NBA DFS Primer: Friday (10/22)

It certainly has been a fantastic start to the NBA season! Regardless of the quality of basketball, it’s always good to have hoops back on the TV. There are 10 games on tap for Friday night’s slate, and hopefully, they’ll be competitive as two of the three games on Thursday ended in blowouts.

With 20 teams in action, there will be lots of ways to build out a winning lineup. Let’s take a deeper look into Friday’s slate to see if anything stands out.

Check out today’s NBA Layup from FanDuel

Schedule and Odds

• CHA @ CLE (+3.5) O/U: 225.5
• NYK @ ORL (-8) O/U 211.5
  
• IND @ WAS (-1.5) O/U 228
  
• BKN @ PHI (+3) O/U 230
  
• TOR @ BOS (-6.5) O/U 217.5
  
• NOP @ CHI (-7) O/U 221.5
  
• OKC @ HOU (-2.5) O/U 222
  
• SAS @ DEN (-7.5) O/U 220.5
  
• UTA @ SAC (+6) O/U 227
  
• PHX @ LAL (-0.5) O/U 221

Injury Report

• Bradley Beal (hip) questionable
• Joel Embiid (knee) questionable
• Darius Garland (ankle) questionable
• Terry Rozier (ankle) questionable
• Nerlens Noel (knee) ruled OUT

Core Plays

Mitchell Robinson (C- NYK): $5,600 DraftKings, $5,900 FanDuel
Robinson is a better value on FanDuel for tonight’s game due to his shot-blocking ability but will get another opportunity to play massive minutes with Nerlens Noel continuing to miss time. In fact, he only exceeded 34 minutes twice last season, so there is huge upside here. The man known as ‘Blockinson’ put up 11 points, 17 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks for 40.9 FanDuel points in the Knicks’ season-opening win against the Celtics.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SG,PG – OKC): $6,700 DraftKings, $7,500 FanDuel
SGA was quiet in Tuesday’s season-opening loss to the Jazz but then again, so was the entire Thunder roster. Fortunately, he finds himself in a great bounce-back spot against the lowly Rockets on Friday. His price is sitting at just $6,700 on DraftKings, which is crazy when you realize he ended last season being priced in the $8/$9k range. I’m taking advantage of the dip in a game with the potential for serious points.

James Harden (SG,PG – BKN): $9,400 DraftKings, $10,300 FanDuel
I couldn’t believe it when I saw that Harden’s price had dipped to under $9,500 on DraftKings. Especially in a game with shootout potential, as Friday’s matchup against the 76ers has the highest O/U on the slate. The only worry here is the status of Joel Embiid, who is questionable with a knee injury. If he sits, there’s a good chance this is a blowout and therefore lowers Harden’s ceiling.

Cash Game Considerations

Tobias Harris (PF,SF – PHI): $7,200 DraftKings, $7,600 FanDuel
The 76ers may be forced to lean heavily on Harris in this one with Joel Embiid questionable with a knee injury. Even if the former plays, Harris looks to have one of the safest floors in Friday’s slate, making him a great play in cash games.

Malcolm Brogdon (PG – IND): $7,500 DraftKings, $7,700 FanDuel
Brogdon is as consistent as they come and is fresh off of a 28-point, 11-assist outing in Wednesday’s season-opening loss. He gets the Wizards on Friday, which should be one of the highest-scoring games on the slate when it’s all said and done. Brogdon comes with an extremely safe floor but gets an even bigger boost if Jeremy Lamb or Justin Holiday are forced to miss.

Jakob Poeltl (C – SAS): $5,700 DraftKings, $6,600 FanDuel
Believe it or not, Poeltl teased a triple-double on Wednesday with 12/13/7. His ability to block shots and grab a ton of rebounds will keep his floor relatively high heading into a matchup against the reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic. Poeltl is almost $1k cheaper on DraftKings but should see 30+ minutes as he’s the only one capable of slowing down Jokic if that’s even possible.

GPP Targets

Kevin Porter Jr. (PG – HOU): $7,300 DraftKings, $6,000 FanDuel
It was a hideous start to the season for Porter, who had three times more turnovers than he did assists. This was a floor game. If there’s one thing we do know from Porter, however, it’s that he arguably has the biggest ceiling in fantasy. I’m old enough to remember when he went for 50 points and 11 assists back in April of last season. Bottom line, he’s in a prime spot to bounce back in a big way against the Thunder on Friday.

Jordan Clarkson (SG – UTA): $5,900 DraftKings, $5,000 FanDuel
Clarkson is a bonafide bucket off of Utah’s bench and can drop a 30-burger at the drop of a hat. He’s a great value in GPP if you are really looking to shoot for the stars.

Chris Boucher (C – TOR): $5,500 DraftKings, $5,800 FanDuel
We all know the drill by now. Boucher is either winning you a slate or single-handedly tanking your team. He had a poor season-opener on Wednesday, but it was an off night for the entire team as well. I’m looking for him to bounce back in a big way against the Celtics, who just let Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson combine for 46 points, 25 rebounds, 12 assists, and five blocks.

Value Plays – under $5.5K

Tyrese Maxey (PG – PHI): $5,300 DraftKings, $5,800 FanDuel

I guess Maxey only counts as a value on DraftKings, but I will continue to list him here until he’s priced accordingly. Simply put, he’s a lock with Ben Simmons out of the lineup. He cruised to 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in a team-high 33 minutes Wednesday and is in store for the same workload against the Nets. As previously mentioned, this game has the highest O/U on the slate at 230.

Alperen Sengun (C – HOU): $3,900 DraftKings, $4,800 FanDuel
Sengun impressed in 18 minutes Wednesday, racking up 11 points, seven rebounds, and three steals in his NBA debut. If you really want to get freaky with your lineups, throw him in for what should be a battle among the league’s worst teams. The Thunder gave up the eight-most fantasy points to opposing big men last season. And that was with Al Horford and Moses Brown on the roster.

Devin Vassell (SG – SAS): $4,600 DraftKings, $4,800 FanDuel
On Wednesday, Vassell was impressive for the Spurs, posting 19 points, five assists, and two steals in 25 minutes. The Spurs should be chasing points early and often against the Nuggets, and Vassell presents a cheap option with plenty of upside.

Advantageous Pricing

• Kevin Porter Jr. (PG – HOU): $6,000 FanDuel, $7,300 DraftKings
  
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (PG – OKC): $7,500 FanDuel, $6,700 DraftKings
• James Harden (PG – BKN): $10,300 FanDuel, $9,400 DraftKings
• Robert Williams (C – BOS): $7,000 FanDuel, $6,200 DraftKings
  
• Chris Duarte (SG – IND): $5,300 FanDuel, $6,000 DraftKings

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Alex Burns is a featured writer for FantasyPros. Check out his archive and follow him on Twitter.