RADIO
Happy weekend, RotoBallers! I know we've all waited a long time to get basketball back in our lives, but I must say that having wall-to-wall action all day is a perfect way to make up for all the games we've missed over the last few months. With 22 teams participating, we don't have our usual defensively-weak teams to pick on, but there is always a way to find value.
In Saturday's five-game slate, we have New Orleans taking on the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pelicans rank in the bottom seven in fantasy points allowed to point guards, shooting guards, and small forwards. Combine that bad defense with the Pelicans' third-fastest pace in the league, and there should be a ton of opportunities for points in their game. They already dropped their first game to the Jazz. If they want to make the playoffs, they will have to take the training wheels off Zion Williamson and unleash him on opposing teams.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 8/1/20. You can also check out today's DraftKings lineup picks. Remember to monitor injury news as the slate can completely change before lineups lock. Good luck!
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Paul George - SG, LAC vs NO ($7,700)
Paul George looked excellent in his first game back on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are the second-toughest defense against shooting guards, but that is not the case, today, against the New Orleans Pelicans. They rank 26th versus shooting guards while allowing 42.6 fantasy points per game to the position. George's salary is only the 11th-highest on the slate, but the matchup and his recent form give me a reason to believe that he could finish inside the top-five scorers today.
Before the season suspended in March, George was averaging his highest true shooting percentage and offensive rating of the season. That form didn't seem to drop off on Thursday, and if the 30-year old puts up another massive performance on Saturday, this will likely be the lowest salary you will see for George for the remainder of the season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - SG, OKC vs UTA ($7,300)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was in the middle of a breakout season before the league stopped a few months ago. The second-year guard was averaging 19.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 35.1 minutes. I don't believe that he will slow down after the restart. On the season, he averaged 34.5 fantasy points per game, and that means his price is appropriate heading into Saturday's game against the Utah Jazz. We want those players that can return four to five times their value in our lineups. SGA also offers more upside than his similarly priced colleagues on the slate. Utah ranks in the middle of the pack against shooting guards, but Gilgeous-Alexander is not a middle of the pack guard. If the previously mentioned Paul George is just a little too expensive for your lineup tonight, SGA is a great alternative.
Monte Morris - PG, DEN vs. MIA ($3,900)
Jamaal Murray, Will Barton, and Gary Harris are all banged up and may miss tonight's restart opener versus the Heat. That leaves a lot of ball-handling opportunities to Monte Morris. The young guard has shown what he can do in flashes. When he plays at least 20 minutes, the former-Iowa State guard has averaged 11 points, 4.2 assists, and shot 50.4 percent from the field. However, if you increase the minutes to at 30, he averages 13.6 points, 5.3 assists, and 53.1 percent from the field. Morris only has to hit 20 fantasy points to hit that excellent range of returns on his cost. I suspect that he eclipses 30 minutes tonight with the Nuggets slightly hobbled.
The Nuggets are a safe bet to finish as a top-four seed, but it remains to be seen what is the priority for Head Coach Michael Malone. If it's to make sure everyone is healthy for the playoffs, then Malone should err on the side of caution and sit his injured players. This would leave Morris as a great value play on Saturday against a Miami defense that allows 43.8 fantasy points per game to point guards.
FanDuel DFS Forwards
Kawhi Leonard - SF, LAC vs. NO ($9,500)
Kawhi Leonard has the third-highest salary on Saturday's slate of games, but I think he has the easiest matchup in the top-10. It's very similar to the case for Paul George. The Pelicans do not have a good defense against small forwards. They allow 42.4 fantasy points per game against the position, and Leonard averages 47.6 FPPG on the year.
There is always the danger that he sits out for rest, so keep an eye on the lineups heading into the contests. There should be some decent options to pivot towards if he did sit. However, if he does play, then I fully intend to have him in some of my lineups. The over/under for this game is the highest of the night at 227. Therefore, we should see a lot of scoring and rebounding opportunities for Leonard. The matchup, the player, and the value are too good to ignore tonight.
Kyle Kuzma - PF, LAL vs TOR ($4,700)
Kyle Kuzma seemed to have a rough season. He couldn't find a way to fit into the new-look Lakers starting lineup, but he was still averaging 20.7 fantasy points per game. Well, the break may have done him some good as Kuzma stormed back and kicked off the restart with quite a performance. In 22 minutes, he recorded eight points, 10 rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. That added up to 29.4 points for his fantasy managers.
It's probably unrealistic to expect that every night, but his price point has not changed enough for me to keep him out of some lineups tonight. Toronto ranks 11th versus power forwards this season, but they could still be shaking off some of the COVID-19 rust. Kuzma can take advantage of that and continue to play his way into more minutes as the Lakers cruise towards the playoffs and one of the best records in the league.
Dion Waiters - SF, LAL vs. TOR ($3,900)
"Hello? Yes, I would like to book a trip to Waiters Island." If you've been an NBA fan long enough, you've at least visited Waiters Island. Maybe you were even tricked into purchasing a timeshare property there during the second half of the 2017 season. Well, that was a lousy investment long term, but maybe you can make some of your money back tonight.
Waiters scored 11 points in his Lakers debut on Thursday to go along with three rebounds, three assists, and one block in 21 minutes. No offense to Frank Vogel, but if LeBron James liked what he saw out of Waiters, then he is going to get more playing time. They need someone to take the offensive load off James and Anthony Davis, and Waiters showed he wasn't afraid to take on that challenge with his 10 field goal attempts on Thursday night.
FanDuel DFS Centers
Derrick Favors - C, NO vs. LAC ($5,100)
The Los Angeles Clippers do not have a lot of weak spots on the defensive end. They rank in the top-15 against points guards, shooting guards, small forwards, and power forwards. The center position is a different story and is an area to attack them now with Montrezl Harrell out for today's contest.
Derrick Favors has been a stabilizing veteran for a New Orleans team that has found itself in the thick of a playoff race. Their loss to the Utah Jazz on Thursday was a blow, but a bounce-back win against the Clippers would be huge. Favors is only averaging 9.1 points and 9.8 rebounds on the season, but, without Harrell, he has an opportunity to return substantial value against a weakened Clippers interior defense. The 29-year old may not be the most exciting option, but he is capable of putting up some monster games. In three of his last seven appearances, he has scored at least 34 points.
