High Value SF
Players costing $6,250 or under
Taurean Prince (at NY – $6,100): Needs 26.9 fantasy points. Prince might be the best player on the Hawks. Trae Young will get the headlines, but he’s a rookie and I don’t trust rookies on opening night. I simply need to see something out of them before buying into any hype. Prince was hot to end last season and is the most reliable option on the Hawks. It helps that he’ll be playing the Knicks. Diagnosis: Prince could be a classic case of a good player on a bad team. His stats might not lead to wins, but he’ll get numbers.
Danilo Gallinari (vs DEN – $6,000): Needs 26.6 fantasy points. The biggest concern for Gallinari is making it through the game healthy. If he does that, he’ll already have hit value in my eyes. It’s tough to pin down how good Gallinari is due to his injury history, but when he’s on, he’s on. As mentioned, this should be a high scoring affair and it is Gallinari against his former team. Things are aligning for him if he makes it through the 48 minutes. Diagnosis: A risk only due to his injury history. Otherwise, a good matchup and proven scorer.
Bojan Bogdanovic (vs MEM – $4,500): Needs 19.8 fantasy points. Bogdanovic flamed out in the playoffs, but he was an important part of the Pacers offense in the regular season. The addition of Tyreke Evans will take some pressure off of him and he can do what he does best, which is hit open shots and pick up a couple of rebounds and assists. He torched Memphis in both games last season, although they will be better this year now that they are healthy. I still love him at this salary given how good he can be offensively. Diagnosis: The matchup is tough if Memphis returns to form on defense. But Bogdanovic will be helped by the Pacers system and new toy.
Quick Hits
Carmelo Anthony ($5,200): Maybe Houston can fix him.
Wesley Matthews ($4,600): No Harrison Barnes gives him more opportunities.