Fansided

NBA DFS Picks and Pivots – Opening night

By Brian Tulloch

TORONTO, ONTARIO - OCTOBER 13: The Toronto Raptors stand during national anthem before playing the Chicago Bulls in their NBA basketball pre-season game at Scotiabank Arena on October 13, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - OCTOBER 13: The Toronto Raptors stand during national anthem before playing the Chicago Bulls in their NBA basketball pre-season game at Scotiabank Arena on October 13, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
TORONTO, CANADA – JUNE 2: Pascal Siakam #43 hi-fives fred Vanvleet #23 and Kyle Lowry #7 of the Toronto Raptors during Game Two of the NBA Finals on June 2, 2019 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA – JUNE 2: Pascal Siakam #43 hi-fives fred Vanvleet #23 and Kyle Lowry #7 of the Toronto Raptors during Game Two of the NBA Finals on June 2, 2019 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /

NBA DFS – Run it back with the Champs:

Much as we talked usage with the stars in LA, do not overlook the impact that removing a star can leave behind as Kawhi Leonard’s team-high usage of 30% last year is now in LA which means the defending champs in Toronto have a whole lot of usage to pick up.

More from DFS

It will likely not shock you looking at the numbers that essentially every member of the Toronto starting five sees an uptick with Kawhi off the court as all of Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Marc Gasol see 2-3% usage bumps if you take both Kawhi and Jonas Valnciunas (now in Memphis) off the court last season. The key takeaway here is that we don’t see a direct usage spike for any one player and instead see the benefit more broadly spread out which makes sense on a team-first squad like Toronto.

While we know the Pelicans play at a scorching pace, they also ranked bottom 10 in the league in defensive rating during the second half of last season so if Toronto is going to play at the same pace they showed in the preseason, I think you can load up on any and all of the starting crew from Toronto.

Much like the Pelicans, the Raptors are very fairly priced with their stars, Kyle Lowry ($12.7K) and Pascal Siakam (13.8K) being the only real spend ups here and with a smaller Pelicans team opposing them it makes Fred VanVleet ($9.4K) an amazing value to offset the “pricier” plays.

Slate Summary: While you can look at this Raptors/Pelicans game and stack it based on the projected pace, I think what really makes this game appealing is how the pricing works. On FantasyDraft as an example, where we are required to play one player from at least three teams, I think grabbing one stud from the LA trio of Kawhi, LeBron and AD and pairing them with a reasonably priced game stack of Toronto and New Orleans is the ideal build.

Normally, I love a good Stars and Scrubs build but tonight I think that becomes increasingly popular with folks trying to jam in all three of the LA stars which is certainly doable and would leaves you $9.8K per player on FantasyDraft for the last 5 spots on your roster. The issue I see there is you are far more reliant on the secondary pieces from the Lakers and Clippers who simply will not see the same level of usage or ceiling as the secondary plays from Toronto and New Orleans.

Well, it is great to have the NBA back in our lives and I cannot wait to bring you NBA DFS Picks and Pivots for every single slate. Welcome back kids!

NBA DFS 101 - Daily Fantasy Basketball Strategy Guide. dark. Next

Stay tuned to FanSided Fantasy each and every day for all the latest NBA DFS news and analysis!