he saw Wednesday, he has a statistically productive skill set, and his price is fair.
Other suggestions: Kyle Korver, ATL ($4,900); Lance Stephenson, LAC ($3,200)
Small Forward
Paul George, IND ($8,200): George is a top-10 fantasy talent, but this is the price you expect for fantasy players ranked between 30 and 50. Last season, DraftKings priced a player at $8,200 93 times. Looking at the list of those 93 occurrences - 11 of which went to Paul Millsap, seven to Eric Bledsoe, and six went to Tyreke Evans - it is immediately obvious that George operates at a higher talent level. I'll be shocked if George isn't going for at least a grand more by Thanksgiving.
Other suggestions: Tony Allen, MEM ($4,300); Derrick Williams, NYK ($3,200); Lance Thomas, NYK ($3,000)
Power Forward
Zach Randolph, PF, MEM ($7,000): A healthy Randolph for $7,000 or below is usually in my DraftKings lineup. He's only 34 years old - which is young enough to bully his way to a double-double more than half the time. Last season he was 10th in the league in double-doubles, recording 38 in 71 games (54 percent).
Other suggestions: Paul Millsap, NO ($7,800), Kristaps Porzingis, NYK ($4,300); Kyle O'Quinn, NYK ($3,700)
Center
Ian Mahinmi, ATL ($3,900): The Pacers' current starting center has been chronically under-appreciated for years. But he came out and made a statement Wednesday, finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks before he fouled out after only 25 minutes. If Myles Turner (ankle) is active Thursday, it could limit Mahinmi's court time, but after such an impressive opening night, Mahinmi has earned some increased opportunity of his own.
Other suggestions: DeAndre Jordan, LAC ($7,700); Zaza Pachulia, DAL ($5,100)
INJURY REPORT
Out
Mike Muscala, C, ATL (ankle)
Thabo Sefolosha, G, ATL (ankle)
JaVale McGee, C, DAL (leg)
Chandler Parsons, F, DAL (knee)
Jarell Martin, F, MEM (foot)
Arron Afflalo, G, NYK (hamstring)
Louis Amundson, C, NYK (back)
Kevin Seraphin, C, NYK (knee)
Game-Time Decision
Deron Williams, G, DAL (knee)
Glenn Robinson, F, IND (shoulder)
