Strategies
The NBA Season gets underway October 28. The action gets started with a trio of games including the defending NBA Champions the San Antonio Spurs hosting the Dallas Mavericks.The action picks up on Wednesday with a twelve game slate that features three of the games top scorers in Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Carmelo Anthony.
Some of the other top NBA games to consider selecting players from include the return of Dwight Howard with the Houston Rockets to the Los Angeles to take on Kobe Bryant. Bryant has been fueled of late with the latest rankings of players from ESPN that landed him 40th on the list. The same type of fuel that could lead to a big game on opening night of the season.
Here is some key information for anyone entering contest on Fanduel over the next two days.
– Kobe Bryant is making his return after missing most of last season. The added fuel from ESPN ranking him 40th in the NBA has many fantasy owners taking him tomorrow night. FanDuel thinks differently though awarding him with the fourth highest salary tomorrow night at $9,000.
– The loss of Kevin Durant raises the stock for both Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. Last time we saw Westbrook on the court during games that matter was last postseason against the Spurs. Westbrook racked up fantasy games of 70, 40.3 and 59.4 to end the season.
– Luis Scola should be the biggest steal on Wednesday Night for the Indiana Pacers at only $4,000. The Pacers are expected to be without David West due to an ankle injury which increases Scola’s value.
– The former Houston Rocket Jeremy Lin returns to Houston with a chip on his shoulder and a starting spot at the point guard position for the Lakers. The Rockets attempted to land Carmelo Anthony using Lin’s jersey number when Lin was still on the Rockets roster. Lin is a fairly cheap play at $5,500 as the Lakers are set for back to back games to start the season.
– Jonas Valanciunas is entering year four with the Toronto Raptors and we are expecting big things from him. His fantasy value early on at $6,700 could provide added relief compared to some of the more expensive centers such as DeMarcus Cousins at $9,900.
– Otto Porter Jr. might not be on anyone’s radar at this point but with Glen Rice Jr. dealing with an injury and Bradley Beal out for the time being Porter could see significant time at either the shooting guard or small forward position. The second year star out of Georgetown should provide some solid depth at $5,100.
– The Miami Heat will miss the void left by Lebron James but look for the rookie point guard Shabazz Napier to emerge as a key role player and possible starter at the point guard position. Napier has one of the top cost at $3,900 so he could be a big time sleeper for the Wednesday Night.