NBA season is back, and if you haven't checked out Colossus for basketball, the link is included. You can filter, apply models, and even change minutes. The minutes tool is another addition we bring to the DFS world. Once things get hectic, minutes will be all over the place, and the tool can change minutes, which changes projections. Check them out here.
Minutes Tool: https://www.dailyfantasycafe.com/tools/minutes/nba
NBA Optimizer: https://www.dailyfantasycafe.com/tools/lineupoptimizer/nba
DraftKings
Using Colossus, I did lock in Stephen Curry and DeMarcus Cousins right off the bat. This narrowed down my salary from the start, but I like the value plays here, starting with the Portland Players. Phoenix is not a good defensive team, especially in their front court. Both players are priced very cheap, and Portland has one of the better team totals tonight. I also filtered out Atlanta-Charlotte, Milwaukee-Washington, Nets, and 76ers. They are just not in great spots, and I wanted to go after those west coast games. Curry and Cousins are both obvious picks tonight, and are in close high scoring games. I see them surpassing their projections, and I could have adjusted to make the total score higher, but I left it alone. The Celtics are a bit of a worry for me, due to their depth, as well as Brad Stevens being a mastermind. He knows what lineup is working, and sticks with it. The front court is a little but cluttered, but Lee does standout as one of those guys who can double-double in 25 minutes. I am hoping that is the case tonight. Avery Bradley is a guy I am comfortable in the system, due to him seeing about 30 minutes a game. Bradley has been working on his shooting in the offseason, and can generate a ton of steals. For $4,500, it is not a bad move. Darren Collison played more than Rondo on Wednesday, and was more efficient. He is the first scorer off the bench for the Kings, and I love how they are using him for our fantasy purposes. He sees time with the big names, but also has times on the court where he is the featured offense. I am worried about the blowout factor for Tim Duncan, but he is a consistency machine. I would like swap Gallinari in for him.
FanDuel
I narrowed out the same games as DraftKings, just due to them being low scoring affairs. There are simply better games to target, especially in cash games. I locked in Steph Curry yet again, and also locked in C.J. McCollum. I love him at the SG spot here on FanDuel, and that price will rise. My love for the Curry/Collison duo is explained above, and I am going cheap at SG. Alec Burks has a nice matchup off the bench, where he is another featured scorer on the second unit. He also has a nice matchup against Philly. Mirotic and Gallinari are the safest two value SF tonight, and just $12,900, I really love their upside together. Kevin Love has already been a more focal point of the offense this season, and Lebron said that was one of his goals. I am buying into it, and while there are some other options in the area. I like the 35 point floor we have seen so far this season. Markeiff Morris is the riskier play here, but after a dreadful start, this is a versatile guy who can provide some upside. He does have a lower floor, but there are not too many options lower. There is a enough beef in this lineup if he puts up a measly 20 FDP. Jonas Valanciunas is a highly rated cafe value play at center, and is matchup is awesome. Boston was destroyed by PF and C last season, and we already saw that in the first game with Noel and Okafor. I will fire up some Jonas tonight.
FantasyHub
FantasyHub's pricing is a bit more lenient, as you can see fitting Russell Westrook, James Harden, and DeMarcus Cousins into one lineup will show. The studs-and-scrubs approach is what's in play here tonight, you know what, I don't hate it. We are talking 160 combined points from those big three, and also have Ricky Rubio who flashed his upside the other night. With Denver banged up right now Joffrey Lauvergne saw plenty of minutes, and produced. That should be the case against Minnesota, who is not stout defensively. Marreese Speights should get a little more minutes tonight with Bogut out, and he is a high usage guy when on the floor. These value plays are in the right games to breakout. Kris Humphries and Tyler Zeller are filler pieces, and at there prices, if they see 20 minutes and knock down a few shots with some rebounds, I will be happy. Remember they allow those superstar players.
