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We have a full slate of NFL football and a marquee MLB playoff baseball game filling up the schedule today. However, NBA preseason basketball has made its way into our lives again, and there's plenty of money to be made in daily fantasy contests on both FanDuel and DraftKings. Let's dive in.
Preseason rotations are never easy to figure out and there's a lot of guessing for these slates. If you can't stomach the variance, 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 (Thunder Dan is constantly updating it each season).
I highly encourage you to follow @ThunderDanDFS on Twitter and check out the list of beat writers he follows 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 provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 10/9/22. You can always find me in the RotoBaller Discord or @RING_DFS on Twitter.
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Preseason NBA Overview
The first thing you need to know is that building lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings in the preseason will be very different than during the regular season. FanDuel has decided to keep their prices low (everyone is priced at 6,000 or less) and therefore you can build a lineup with any nine players you want as long as you roster two PG, SG, SF, PF, and one C. We can leverage that on FanDuel by rostering some lesser-known players, since we should expect the well-known players to be more highly-targeted, especially amongst casual players and fans.
All prices listed in the article are DraftKings prices since the FD prices simply don't matter and you can play anyone you want.
DraftKings has priced guys as they would on a normal slate for the most part, but we do get discounts on superstars if we want to cram some into lineups. I like to use a balance of younger players with some veterans that we can project for solid minutes and, honestly every slate is different to some degree.
With only a few days of practice before the first preseason games, I would expect we don't see any big minutes for starters in the first few games with most teams easing their guys into action, and we should see plenty of well-known guys and veterans sit out altogether.
NBA DFS Games
Here are some game-by-game notes and what I've gathered about each team.
Chicago Bulls @ Toronto Raptors
Fred VanVleet and Otto Porter are the only listed injuries for this one, but both appear on track to suit up for Sunday's game.
The Bulls are rolling out their core players for 20+ minutes per game in the preseason, and that's something we have to be intrigued by any time we can get it. Nikola Vucevic holds a stellar 15/9/4/2/2 slash line through two games, while DeMar DeRozan (21.5 PPG), Ayo Dosunmu, and Javonte Green have all been heavily involved as well. Zach LaVine has had a tough time shooting thus far, but we know what he's capable of and we have to love the minutes he's seeing.
The Raptors are also playing their main guys quite a bit, with Gary Trent Jr., Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, and OG Anunoby all seeing at least 20 minutes per game over three preseason contests. None of them have truly stood out, though, as Precious Achiuwa (11/6 over 17.8 minutes per game) has led the way in terms of making the most out of his minutes. Chris Boucher is always lurking as well.
New Orleans Pelicans @ San Antonio Spurs
We have injuries galore on both sides of this game. Brandon Ingram, C.J. McCollum (updated: OUT), Trey Murphy, Herbert Jones, and Kira Lewis are all questionable for the Pelicans, while Keldon Johnson and Joshua Primo are questionable for the Spurs. Jaxson Hayes has already been ruled out for New Orleans.
There's not a lot we can do with analyzing the Pelicans until we hear about the status of the players above. Zion Williamson can be a core player if Ingram and/or McCollum sit, and I like him even if they play as he's averaging 17.9 minutes per game and he's Zion Williamson. Dyson Daniels (26.8 minutes per game) and Trey Murphy (25.7) have led the way in minutes played, and while I am interested in both, I'm more intrigued by point guard Jose Alvarado. Alvarado averages 23.1 minutes per game with 17 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals. Devonte' Graham is another name to watch, as he becomes more interesting if guys get ruled out.
The Spurs are going to run a deep rotation this season, and that has shown up in early preseason results. They have 13 players averaging at least 11.4 minutes per game, with 11 averaging at least 15.6 minutes per game. That makes getting to any one of these players difficult, especially when none of them have stood out from a performance standpoint. Devin Vassell and Tre Jones are the only pieces I'm looking at as they've been averaging at least 20 minutes per game and leading the way in usage.
Los Angeles Lakers @ Golden State Warriors
Well, well, well...this should be interesting. If you haven't heard by now, Warriors' teammates Draymond Green and Jordan Poole got in a scuffle at practice recently and it escalated to the point where Green landed a hard punch to Poole's face. The story got leaked, then the video leaked, and news dropped on Saturday that Green will be "stepping away from the team" for a while. I'd assume Poole is out until we hear otherwise. We'll have to keep a close eye on all this as the Warriors' core has already played in two preseason games and they could easily be "rest day" candidates. Klay Thompson (rest/knee) hasn't played this preseason and has already been ruled out for tonight's game. Curry, Wiggins, Poole, Green, and Looney are all averaging around 15 minutes per game and would need to be very efficient to hit value, while Kuminga, Moody, and Wiseman have seen minutes in the low-to-mid 20's.
