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NBA Preseason DFS: Monday, 10/7 – Mt. Zion’s debut

By Dan Palyo

MADISON, NEW JERSEY - AUGUST 11: Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans poses for a portrait during the 2019 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot on August 11, 2019 at the Ferguson Recreation Center in Madison, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
MADISON, NEW JERSEY - AUGUST 11: Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans poses for a portrait during the 2019 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot on August 11, 2019 at the Ferguson Recreation Center in Madison, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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NBA Preseason DFS: Pelicans @ Hawks

Hawks: Evan Turner, Chandler Parsons, Ray Spaulding, and Allen Crabbe are all OUT. Cam Reddish and Kevin Huerter are QUESTIONABLE. Alex Len is PROBABLE.

Pelicans: Darius Miller is OUT. Jaxson Hayes and Derrick Favors are QUESTIONABLE. I would be surprised if Favors plays. 

This is the game, people! Atlanta and New Orleans both played at super-fast paces last year and didn’t play much defense at all! Add in the fact that Atlanta is missing a bunch of players and that means they are going to be one of my favorite teams to target tonight. Trae Young is expensive, but showed us last year he can fill it up in a hurry. The Pelicans were one of the worst teams in the league to opposing point guards, too. John Collins is the other guy from Atlanta with a nice ceiling. He took a huge step forward last year with some big games. Both of those guys have solid potential in this spot tonight.

Rookie first-rounder De’Andre Hunter should start at small forward and is a guy I am excited to see for the first time in an NBA uniform. How he meshes with Young and Collins remains to be seen, but he’s an incredible athlete with an excellent skill set. Bembry and Parker should soak up a lot of minutes on the wing and are solid options, too.

Ok, so I buried the lede here a bit but on the New Orleans side, we get to see the number one overall pick, Zion Williamson. There hasn’t been this much hype over a rookie in the league since perhaps LeBron James and Zion just happens to be debuting in a great spot here tonight as big men just destroyed the Hawks last season. Even if he doesn’t hit many shots tonight, he should be able to dominate the glass and rack up some counting stats. He’ll be a chalky play, but it’s pretty easy to fit him on either site and I intend to play him.

The other Pelicans on this new-look New Orleans team that interest me are Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Jahlil Okafor. Jrue Holiday is interesting but I could see him deferring to the young bucks tonight and having his minutes limited. Ball is a stat stuffer who should excel playing at the fast pace at which the Pelicans like to run, and Ingram is another good young player who is ready to break out. He was great for the Lakers down the stretch last season while LeBron was out and has a very fantasy-friendly game. Okafor is a pretty one-dimensional player but could pick up some extra minutes tonight if Favors and/or Hayes sit out.

Elite Plays: John Collins, Trae Young, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram

Also Consider: De’Andre Hunter, De’Andre Bembry, Jabari Parker, Lonzo Ball