Excitement is in the air for Tuesday night and not just because Nicki Minaj tied the knot yesterday - on a Monday. No, it's the opening night of the 2019/20 NBA season and although there are only two games on tap, it's still real.freaking.basketball.

Tonight's DFS Headlines

The great thing about these early season games for DFS purposes is that everybody is in the same boat. Coaches don't even really know how their rotations will pan out or how new teammates will mesh together. There are 6 new permanent head coaches in the league for the upcoming year, one of which, Frank Vogel, leads his Lakers squad into action tonight.

The Pelicans / Raptors game loses a little luster with the news that #1 draft pick Zion Williamson will miss the first 6-8 weeks of the season with a knee injury. Toronto will also look a lot different as Stanley Johnson takes the scepter from Kawhi Leonard as starting small forward.

The late game sees those Lakers up against Leonard and the Clippers. This game also loses a bit of its star appeal with Paul George being out possibly the first 10 games as he still battles back from that shoulder injury. It will still be interesting to see the dynamic between new teammates LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the two highest priced players on this opening night slate.

Guards

Fred VanVleet (DK: $4800 FD: $5600 Y! $15) Ownership: 5.24%

There's great value on Fred VanVleet here as Toronto has an opening for the 'face of the franchise' after Kawhi Leonard is off to LA. VanVleet just got done averaging 14.4 ppg and 7.7 apg in the preseason. The Raptors PG not only enters the final year of his NBA contract, he's a 'footwear free agent' as well. Talk about incentive to shine with all the eyes of the league upon you. Starter Kyle Lowry is coming off wrist surgery in the summer as well and is entering his age 34 season. It might be FVV time in the North.  

Quinn Cook (DK: $3300 FD: $3500 Y! $10) Ownership 2.22%

There's great upside on Quinn Cook tonight in his Lakers debut after coming over from the Warriors. Rajon Rondo (Q-calf) and Alex Caruso (P-pelvis) are both battling injuries on the depth chart. Best case scenario, Quinn logs a ton of minutes running the pick and roll with Davis and setting up for spot 3's after James' dribble penetration. Worst case scenario, Rondo and Caruso play, but Cook gets backup minutes and avoids the defensive matchup against Patrick Beverley while absolutely launching.

Jrue Holiday (DK: $7900 FD: $8700 Y! $32) Ownership 5.41%

The common sentiment with all the offseason acquisitions that New Orleans brought in is that Jrue Holiday is going to sit back and let his new teammates get theirs. The only rebuttal to that is, "this Jrue Holiday?" Holiday is a launcher regardless of who else is on the court and was 20th in fga per game last season (17.3). The great thing about Holiday is that he'll still shoot, but the influx of new talent to the Big Easy will also boost his DFS value. Holiday was an underrated 5th in the league in assists last season at 7.7 per game.

Forwards

Montrezl Harrell (DK: $6100 FD: $7300 Y!: $25) Ownership 6.05%

Montrezl Harrell is listed as a reserve, but he'll get the best of both worlds in terms of minutes behind Ivica Zubac (20.2 mpg) plus time at both center and power forward. Harrell was very impressive in the preseason, leading the Clippers in points per game (16) and rebounds (5.6). What's even better is that he averaged 22 minutes in the exhibition, but was also putting up 11.8 field goal attempts in that time.

Pascal Siakam (DK: $7600 FD: $8000 Y!: $34) Ownership 39.32%

Why not? The $7,600 price tag isn't bad at all for last year's breakout Raptors star Pascal Siakam. With nearly 40% ownership, if he underperforms, a lot of other people are in the same boat. With no Leonard and some new paper (4 years, $130 million), it's Siakam's turn to show he can be more than just a trusty sidekick. Siakam averaged 17/8 and a respectable 4 assists per game in the preseason while playing just 23 mpg. Both Brandon Ingram and Jahlil Okafor will be playing slightly out of position for New Orleans when they are at the 4 tonight, so Siakam should thrive.

Kawhi Leonard (DK: $9600 FD: $9900 Y! $46) Ownership 58.68%

Everybody knows the narrative with Kawhi Leonard tonight. New team, against the town rivals, national stage and no Paul George. If there's ever a night for Leonard to go for 40+ points this would be it. The Lakers should be better on defense with Vogel as the new coach, but Leonard usually gets his regardless. The MVP will be option A and 1A for Doc Rivers in the opener.

Center

Jahlil Okafor (DK: $3200, FD; $3700 Y!:$10 ) Ownership 5.51%

Jahlil Okafor is a nice NyQuil play out of the bargain bin on Tuesday. There's no Williamson and the two guys who ate up a lot of Okafor's production last season, Julius Randle and Anthony Davis, are no longer with the team. New Orleans is loaded on the perimeter but acquisitions like J.J. Redick and Brandon Ingram only stretch the defense and give the big man more room to operate in the paint. Plus, do Redick and Ingram feed their fellow "Duke Dude" to help get him in the groove early?

Utility Player

Nickeil Alexander-Walker (DK:$3400 FD:$3600 Y!: $10) Ownership 0%

If he can carry over his play from the preseason, New Orleans' Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a huge value play for Tuesday night's opener. The Virginia Tech product was the 4th highest scoring rookie this preseason with 15.4 ppg. He's returning to his hometown of Toronto (and gets to see them raise the championship banner) and should thrive in backup minutes. The Raptors will probably go small with VanVleet and Lowery to combat the Lonzo Ball/Holiday backcourt, meaning very favorable depth chart matchups for Alexander-Walker.

It's early in the NBA season, the first dang day! That means some value plays and some 'gut picks' that hopefully don't end up 'gut punches' until more data can be evaluated. Let's all get together in the LineStar Chat and discuss opening night. You can also follow me, Carl Taylor (@dailydogsports) on Twitter for more DFS and sports betting talk.

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