We could see any combination of LeBron, AD, and Westy sitting out tonight's game, which makes this tough to evaluate. Dennis Schroder (updated: OUT), Juan Toscano-Anderson, and Troy Brown are all questionable to play. James and Davis have played about 16 minutes per game and Westbrook is averaging about 18 minutes per game, but the only big game out of the three came from Davis's 11/10/2/1 line in his lone outing. The Lakers have a large group of players seeing between 16 and 25 minutes, with Kendrick Nunn, Lonnie Walker, and Cole Swider (?) leading the way in scoring. Thomas Bryant, Scotty Pippen Jr., Austin Reaves, and Max Christie are other value pieces to watch.
Portland Trail Blazers @ Sacramento Kings
The only injuries to be aware of in this one are Gary Payton (abdomen) and Richaun Holmes (illness). Payton has a chance to play for the Blazers while Holmes is being listed as doubtful.
This should be an interesting game to target as the Blazers have given their core players more minutes per game than most teams have during the preseason. Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, Keon Johnson, Damian Lillard, Josh Hart, Jusuf Nurkic, and Trendon Watford all see at least 20 minutes per game. Of that crew, Johnson (11/3/5/2), Lillard (19/4/4/1/1) and Hart (5/9/3/1/1) have been the most productive. There are a few other spots we can look at here, too, with Justise Winslow and Nassir Little being multi-category contributors seeing decent playing time.
The Kings are always a mess, so why wouldn't that translate to the preseason? They've only played one game but Keegan Murray leads the team at 20 minutes per game, and to his credit, he put in work with a 16/6/1/2 slash line. De'Aaron Fox, Davion Mitchell, and Harrison Barnes are the names to watch here as Domantas Sabonis didn't do much in his 15 minutes last game and draws a matchup with Nurkic tonight. This game projects to play fast and feature little defense, so we will have options on both sides here.
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Los Angeles Clippers
The Wolves have played in two preseason games, and a few of their core guys have seen decent run in the preseason. Anthony Edwards (22.7 minutes per game), Jaden McDaniels (19.3), Jaylen Nowell (19), D'Angelo Russell (18.7), Naz Reid (18.3), Kyle Anderson (17.9), and Rudy Gobert (17) are the players who have seen noteworthy minutes. Still, all eyes on are whether Karl-Anthony Towns will be making his preseason debut next to the prized offseason acquisition in Gobert. He has been battling an infection that resulted in him being hospitalized, so we'll have to keep an eye on the news for updates on him.
The Clippers don't have any listed injury designations for tonight's game, but they've (understandably) been cautious with playing their star players big minutes during the preseason. George and Leonard played 16 minutes each in their one game played as the Clippers have played their rotational guys in starters' minutes. Guys like Jason Preston, B.J. Boston Jr., Xavier Moon, and Moussa Diabate lead the team in minutes per game. As if we needed a reminder that we are still in the preseason. Amir Coffey (21 minutes), Norman Powell (18.2), Moses Brown (16.9), and Ivica Zubac (16.7) are seeing enough minutes to be considered.
DraftKings DFS Top Plays
Nikola Vucevic - C ($8,500)
The Raptors don't have a (true) center to line up against Vucci, and he just put up 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists over 24 minutes on Friday against the Jokic-less Nuggets. I like DeRozan here as well, but Vucci Mane is my main target.
Jose Alvarado - PG ($3,000)
Alvarado was incredible with 28 points with five rebounds, one assist, and one steals over 25 minutes in his last preseason game. McCollum has been ruled out for this one, and the Spurs are one of the worst teams in the NBA this season. That typically means we'll have confidence in Alvarado doing his thing against any possible lineup combination San Antonio will throw at him.
Rudy Gobert - C ($8,800)
I don't see a path to Karl-Anthony Towns being active tonight, meaning Gobert will have another crack at hogging the frontcourt production against a squad that trots out Zubac and Moses Brown at the position. Gobert put up 5 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and two steals over just 17 minutes on Thursday against the Lakers - I think he's due for an even bigger line against the Clippers tonight. I'm calling for four blocks from the Frenchman.
Damian Lillard - PG ($9,000)
Lillard is worth paying up for tonight against the porous Kings' defense. He's expensive, but he's also a volume shooter averaging 18.5 points and taking seven threes per game. We'll take that all day in the preseason.
James Wiseman - C ($4,900)
It's really hard to know what to make of this Warriors' squad right now, but what we do know is that Wiseman is a former #2 overall draft pick who they want to get more ingrained in the system this season. As stated, Draymond Green won't be playing in this one and that frees up Wiseman for more frontcourt production. His 14-points-per-game average leads the team, and he's also adding six rebounds and one block per game.
Josh Hart - SG/SF ($7,100)
De'Aaron Fox - PG ($8,200)
DraftKings DFS Value Plays
My favorite plays on DraftKings for 5k or less.
Thomas Bryant - C ($3,000)
Ayo Dosunmu - PG/SG ($3,000)
Patrick Williams - SF/PF ($3,000)
Naz Reid - PF/C ($3,000)
Kyle Anderson - SF/PF ($3,900)
Davion Mitchell - PG ($4,400)
Chris Boucher - PF/C ($3,500)
Precious Achiuwa - C ($3,300)
Lonnie Walker IV - SG/SF ($3,200)
Kendrick Nunn - PG/SG ($3,400)
Jonathan Kuminga - SF/PF ($3,000)
