This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
With the early game between the Nets and Hornets removed, our Sunday NBA slate on DraftKings begins at 4:00 p.m. ET. Let's dive into the action.
SLATE OVERVIEW
BOS (-5) @ HOU O/U: 224.5
NYK (-12) vs. ORL O/U: 215.5
PHI (-8.5) @ OKC O/U:217.5
GSW (-3) @ SAC O/U: 231.5
LAL (-5.5) vs. MEM O/U: 221
The Warriors-Kings game is by far my favorite on the slate, and I'm looking to get involved there wherever possible. My exposure is limited for the Magic and the Rockets.
INJURIES
BOS Jaylen Brown (knee) - QUESTIONABLE
This is a wait-and-see situation for Brown. And since it is the earliest game on the slate, we should know more before the first lock. Due to Boston's tight rotation, I don't see any viable pivots worth mentioning here.
ORL Gary Harris (hamstring) - QUESTIONABLE
Harris hasn't taken the floor yet, and that's allowed Jalen Suggs ($5,200) to see more court time. A debut from Harris would likely curb Suggs' production.
NYK Nerlens Noel (knee) - QUESTIONABLE
NYK Taj Gibson (personal) - QUESTIONABLE
If both these players sit, Mitchell Robinson ($5,200) emerges as a more attractive play.
PHI Joel Embiid (knee) - QUESTIONABLE
We're probably going to see Embiid with a questionable tag reasonably often. But unless he's on a back-to-back, he'll continue to play. Andre Drummond (ankle) is doubtful, so Paul Reed ($3,000) would be in for a sharp minutes increase on the slight chance Embiid sits. Drummond's absence will cause a bump for Reed anyway, but not enough for DFS viability.
BACK-TO-BACK GAMES: Grizzlies
ELITE PLAYERS
Six players sit at $9k or above. Stephen Curry ($11,000) is at the forefront, who is in a terrific matchup against the Kings. His late-game heroics against the Clippers showed his free-wheeling, sharpshooting style is already firing on all cylinders. An ice-cold night from three can be a slate-breaker, but it's there despite the salary if you're looking for explosive upside. I'm also really impressed with Anthony Davis' ($9,400) current court time, and the ability to slot him at multiple positions makes him very playable tonight. I'd rank him ahead of Joel Embiid ($10,200) among big men, primarily due to the blowout potential for Philly against the Thunder. They're also playing LeBron James ($9,100) for 35-40 minutes so far, and his current value is still reasonable. My exposure is lowest to Russell Westbrook and Ja Morant. I think Westbrook needs a few more games before we trust his potential, and Morant's salary increase makes him a little less palatable on a slate with plentiful guard options. He's also on the tail end of a back-to-back.
EXPECTED CHALK AND CORE TARGETS
Julius Randle, NYK ($8,700) vs. ORL
The Magic look like they're currently the league's worst team, but I'm not worried about Randle's ability to strike up a double-double before a potential pull in the fourth quarter. After destroying the Magic two days ago, they'll now meet again at MSG. We'll likely see a close facsimile of the 21/10 double-double Randle recorded in Orlando, and possibly more as the Garden will be full of hungry Knicks fans cheering him on.
Christian Wood, HOU ($8,400) vs. BOS
Wood rattled off 61 DKFP against the Thunder, but he faces a stingier Boston team. It's still too early to trust defensive metrics, but he had little trouble putting up a double-double on the Celtics back in April. The frontcourt is slightly different, but Wood's ability to find open lanes should still give Boston headaches. 50 DKFP is a reasonable projection and that exceeds 5x value at this salary.
De'Aaron Fox, SAC ($8,300) vs. GS
As I said previously, this intrastate rivalry game is one of my favorites on the docket and Fox comes in at a very attractive value. His performance against the Jazz left a bit to be desired and it looks like Harrison Barnes is up to his early-season heroics, which is a carbon copy of what he did last season. That would hurt Fox's numbers and it'll probably do so again until he inevitably cools down. Barnes will have to deal with Draymond Green and Fox will have more room to move opposite Curry and Jordan Poole. His salary is still too good to pass up despite the disappointing start.
Tobias Harris, PHI ($7,800) @ OKC
Against a weak opponent, the Sixers probably won't take too many chances with Embiid, and I'm always a fan of Harris when their big man is hurting. Harris offers one of the most reliable floors on the slate, and getting less than 35 DKFP from him would be an anomaly. If Embiid is limited, a double-double bonus for Harris is a definite possibility.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC ($6,800) vs. PHI
I'm not encouraged by SGA's initial numbers, but he's too inexpensive to ignore as the Thunder's primary offensive option. His three-point shot was way off in the preseason and was equally bad against the Rockets, but he'll inevitably move toward the median at some point. Thanks to SGA's salary, exposure was high across the DFS community and he ended up as a bust. So this time around, I expect his rostership to plummet. He's reasonable enough not to hurt you too badly, so I think he's worth around 25 percent exposure in your MME builds.
Also consider: Jayson Tatum, BOS ($8,800) @ HOU
VALUE PLAYS
Robert Williams, BOS ($6,100) @ HOU
As the Celtics' starting center, Williams is hard to ignore at this value. His season debut wasn't so great, but he was one of the bright spots for Boston during the preseason. Williams faces a stiff opponent in the paint with Christian Wood and he'll be far less popular, but from a DFS perspective that can work to his advantage. I would play him for upside in large-field tournaments as a pivot from Wood in this matchup. However, Williams' C designation does limit his placement.
Seth Curry, PHI ($5,800) @ OKC
The Sixers played Curry 35 minutes in the opener, and that's an encouraging sign for his volume moving forward. It will be tough to quantify the correlation between Curry and Tyrese Maxey ($5,700), especially now that Ben Simmons' future with the team is in doubt. Curry had a tendency to stick around in lopsided games, but it's also possible they'll give Maxey more cleanup work. I prefer Curry more, but I think they're practically interchangeable at a similar value in this potential blowout.
De'Anthony Melton ($4,200) and Desmond Bane ($4,200), MEM @ LAL
I think DraftKings has the salary wrong on these two, but I won't complain about it. Both are playing upward of 30 minutes and demonstrated extreme upside throughout the preseason. They also racked up nearly identical FP averages so far, which were above 30 DKFP. This duo is ideal as a roster-filler after you've exhausted your salary on two-to-three elites because it seems like they'll remain critical pieces of Memphis' rotation.
Also consider: Mo Bamba, ORL ($6,200), Damion Lee, GSW ($3,500), Steven Adams, MEM ($5,000)
