FanDuel NBA Lineup Advice: Monday (10/22)

Welcome back to another edition FanDuel NBA lineup recommendations! We’re about a week and a half into the season, and some early returns are rolling in. Tonight features a solid nine-game slate, with a few good matchups worth targeting. There will be plenty of superstar options to consider and work through as you’re building your lineup so it’ll be key finding the couple value plays that allow you to fill out your lineup.

Small forward is stacked tonight with LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant all going tonight. It’ll be essential to find the right fit and some value plays to balance your lineup. Here are a couple players at each position I’ll be targeting tonight as I work through my lineups.

Check out today’s NBA Shot from FanDuel

Point Guard

John Wall (WAS): $9,800 @ POR
If you’re looking to fade Stephen Curry at the point guard position due to the blowout potential of that game, then Wall is a good place to turn. I know it’s early in the season, but Wall has put together a couple of nice games already scoring at least 25 points in both games and dishing out at least six assists in each as well. His three-point shot has yet to come alive, but positive regression should be coming there fairly soon. His matchup tonight isn’t the best as Portland does rank second in the league in defense against the position, but the game has a total over/under of 226 and the Wizards are favored by five points so it should be a close, high-scoring game. With that being said Wall has the highest usage rate on the team at 28.2, so he should be very involved start to finish.

Kyle Lowry (TOR): $8,400 vs. CHA
Lowry is a solid option if you’re looking for a more economical top-level player. He draws a matchup with the Hornets, who rank 16^th against the point guard position in a game with an implied total of 117 for the Raptors. He is averaging over eight assists per game and racked up 12 assists in his last outing against Washington on Saturday. He’s an efficient scorer who probably won’t see the 21 shot attempts he took against Washington (Leonard sat this game out), but his efficiency scoring the ball (61 percent from the field so far) should compensate for that.

Shooting Guard

Devin Booker (PHO): $8,400 @ GS
It seems like every fantasy basketball or lineup advice article has included Booker every night he plays, but I assure you it’s for good reason. Booker has looked like he’s taken another step further toward being a superstar in this young season and one of the biggest reasons for that is his assist totals. Booker has dished out seven assists in each of the two games this season, which is a huge jump from his career average of just over four assists per game. Also, Booker’s usage rate of 32.7 ranks fourth amongst starters in the league so it’s clear he’s the alpha in a Phoenix offense that will need every point necessary tonight to try to keep pace with the Warriors. Even in a game that has blowout potential, Booker should get his fantasy production early and often and with a price tag of under $8,500 he’s cap friendly.

Zach LaVine (CHI): $7,600 @ DAL
LaVine has been off to a red-hot start. He’s started the season with consecutive 30+ point games shooting over 57 percent from the field and averaging four rebounds and three assists over the first two games. He’s sporting a team-high 32.3 usage rate, which is by far and away the highest amongst the starters. Kris Dunn is expected to be back in the lineup this evening, but I don’t foresee this taking a lot away from LaVine’s production. LaVine has been very aggressive offensively early on and is the type of player that can fill it up in the supplemental stats as well. Dallas does rank sixth against the shooting guard position, but the over/under is set at 229, so there should be plenty of opportunity tonight for him to continue his scorching start.

Small Forward

Kawhi Leonard (TOR): $9,800 vs. CHA
Being the most economical superstar option on the slate, Leonard may offer the best value for the elite players tonight. He is expected to play after being held out of Saturday night’s game against the Wizards so he’ll be on two days rest, going against a Hornets team that ranks 25^th against the position. With an implied total of 117 points, there should be plenty of fantasy production to go around, and he should find his way into a good chunk of it, especially given that he leads the Raptors with a usage rate of 33.7 (by far the highest on the team). This season is very young, but getting a player averaging over 27 points and 11 rebounds per game for under $10,000 seems like a steal.

Kevin Durant (GS): $10,800 vs. PHO
Of the highly priced superstar small forwards on the slate, I’m going with Durant this evening. He draws a matchup with the pace up Phoenix Suns, who rank 26^th against the small forward position in a game that sports a 228 over/under with an implied total of 121 for the Warriors. While there is some blowout potential here, Durant still does lead the team in usage rate at 30.5 and offers triple-double upside. He’s averaging over 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists over the first three games of the season and there’s no reason to believe he won’t be the focal point early and often tonight. Durant seems to offer the perfect mix of usage rate and production in a game that should have no shortage of points available.

Power Forward

Serge Ibaka (TOR): $5,500 vs. CHA
I realize Ibaka is the third Raptor to show up in this list, but it’s tough to pass up on his very affordable salary and the production you get from it. He enters this evening averaging over 15 points and seven rebounds a game, which seems pretty modest. However, taking into account he’s scored 21 points and 16 points against Boston and Washington, respectively, you can see he’s been very productive.

Toronto has an implied total of 117 and Ibaka ranks second on the team in usage rate for players averaging over 20 minutes per game. His usage rate even eclipses that of Lowry, so you can see he’s been getting much more involved in the offense to supplement his rebounding production, which is already there (at least six rebounds in each game). Charlotte ranks 15^th against the power forward position, so there’s no major cause for concern defensively against him. Ibaka offers a nice value play on a night that lacks a lot of punch at the power forward position.

Jayson Tatum (BOS): $7,000 vs. ORL
Tatum has picked up right where he left off from last year. Even with Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward back in the lineup, Tatum is still the team leader in usage rate at 26.2. As a result over the first three games of the season, he’s averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds per game, including a 14-rebound performance Saturday against the Knicks. Boston draws a matchup with Orlando tonight, who ranks just 19^th in defense against the position.

Don’t be discouraged by the low over/under of 211. Even with this low total, Tatum can obtain his fantasy production by other means as he’s recorded at least one steal in each game so far this season. Look for his solid fantasy production to continue tonight.

Center

DeAndre Jordan (DAL): $8,300 vs. CHI
This seems like a relatively easy option for the center position. If you don’t spend up for Karl-Anthony Towns, then Jordan is your next best bet. Jordan draws a Bulls team that ranks 29^th against the center position and should have his way with either Bobby Portis or rookie Wendell Carter both inside and on the boards.

Jordan averages a double-double and is coming off a 22-point, 10-rebound, and five-block performance on Saturday. It’d be easy to see him duplicating that kind of effort Monday night in a terrific matchup. This game also sports a 229 over/under so it’s very possible that Jordan could rack up the points inside against a weak Bulls interior as it’s clear there will be points to be had. Jordan can be rolled into lineups with confidence.

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Chris Berg is a correspondent at FantasyPros. You can follow him on Twitter @bergey13.