This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
The NBA's eventful opening week continues with a 10-game Saturday night slate that offers plenty of value-play opportunities. With plenty of high-priced studs also in action, finding players who have the ability to offer a 5x-6x return on a modest price tag will be critical to building profitable lineups. Without further ado, let's identify some of those prospects at each position:
Editor's note: Kawhi Leonard and Gordon Hayward were ruled out for rest purposes after the writing of this article.
POINT GUARD
Jeff Teague, MIN at DAL ($7,000): Teague struggled with his shot versus the Cavs on Friday, but he's still averaging 18.0 points, 5.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal over his first two games courtesy of a spectacular opener against the Spurs. The veteran guard is averaging nearly a FanDuel point per minute (0.95) thus far, and he'll face a Mavs squad against which he shot 46.2 percent last season over four games. Dallas' point guard defense wasn't tested much in the opener against Isaiah Canaan, but Teague represents a significant bump up in quality of competition and should be able to generate a solid return on a modest price.
Terry Rozier, BOS at NY ($4,800): Rozier was expected to enjoy a healthy allotment of minutes off the bench this season despite Kyrie Irving's return to health, and that much has been borne out over the Celtics' first two games. The 2015 first-round pick has seen well over 20 minutes in each of those contests, and his ability to fill out the stat sheet has led to fantasy-point totals of 24.1 and 21.5, respectively. Rozier's defense and work on the boards figures to continue affording him plenty of minutes with which to pay off an affordable price, and his early success from three-point range (60.0 percent) will certainly help in that regard if it persists. On that front, the Knicks tied with the Grizzlies for eighth-highest three-point success rate allowed last season (36.8 percent), and they yielded a full stat line of 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals across 28.0 minutes over four games last season to Rozier.
SHOOTING GUARD
Zach LaVine, CHI vs. DET ($6,900): A healthy LaVine has proven to be a dangerous LaVine in the past, and that's what we have to open the season this year after he only managed to appear in 24 games during the 2017-18 campaign. The young sharpshooter wasted no time getting hot, racking up 30 points in the opener despite the Bulls suffering a blowout loss to the Sixers. Naturally, Chicago will look to LaVine as one of its primary sources of offense this season, even when the squad is at full health. Factor in that Kris Dunn (personal), Lauri Markkanen (elbow) and Denzel Valentine (ankle) are all out for Saturday's game and LaVine's presence becomes even more valuable. LaVine sported a 25.5 percent usage rate and averaged 1.11 FanDuel points per minute with all three off the court last season, and he'll be in a good position to deliver similar production Saturday -- the Pistons allowed 11.1 made three-pointers per game last season, and they yielded 65.6 FanDuel points to the shooting guard position in the opener to the Nets.
Reggie Bullock, DET at CHI ($4,300): Bullock appears set to make his regular-season debut Saturday after missing the opener due to illness. The sixth-year pro is coming off a career-best season in which he averaged 11.3 points on impressive 48.9 percent shooting, including 44.5 percent from three-point range. The Bulls got an up-close-and-personal taste of that marksmanship on more than one occasion last season as Bullock lit them up for a 56.7 percent success rate from the field -- including an eye-popping 57.1 percent from three-point range – on his way to an average of 14.0 points across 32.3 minutes over three games. The numbers aren't exactly surprising, given both Bullock's talent and the fact Chicago allowed the sixth-highest three-point shooting percentage (37.0) last season. With a true bargain price Saturday, Bullock gives you some nice upside for the cost while providing plenty of flexibility for you elsewhere.
SMALL FORWARD
Josh Richardson, MIA vs. CHA ($7,100): Thrust into an even bigger role than usual due to multiple absences at the wing spots for the Heat, Richardson has averaged 24.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.0 block over the first two games of the season. The fourth-year pro began coming into his own last season with career highs across the stat sheet, and he'll face a team Saturday against which he compiled plenty of success against last season. Richardson averaged 18.5 points (on 51.9 percent shooting, including 63.6 percent from distance), 3.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks across four games against the Hornets, and Charlotte comes into Saturday's contest allowing the sixth-most FanDuel points (53.6) over the first two games to the small forward position, including the most rebounds per contest (18.0).
Bojan Bogdanovic, IND vs. BKN ($4,500): Bogdanovic gets a crack at his old Brooklyn squad Saturday, one that he shot 51.2 percent against last season over four games. The veteran sharpshooter has admittedly opened the season in his trademark inconsistent fashion, following up a 19-point effort in the opener that netted 23.2 FanDuel points with an 0-for-7 showing from the field versus the Bucks on Friday. Nevertheless, Bogdanovic carries a sky-high ceiling that he's flashed on multiple occasions throughout his career, and a matchup versus a Nets team that surrendered the seventh-highest three-point percentage (36.9) last season could be just what the doctor ordered to break out of his one-game slump.
POWER FORWARD
Jayson Tatum, BOS at NY ($6,700): As expected following a stellar showing in Boston's playoff run last season, Tatum has opened the new campaign strong and displaying the confidence of a player who's now played in plenty of big games despite the fact he's only kicking off his second pro season. The 19-year-old has averaged a solid 19.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal across his first pair of contests, coming just a rebound short of a double-double in each of those games. There's no Kristaps Porzingis (knee) to disrupt his drives the basket, either, which should give Tatum plenty of opportunities against fill-in Lance Thomas, a matchup he should be able to win a fair share of the time. It's also worth noting Tatum thrived versus the Knicks during his rookie season, averaging 16.3 points (on 51.0 percent shooting), 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.5 steals across his four encounters with them.
Ryan Anderson, PHO at DEN ($3,600): Granted, Anderson did nothing to inspire confidence in the opener versus the Mavs, mustering a pedestrian line of two points, seven rebounds and three assists. However, he took only four shots in the contest, something that's likely an outlier. Additionally, it's near impossible to find a starter at just $100 away from minimum, but that's exactly what Anderson represents Saturday. The floor-spacing big man could find himself with some open looks from three as well, considering Denver allowed an NBA-high 37.8 percent success rate from distance last season. The Nuggets allowed 64.5 FanDuel points to the power forward position in their opener versus the Clippers as well, and for what it's worth, Anderson was locked in with his shot in two games against them last season -- the veteran drained 70.0 percent of his attempts, including 60.0 percent from three-point range, on his way to averages of 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist over 25.0 minutes in those contests. Given his price, even a line such as that one would represent a solid return, and Anderson has the ability to provide significantly more.
CENTER
JaVale McGee, LAL vs. HOU ($4,700): After playing a complementary role very well in the Warriors' latest championship run last season, McGee took his talents to L.A., where he immediately slotted into the starting center job in the wake of Brook Lopez's departure. The veteran big man figured in for more minutes than he'd seen in multiple seasons, and that trend began to establish itself during the preseason. It continued in the opener, with McGee turning in a typically efficient line of 13 points, eight rebounds, one assist, three blocks and one steal over 22 minutes against Portland. Saturday, he'll often match up against Clint Capela, who underwhelmed on both sides of the ball in the Rockets' opener versus the Pelicans. Capela had a big hand in Anthony Davis' 32-point, 16-rebound double-double in that contest, and he also gives up a couple of inches in height to McGee, who's proven time and time again he doesn't need a boatload of minutes to provide a strong return. The Rockets' defensive profile also dovetails well with McGee's usual offensive style, as they allowed the fourth-most points in the paint per game (47.7) last season while McGee logged over 80.0 percent of his scoring in that area of the floor in each of the last three campaigns.
