New Orleans Pelicans vs Toronto Raptors
Spread: Raptors -7
Game Total: 230
Everybody was looking forward to this matchup not because the Raptors were raising the banner as the defending NBA champions but because it was supposed to be the regular season debut for Zion Williamson . Unfortunately, Williamson suffered a knee injury that will force him to miss the next 4-to-8 weeks. So, now, we have the Anthony Davis trade pieces in Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball having more of the spotlight on them against a Raptors team that no longer has Kawhi Leonard . I think this is going to be the game where we find the majority of our value plays tonight, especially on the Raptors side where Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby are both under-priced despite both being projected to start. Last season as a starter Vanvleet averaged 13.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. Anunoby has only seven games of at least 30 minutes played over his career but in those seven games he averaged 12.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.7-three-pointers per game. The top plays in this match up are clear as we look for Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam for the Raptors here. Siakam should take over as the team’s go to scoring option this season as he assumes the role of Kawahi Leonard from last year and DeMar DeRozan in the year’s prior. I do like Lowry as well as his usage rate should increase with Leonard no longer in town. At the center position we should see Marc Gasol with the advantage over Derrick Favors but it remains to be seen how long Gasol actually plays as he and Serge Ibaka were often sharing time at the position. For the Pelicans, as I mentioned already, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram are players to watch. Ball offers legit triple-double upside if he can limit the turnovers while Ingram proved last year to be an elite fantasy player towards the end of the year when the offense was largely going through him. Jrue Holiday is the team’s No.1 option and should be treated as such but I find his price tag likely to be a bit too much if we are trying to spend up on the top talent game between the Clippers and Lakers. At center, Favors figures to start with Jahlil Okafor seeing 20-to-25 minutes likely off the bench. A popular value play tonight is going to be 28-year old rookie Nicolo Melli who is min-price on both sites and figures to see some run at PF & C. We may even see rookie Jaxson Hayes off the bench tonight which makes rostering anyone from this group a risk and that’s not even including the fact that they would draw a combination of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka as their match up.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Los Angeles Clippers
Spread: Clippers +3
Game Total: 223.5
The NBA wasted no time giving us the match up we all wanted to see, if they could have added the Rockets here and make it a three team game they probably would have, however we have the new look Clippers with Kawhi Leonard up against the Lakers with Anthony Davis and LeBron James . It’s too bad that Paul George is out with an injury or we may have an opening night preview of the Western Conference Finals on our hands. Anyhow, with that said, let’s take a look here with the visiting Lakers. Of course, this is really a two-man show with LBJ and Davis dominating the touches and usage when on the floor. There are certainly going to be some secondary plays such as Rajon Rondo , Danny Green , Avery Bradley and maybe even JaVale McGee that can provide some secondary fantasy upside. I think Dwight Howard is a play we should also take a look at but those players are all going to be wildly inconsistent on a nightly basis given the star power they are on the floor with. Rondo is currently questionable to play but if he suits up, I can see him with the third most fantasy points just because of his ability to fill up the stat sheet when on the floor. This is also a national television game and we know that Rondo loves the national audience. Davis should feast tonight on a Clippers front court that was dominated by most “Bigs” last season. Especially, with Paul George out, Davis is going to be matched up against JaMychal Green who honestly has no chance. James on the other hand will likely be drawing Kawhi Leonard defense and while I don’t expect Leonard to completely shut him down, it’s certainly not the best spot for him. With the Clippers you can certainly consider Leonard if you want but for me he is too expensive give the matchup as he will need to deal with James and even Davis at times on the offensive end. Instead, I will be taking a look at Lou Williams who really took it to the Lakers last season and figures to be the primary secondary scoring option for the Clippers while Paul George is on the sideline. Patrick Beverly is another solid play as he can fill out the stat sheet and last season really put up some strong fantasy production. At center/power forward we will see both Montrezl Harrell and Ivica Zubac though neither will probably see more than 25 minutes which is too bad because both are FP/Min monsters. It’s possible due to the size of Anthony Davis that Zubac could see an uptick in playing time as the Clippers front court continues to be rather small.