RADIO
My buddy Kyle Ringstad was holding it down for me yesterday and dropped some great picks for last night's slate in this piece yesterday. We have only four games tonight and just a few more nights of NBA preseason as teams will wrap up camp on Friday and our first regular season action is only one week from tomorrow!
Preseason rotations are never easy to figure out and there's a lot of guessing that goes on for these slates. If you can't stomach the variance, then just sit back and let the rest of us sweat these slates out. I do my best to find some of the best plays, but even I have fairly limited information to work with here. If you're interested in following NBA beat writers on Twitter and trying to keep up with the latest info about which players are in or out and if coaches mention any plans for minutes, then you can follow this list (I am constantly updating it each season).
I highly encourage you to follow me on Twitter and check out the list of beat writers that I follow to keep informed on the latest up-to-date information about each team and their plans for minutes and rotations. In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 10/10/22. You can always find me in the RotoBaller Discord or @ThunderDanDFS on Twitter.
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NBA DFS Games
Here are some game-by-game notes and what I've been able to gather about each team so far.
Washington @ Charlotte
The Wizards have two games under their belts and the Hornets have three already. That means only one more game each later this week, so we could see a "dress rehearsal" of sorts with starters getting second-half minutes. The Wizards will be without Bradley Beal (COVID), Corey Kispert, and Deni Avdija which is going to open up some minutes and shots for their teammates.
The Charlotte injury to keep an eye on is Gordon Hayward. If he's out again, then we can expect Kelly Oubre Jr. to continue to log heavy minutes at the three. LaMelo played 30 minutes last game and continues to be inefficient, but is stuffing the stat sheet and I would expect him to be a chalky play here.
Philadelphia @ Cleveland
The Sixers and Cavs squared off last week Wednesday and neither team has played since. The Sixers finish up on Wednesday against Charlotte, but the Cavs have a backloaded schedule with two other games this week. Cavs starters only played minutes in the teens in the first matchup, yet Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Kevin Love all had solid outings.
Evan Mobley will likely sit for Cleveland again, while the Sixers could be without bench big Montrezl Harrell. We should see both teams ramp up the starters' minutes a bit here, but I am still a bit skeptical that either team pushes their core guys too much. I'll keep an eye out for sound bites on the Twitter machine.
Houston @ Miami
We already have some news for Houston. Rookie big man Jabari Smith Jr. and veteran shooting guard Eric Gordon will miss this game. In their last game, Houston went with K.J. Martin and Jae'Sean Tate in the starting lineup to replace them with Bruno Fernando starting at center for Alperen Sengun. We should see Sengun return to his starting spot tonight. The big draw for me is the two cheap youngsters who come off the bench - Tari Eason and Josh Christopher, who have both been putting up some great numbers this preseason.
No update from Miami yet on how they treat this game, but my theory is that we see their regulars deployed here since they rested everyone in their last game and have only one more game later this week on Wednesday left in the preseason. Jimmy Butler is the one starter I have a hard time trusting with minutes, he played only 16 in their second game, his only action thus far. But the rest of the core (Bam, Lowry, Herro) could all be appealing here against a young Houston team that doesn't play much defense.
Phoenix @ Denver
Denver has already ruled out Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. The Joker is nursing an injury and Murray is coming off an entire missed season, so Denver simply isn't going to mess around by pushing either of them in the preseason. For Phoenix, they'll be without PF Cameron Johnson, who has been ruled out for the rest of the preseason. The Suns play just once more on Wednesday, so I imagine we get 25 minutes again for the big three of Ayton, Booker, and Paul while the Nuggets still have two more games this week and haven't really played anyone substantial minutes yet with a handful of guys getting 22 minutes in their last game against Chicago.
DraftKings DFS Top Plays
Tyrese Maxey, PG ($7,200) - He's looked phenomenal in both games so far for Philly. Even with Harden and Embiid in the lineup, he still led the team in scoring against Cleveland and is scoring the ball efficiently. He's a safe play here with some upside as well.
Alperen Sengun, C ($5,300) - I'm not all that worried about a match-up with Bam, Sengun is so talented and skilled that he's going to get his points, boards, and assists regardless and he's far too cheap for his per-minute production.
Kristaps Porzingis, C ($8,300) - Without Beal in the lineup again, we should see Porzingis be the main option on offense. He went 18-6-2 with two steals and two blocks in 21 minutes last week against Golden State and this is a matchup (Charlotte) that big men destroyed last season.
LaMelo Ball, PG ($9,200) - The price has finally adjusted but pricing hardly matters on these slates with a bunch of cheap punts that we can use to jam in studs. I will be either 100% Ball in my builds or at least close to it tonight.
Michael Porter Jr., SF/PF ($5,700) - MPJ should be the first option on offense for Denver tonight with no Murray or Jokic. He dropped 20-7-1 with two steals in only 22 minutes against Chicago, reminding us all how dynamic he can be when healthy.
Donovan Mitchell, SG ($9,000) - This is an interesting price point with Booker right there and Garland too. I was impressed with how well Mitchell played in his first game with the Cavs' first unit and he led them in shot attempts (nine) and points (16). A bump in playing time tonight makes me very interested in him and Garland in this spot against Philly.
DraftKings DFS Value Plays
My favorite plays on DraftKings for 5k or less.
Tari Eason, SF/PF ($3,000) - LOCK HIM IN YOUR BUILDS - HE"S A FREE SQUARE.
Josh Christopher, SG ($3,500) - Playing a bunch of minutes off the bench and being uber-productive.
Nikola Jovic, SF/PF ($3,500) - One of the more talented young European players in this rookie class, he accumulates fantasy points with ease.
Bones Hyland, PG/SG ($4,400) - Should get plenty of run with Murray out and dropped 22 points last game. A gunner who is going to shoot and get some steals.
Rui Hachimurea, SF/PF ($4,200) - Should start and has a great matchup against Charlotte. Went 11-10-2 with two steals in his first start.
K.J. Martin, PF ($3,800) - Should start at the four for Houston tonight, posted really nice numbers last time out.
Jock Landale, C ($3,100) - an excellent point-per-minute big man who should excel with the bench unit in Phoenix.
Jamal Cain, PF ($3,000) - Miami just signed him to a two-way contract because he's played so well. He's smashing in mop-up duty late in these games.
