This article is part of our Daily Games Cheat Sheet series.
Team Analysis:
Defenses to Avoid:
Utah Jazz vs. Philadelphia 76ers
I was hesitant on writing about this because it seems so obvious: not only were the 76ers the least efficient offense in the NBA last season, the Jazz became one of the elite defenses after inserting Rudy Gobert into their starting lineup. The only Sixers that fantasy owners will likely use are Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, and both could struggle against Gobert and Derrick Favors, who are both fantastic defenders. Vegas also anticipates this being a defensive battle, as the 189-point total is the lowest on the board for the Friday slate, with Philadelphia projected to score only 90 points. Sixers players usually present nice value, but not on this night.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat
The Cavaliers defense could also have a strong night facing the Heat. After allowing just 76 points to the Grizzlies on 35 percent shooting, this defense looks like one of the best in the league. I expect the Cavs to want to back up LeBron James against his former squad and play with some serious fire on the defensive end.
Offenses to Use:
Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Nuggets started the season in brilliant fashion by beating the Rockets as double-digit underdogs in Houston. On Friday, they have their home opener and they should come out running again. The Nuggets play up-tempo at home and that's the style of play new head coach Mike Malone wants to implement on this young team. With a total over 210, this game is projected to be one of the highest scoring games of the night. The Nuggets face off against the Timberwolves on Friday and that's a fantastic matchup, as the Wolves finished dead last in defensive efficiency last season. There are some very solid values on the Nuggets roster, including a number of cheap plays.
Teams on Back-to-Backs:
Second game of back-to-back: Atlanta Hawks
First game of back-to-back: Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
DraftKings.com DAILY PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
Point Guard:
C.J. McCollum at PHX ($6,400)
This is probably the most obvious selection of the day, but McCollum is just such a steal at $6,400. To say this Portland team had some turnover in the offseason would be a drastic understatement. The Blazers lost four starters and that really opened up the door for players like McCollum. Not only is he playing well over 30 minutes per game, he's showed his ability to score in the preseason and in the opener. In fact, the 24-year-old had 37 points and six rebounds in his season debut Wednesday. As a 6-foot-4 guard, he should have no problem getting his shot off against a small Phoenix backcourt and should be in for another big outing. He and Damian Lillard will be fantastic plays in daily until their prices inevitably rise, simply due to their crazy usage rates.
Emmanuel Mudiay vs. MIN ($5,700)
The Nuggets' star rookie had quite the outing in his NBA debut, as he tallied 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds in 38 minutes in a blowout win over Houston. Mudiay also committed a whopping 11 turnovers, but those don't hurt as much on DraftKings, as they only cost you half a point. As mentioned earlier, the Nuggets are likely to put up a big score on Minnesota and Mudiay should be in the heart of the action. The pace of play and Mudiay's ability means that he should have no problem stuffing the stat sheet and providing solid production across the board. He's $1,000 cheaper than Jeff Teague and Michael Carter-Williams with just as much, if not more, upside.
Shooting Guard:
Eric Bledsoe vs. POR ($7,400)
Bledsoe provides good numbers in points and assists, but what makes him so special is his ability to accumulate big-man stats like rebounds and blocks. He will be covering either Damian Lillard or McCollum, which means he will be defending a ton of shots. He should also be a good candidate for a couple steals with how much Lillard and McCollum will be handling the ball. If Bledsoe can provide two steals and two blocks along with his typical 15 point, eight-assist, five rebound line, he'll be a very nice value at $7,400. Those statistics don't even present the upside that Bledsoe provides, as he can drop 30 points and 10 assists on any given night.
Other suggestions:Draymond Green at HOU ($4,800); Gary Harris vs. MIN ($3,400)
Small Forward:
Danilo Gallinari vs. MIN ($6,300)
Continuing with the Nuggets stack, the 6-10 forward has continually missed time due to knee problems, but he's been healthy over the past 10 months and playing spectacularly. In the last two months of last season, Gallinari averaged over 20 points and five rebounds in more than 30 minutes per game. In his first game this year, he put up 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks. Gallo is clearly a go-to scorer in Denver, and he's always a bargain when healthy. It will be a mixture of Tayshaun Prince, Shabazz Muhammad and Nemanja Bjelica covering Gallinari and none of those guys will be able to contain him, as Minnesota rank dead last in guarding small forwards.
Other suggestions:Andrew Wiggins at DEN ($6,300); Trevor Ariza vs. GSW ($5,800)
Power Forward:
Julius Randle at SAC ($5,200)
Randle broke his leg in the first game last season but he's fully healthy to start this season. There's very little front court depth and Randle should easily play 30 minutes per game for a team that needs him to develop into a low-post stud. At $5,200, he's priced around a bunch of role players who play around only 20 minutes per game. This includes guys like Jared Sullinger ($5,600), Ed Davis ($5,100) and Ersan Ilyasova ($5,400). Randle has far more upside than any of these guys and has a much more significant role in the offense. The 20-year-old put up 15 points and 11 rebounds in his season debut and should have no problem duplicating that against Sacramento. Rookie Willie Cauley-Stein will be covering Randle on Friday and that's definitely a matchup he can exploit. Continue to use Randle until his price inevitably rises above the $6,000 mark
Other suggestions:Markieff Morris vs. POR ($6,200), David Lee vs. TOR ($5,300)
Center:
Rudy Gobert at PHI ($7,200)
The young Frenchman will be guarding either Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel and could definitely abuse the youngsters defensively. Noel has very little offensive game and Okafor takes a ton of shots and commits a lot of turnovers. Okafor actually took 16 shots and committed eight turnovers in his debut and those are the types of lines he will have all season long. With Okafor at just 6-10, Gobert should use his 7-8 wingspan to swat away a couple of those post moves and possibly draw a few steals. Gobert should also have no problem grabbing double-digit rebounds with the 76ers being one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA.
Other suggestions:Meyers Leonard at PHX ($4,500), Joffrey Lauvergne vs. MIN ($4,200)
Injury Report:
Out:
Mike Dunleavy (ankle)
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (shoulder)
Kyrie Irving (knee)
Iman Shumpert (hand)
Wilson Chandler (hip)
Jusuf Nurkic (knee)
Jodie Meeks (back)
Brandon Jennings (achilles)
Donatas Motiejunas (back)
Jabari Parker (knee)
Robert Covington- (leg)
Tony Wroten (knee)
Gerald Henderson (hip)
Dante Exum (knee)
Game-Time Decision:
Thabo Sefolosha (ankle)
Mike Muscala (ankle)
Jarrett Jack (hamstring)
Andrew Bogut (concussion/nose)
Amar'e Stoudemire (knees)
Nikola Pekovic (ankle)
John Henson (achilles)
Nik Stauskas (back)
DeMarre Carroll (elbow)
