The first night of the NBA season is in the books. What it taught us is that when cooking up this casserole of success you need quality meat (Pascal Siakam, Kawhi Leonard) but also delicious seasoning (Josh Hart, Danny Green) aka, a few random players. Then again, those were perfect lineup plays with just 2 games on the schedule. Let's see how the lineups shake out now that the NBA has cranked the throttle with an 11 game card for today.

Tonight's DFS Headlines

Watching a few NBA roundup shows yesterday, a lot of the experts like big things from the Miami Heat and moreso Jimmy Butler ($7,600) this season calling them a top 3 team in the East. Miami is a -7.5 favorite over the Grizzlies and with Dion Waiters being suspended until the weekend, Butler should get tons of shots in this one.

Could Al Horford be a fantasy sleeper ($5,600) as he leads his new team (Philadelphia) at home vs. his old team (Boston). The Celtics get to break out a shiny new toy of their own with the debut of Kemba Walker ($8,100) who has escaped the basketball purgatory of playing for the Hornets.

There are a lot of new duos that came together in the offseason. One union that was formed last season but is making their first on-court appearance together is Kristaps Porzingis ($8,200) and Luka Doncic ($9,400). Porzingis hasn't seen the court in a regular season game since February of 2018 but looked great in the preseason.

How does Chris Paul ($7,400) feel about being exiled to Oklahoma City? Maybe he's a fan of native American casinos and absolutely loves the place? We'll find out shortly when the new-look Thunder visit the Jazz, Utah tries to see what Mike Conley ($7,500) can do playing for somebody other than Memphis for the 1st time in his 12-year career.

Guards

Tyler Herro (DK: $4800 FD: $3600 Y! $12) Ownership: N/A

Let's get some value into the lineup right away with Heat rookie Tyler Herro. With Dion Waiters' suspension, Herro should step into the Miami starting lineup - or at least see plenty of rotation time. Waiters' might be "Wally Pipp-ed" here as Herro is Charles Barkley's pick to be ROY. Jimmy Butler is also a fan of the Kentucky product (which is a good thing for DFS production) as he wore Herro's jersey in practice for some reason on Tuesday. Herro led the Heat in minutes in the preseason and responded with 14.4 points and 4.4 rebounds.  

Ja Morant (DK: $6600 FD: $7500 Y! $27) Ownership 0.79%

Speaking of rookies in the Miami/Memphis game, there's pretty good value on the unknown of Ja Morant. There may be more points than expected in this one. Memphis (103.5) and Miami (105.7) both had top 5 scoring defenses a year ago yet the total for Wednesday's game is 212. When looking at Morant's possible production for Memphis, the big question is - "who else is going to score?" Memphis' other starters include Dillon Brooks (played only 18 games last year with a toe rupture), Kyle Anderson (5.3 career ppg average), Jaren Jackson, Jr. (will probably foul out), and Jonas Valanciunas (missed entire preseason with foot soreness). It's Morant's team already.

Ricky Rubio (DK: $5800 FD: $6900 Y! $25) Ownership 1.03%

The fast paced game between Sacramento and Phoenix is one that Ricky Rubio is made for. The Kings gave up 115.3 ppg last season and the Sacramento back court duo of De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield are definitely more offensive minded (allowed 37.8 fppg to PG starters a year ago). Deandre Ayton looks poised for a breakout after averaging 14 points in 20 minutes for the Suns during the preseason, which should give Rubio a ton of assist opportunities. He had 9 assists and 3 steals in only 25 minutes in an October 16th preseason loss.

Forwards

Larry Nance, Jr. (DK: $5000 FD: $6300 Y!: $21) Ownership 1.02%

Believe it or not Larry Nance, Jr. had a pretty solid finish to the season in 2018/19, going for at least 38 fantasy points in each of the Cavs last four games. Granted, Kevin Love was shut down for all of those games and he's healthy for the opener, but there's a new era in Cleveland. John Beilein takes over at coach and actually wants Nance to shoot more this season, saying he was launching threes until he "was blue in the face." The trio of Nance, Love, and Tristan Thompson should all get plenty of minutes today between the PF and C positions as they go up against Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic.

Al Horford (DK: $5600 FD: $7000 Y!: $25) Ownership 1.15%

You have to get Al Horford in some lineups tonight. A) his price is great B) he's welcoming in the Celtics with whom he spent 3 seasons and C) it's a good matchup against the 6'8" Jayson Tatum. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid seem like the type of unselfish players (Tobias Harris, probably not so much) that will let Horford get his during the big man's Philly debut. Horford should also be able to be fresher on the offensive end and rebounding side after not having to bang down low with opposing C's...like Embiid.

Jarrett Culver (DK: $4100 FD: $4700 Y! $19) Ownership 0%

Andrew Wiggins is donating $22 for every point he scores to charity this season. At the end of the year, it might be charity cutting Wiggins a check. Even though he's just a rookie, Jarrett Culver looks like a much more productive piece in Minnesota's offense. The Texas Tech product averaged 12 fga in 23 minutes this preseason. The T'Wolves have Brooklyn tonight in what should be a sneaky fast-paced game (BRO 104.9, MIN 102.2 possessions per game last year). Karl-Anthony Towns had 'only' 37.25 fantasy points the last time he played the Nets and is up against a tough combo of Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan tonight. Culver should see minutes at G and F and the Nets are a bit thin in the front court with Wilson Chandler (PED) and possibly Rodions Kurucs (off-court) suspended for the opener.

Center

Nikola Jokic (DK: $9600, FD; $10800 Y!:$48 ) Ownership7.78%

Yes, Portland added Hassan Whiteside in the offseason as Jusuf Nurkic continues to recover from that gruesome leg injury. But how many minutes can you expect in the opener from the Blazers' new big man? Whiteside played in 3 of 5 preseason games, averaging just 17.3 minutes per. The other Trail Blazers big man acquisition, Pau Gasol, is out with a foot injury. That means a lot of Nikola Jokic vs. Zach Collins time. That matchup favors the Denver big man, as he should be approaching a triple-double today. When we last saw Jokic, he was averaging 25/13/8 in last year's postseason.

Utility Player

Kristaps Porzingis (DK:$8200 FD:$7700 Y!: $31) Ownership 0.91%

Ben Simmons might be the more reliable play with the remaining salary, but the Unicorn is back and there's much better ownership differential with Kristaps Porzingis. This isn't just a flier play either, Porzingis averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds in an average of 22.9 minutes in 4 preseason games. The 7'3" wunderkind also averaged 15.2 field goal attempts per game in the exhibition, meaning he is a big part of the Mavs offensive game plan. Porzingis has a significant size advantage over Washington's 6'8 rookie Rui Hachimura, and he's more athletic than 6'11" Thomas Bryant.

A lot of youngsters look good on tonight's card, hopefully opening night jitters don't lead to a night of masonry. Let's all get together in the LineStar Chat and discuss night two of pro hoops. You can also follow me, Carl Taylor (@dailydogsports) on Twitter for more DFS and sports betting talk.

Freeroll

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