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It's here! We've officially reached the opening night of the 2019/20 NBA season. It's a bit disappointing to lose Zion Williamson for 6-8 weeks before the season even starts, but both of these games should still entertain. The Raptors host the Pelicans early on as a seven-point favorite with a 231 total. We'll be primarily focusing on that game, as the total is huge and both teams have some mismatches. We'll be treated to a Kawhi versus LeBron duel to close the night, as the new and improved Lakers and Clippers look to start their hopeful season on the right foot.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 10/22/19. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on FanDuel. You can also check out today's DraftKings lineup picks.
Give me a follow on Twitter @DFSVarney and say hello. Good luck RotoBallers!
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FanDuel DFS Guards
Jrue Holiday - SG, @ TOR ($8,700)
His 25.4% usage is only going to go up from last season. The departures of AD and Randle will help, but so will the injury to Zion. Lonzo Ball is the PG on this team, but Holiday will handle the ball just as much, if not more than Ball. In the preseason, Holiday averaged more points and assists than Lonzo when both were in the game. The Pelicans are seven-point underdogs in a game with a 231 total, implying the Pelicans score 112 points. The Raptors aren’t going to be as strong on defense as they were last year, but they will still be great. With that said, Fred Vanvleet is a lot smaller than Holiday and he had his first plus defensive season last year. The Pelicans are going to need a lot out of Holiday if they want any chance to win this game, and he’s going to play a ton of minutes. Holiday is my favorite guard play on the slate.
Fred VanVleet - PG, vs. NO ($5,600)
Fred Van Vleet is going to pick up the start at SG and should play over 30 minutes. He’s a solid value at point guard, sitting at just $5600. Jrue Holiday is a solid defender, but I don’t think he will be matched up with him for most of the night as Holiday will be needed for others. The Pelicans also play extremely fast, and the Raptors have no problem joining with two point guards on the floor. This is the projected higher-scoring game of the two and you want as much exposure as you can get. You’re getting 30+ minutes of out of a guy that held a 24% usage rate before Kawhi Leonard came to town. For under $6k, Van Vleet is a rock-solid value option.
Quinn Cook - PG, @ LAC ($3,500)
Rajon Rondo is currently questionable to play with a sore calf and Quinn Cook will get the start if he’s out. He would get 28-32 minutes and be close to a lock in your cash games. Not only is Cook capable of putting up an FP per minute, but he allows you to pay up in other crucial spots. The match-up with Patrick Beverley is terrible, but it’s more about Cook being min-price and a guy that’s always produced when on the floor. Make sure Rajon Rondo is ruled out before considering Quinn Cook.
FanDuel DFS Forwards
Pascal Siakam - SF, vs. NO ($8,000)
You don’t need me to tell you LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard are in play. Pascal Siakam is too cheap on FanDuel and he’s going to go under-owned at small forward (Don’t ask me why he’s listed at SF). If we’re going by the last preseason game after Zion was out, Redick slid in at SF and Ingram moved down to PF. Brandon Ingram is a praying mantis and he has no chance to ride with the physicality of Siakam down low. Derrick Favors will likely match-up with him a ton as he’s the only guy who can stay with him physically, but he’s still far too slow in the feet. Siakam is a huge match-up issue here and he’s too cheap. Plug and play.
Anthony Davis - PF, @ LAC ($12,100)
Anthony Davis is going to torture this Clippers interior tonight. Montrezl Harrell and JaMychal Green are simply too small, and Zubac isn’t strong or fast enough. With Kawhi Leonard smothering LeBron, he’ll have no problem deferring to AD for the night in a dream match-up with an undersized frontcourt. The price is certainly prohibitive, but 70 fantasy points is never out of the question when Davis is in a solid match-up and he can break the slate if he does that.
Brandon Ingram - SF, @ TOR ($6,300)
Brandon Ingram is going to struggle on defense, but if he can stay out of foul trouble, I expect him to play 36+ minutes and touch the ball a ton. He also stuffs the stat sheet, so minutes = money to even a greater extent with him. With Zion Williamson out, Ingram is going to play at both the three and four. While he's going to have his own issues on defense, he presents issues for Siakam as well with his speed and ability to stretch the floor. Ingram is $6300 on FanDuel and a near-lock to hit value.
FanDuel DFS Centers
Marc Gasol - C, vs. NO ($6,500)
The Raptors are going to create match-up nightmares down low in this game. If my suspicion is right and Favors is forced to cover Siakam at the four, that would put Jahlil Okafor at the five. Okafor has the size to stay with anyone, and his speed actually matches up pretty well with Marc Gasol. Gasol just has a huge skill advantage and is a far more natural rebounder. I expect Gasol to play at least 28-30 minutes and you should get plenty of production for $6500.
