It's the start of the NBA season and although my focus for the next several months will be on NFL, during the week I need something to do and will be dabbing a bit into NBA DFS. That said, I might as well put out a couple articles on my DFS picks when I do play. Just note, I play periodically and don't expect to put these articles out on a regular set schedule. These will be less detailed than my NFL articles but as always will include guys I will be playing in my own lineups.
Tonight we focus on the 11-game NBA slate. Picks include a combination of value and top dollar plays. I utilize defense vs position in a lot of my NBA analysis and must point out www.hashtagbasketball.com for their great collection of matchup data. Let me know your thoughts on tonight slate in the comments below. Without further ado, here are my top picks on the slate.
Nicolas Batum
Batum comes in as a value play on both slates tonight visiting the Chicago Bulls. I actually like both Batum and Walker tonight in what should be a high scoring road game. The Bulls are very weak at almost every position defensively but offer one of the best matchups for both the small forward and shooting guard position. More to the point, the Bulls just gave up 20 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds to Wes Matthews in their last game who was frustratingly bad at offense last year. I suspect Batum comes out tonight with a very similar if not better stat line against the Bulls, making him an easy value.
Devin Booker
I love the PHO @ LAL game a tonight. You really can't go wrong picking players from this game as neither team is very interested in playing defense. My main guy from this game, however, has got to be Devin Booker who should have no trouble putting up a ton of points in the matchup. His usage is high, plays high minutes, is efficient, puts up large point totals, and gets assists. In a home game with a 238.5 point total, Booker should eat.
LeBron James
If I can find room to fit LeBron's salary tonight, I'm all about getting exposure to him. As mentioned, this game should have a crazy amount of offense. The Pheonix Suns just don't guard anyone, let alone King James. He is missing some key pieces due to suspension which should mean more usage to James. More so, the Lakers are 0-3 entering tonight and I have a feeling James won't let them go 0-4. Although the Lakers are looking for ways to limit his minutes during the regular season, James did play over 42 minutes last game and no less than 37 in the previous. James should get plenty of run against one of the worst defenses teams on the road. Take him all day.
Those are my top plays going into tonight's NBA DFS slate. I intend to keep these articles short and sweet, so let me know in the comments if you have any other recommendations. Enjoy and let's win some money!
