 What's going on and welcome to the NBA DFS Q&A. My name is Tom Vecchio I'm here for the next 30 minutes to take your questions about tonight's NBA slates You can follow me on Twitter at DFS underscore Tom You can find the daily ISO the daily NBA podcast right here on number fire comm You can find my articles. I do the three value plays. You can find that here as well Should be a good slate. We have we have a loaded at 10 games Of course, there's you know a ton of injury news that we have to pay attention to we already had LeBron James ruled out on tonight's slate. We are waiting on the status of Anthony Davis He was a bit banged up at the end of the game last night against the Spurs with this knee injury So we're waiting on whether or not he will be playing You know all of this could elevate Russell Westbrook as simply an amazing play considering he's only $8400. We'll get to some injury news I can take your questions about different players We can go through some some betting lines or whatever it might be Sports media on youtube is asking Westbrook ad stack tonight. I think that's Certainly reasonable and I think it should be very very popular It's just a matter of whether or not anthony gave his place. We have to wait on that wait on that information You know his list has questionable now I assume we won't be getting that in total very very close to tip Of course, this is an eight o'clock game. Hopefully we get it before line-up slot At seven I actually have to be able to pivot off of him If need be I I know I'm certainly looking to roster him just look what he did last night Going up against the Spurs with LeBron now just massive Fantasy points, you know a double double machine looking like he did when he was with the pelicans for so many years So player, I know I want to roster it's going to be Davis It's going to be a lot of Westbrook considering Westbrook's only $8400 He's looking like one of the absolute plays of the slate Just giving that usage giving his ability to push towards a triple double specifically with LeBron now And if anything, Davis is out it's going to be even greater tonight When it comes to some betting lines on tonight's slate I think there's some really interesting spots to attack some player props some game lines I like Memphis on the road I like them on the road with the points. That's a spot. I already took I took It was a Gary Trent player prop over two and a half threes for Toronto. I took CJ McCullum over 31 and a half points rebounds assist combined I think it's going to be a very high scoring game between Portland and Memphis. I think that this is a game that you want to have, you know, certainly some exposure to in DFS What else did I take? I took a bam out of bio to have a double double tonight going up against the brooklyn nats. We just saw Or we've seen over the past, you know a few games to start the season They're clear like lack of rebounding is very very apparent for them. The nets are Where the nets right here their lack of rebounding is very apparent in the early portion of the season You know opening night. It doesn't really matter Who they're going up against they're just giving up too many rebounds. They don't have a ton of size I know the mark solidridge and paul milsap can rotate in and out even nick clackston I just see bam out of bio going out there for like a 20 and 15 type of game an 18 and 13 type of game So bam out of bio to have a double double. That's where I also went tonight Also looking at brandening room over 34 and a half points rebounds assist combined A role player or I should not say a player that's elevated because there's no real Solid role player as a secondary option for the pelicans. I've spoken about this many times The solo on the daily iso to start this season I just think that he's going to be in a spot for plenty of usage with no zion this season Loveless match up overall Close ish spread with five and a half points of 219 over under we like to see that hit the over so that's a spot that I'm Looking to tonight Clayton tonight, which Clayton are you talking about? Which Clayton are you talking about who's on the slate? Andrew Carlton on facebook view could just clarify that uh, hopefully give you an answer on this slate Uh, I think that there's a lot of value plays that we could be looking at obviously there's a ton of injuries We also need to be focusing on uh, not so little could be in for uh, Norm Powell norm Powell is ruled out again. We saw not so little get the start for the past two games Claxton is You know Claxton is a player that I'm personally high on. I think that he has certainly some upside Um, you know his rotational minutes. We know are going to be fluctuating on a game by game basis where you know He's up over 20. He's below 20. He's producing under one fan to point per times He's producing over one fan to point per times. He's a gbp play at best for me He's not going to be in the starting lineup We know that lamarcus oligarch will be the first big off the bench usually for the net So I like him as a fine gbp play you're obviously hoping for this over one fan to point per minute upside But again, that's not something you can count on on a game by game basis So, uh as a gbp dart throw if you're looking to like expand your player pool, uh, that is fine Austin is asking tom we need to find a dorky mid-range type of head head fan to a point bet for tonight's slate Who do you like in the $6,000 range? uh Do you mean point guard or Austin is asking this of course filled in for me on the daily iso the other day does our Uh, does the nascar does the ufc podcast writes about nascar here if you're looking for a point guard in tonight's uh mid-range Uh, you know ricky rubio should just be a plug-and-play. I think that's fine Uh, hallow burton, uh, I love that scoring upside for him. Obviously not the easiest matchup going up against The suns but I like the the volume of shots that he can certainly put up Especially when deer and fox is off the court and starting to fill up the rest of the stat sheet as we saw Uh, sports is asking again. Can we trust zubats again tonight? Uh, I think you can I'm really fond of the clippers tonight I already took them minus eight or eight and a half whatever was Uh, I got them at uh, I think that's a good spot for them I think that were I think the clippers are a team that's going to be a little bit slept on tonight Where everyone's going to be looking to spend up, you know at the small forward range getting to a tenth cumpo With drew holiday out with low pez out. It's really just going to be a tenth cumpo millton running the show from the walkie Of course, plenty of people will play durant. I think tatum's in a great spot I think paul george is going to be slept on a little bit along with the other Uh, the other clippers players just because this matchup overall Uh, where is it doesn't shape up to be like the best fantasy environment? And obviously there are other games that are certainly a bit more enticing. There's certainly some blowout potential for the clippers You know two eighteen and a half over under isn't the highest on the slate So I think some of the clippers players could go a little bit overlooked and yeah, I do like zubat I do like paul george, uh, tonight Uh, does mccullum also go off tonight or is his cost too high? I personally like mccullum He's been playing really really well to start the season. Uh, he was on fire last year to start the season When he gets in these shooting streaks like he is a player that can knock down, you know four five six threes in the game As I said, I already took mccullum over 31 and a half or 32 points rebounds assist combined Right, uh, I think it's 32 and a half Yeah, I'm pretty sure 31 or 32 and a half for mccullum. It's 31 and a half here Seeing a minus 113. I I like mccullum over tonight I think he's going to continue to fill up those statutes, especially with littler like lacking in production recently Of course, I spoke about lillard to an extent on the daily iso on the podcast today because his salary is obviously super Super affordable and this is the type of matchup where he could really really go off Uh, you know for that 60 point ceiling. He uh, he's been known to have what do you think about valentunas tonight? Uh, you know, it's a it's a good matchup for him I think he's another player that probably will get slept on overall at center I know a lot of people will be looking to pay up. I think sabonis and adabio are awesome Options you could certainly spend down a little bit I'm still big on robert williams even with al whoreford returning to the lineup And I think a lot of people look to be a little bit creative with their roster construction Obviously mo bamba has looked really solid for elandos. Yes. I like valentunas tonight He's not my top option overall at center But I do think that the consistency should be there for him And again, I'm expecting the over in that game sitting at 2 19 and a half Uh would go along with hopefully my branded ingram bet Uh dj on facebook is asking which former bull is a better play gafford or window carter and stack the uh Stack the raptors wizards nets or clippers okay, uh So I would go with uh gafford for that one gafford and carter I would go with gafford and then stack the raptors wizards nets or clippers Well clippers could easily put up I don't know 125 points tonight. It could be a bit of a blowout against cleveland That's obviously within the ramble possibility. I I have a lot of interest in this Indiana and The raptors game, you know, it's got a very close spread only one point the overunder isn't amazing I'd be more interested in some of the raptors players than I am the pacers players If we look to, you know, offensive pace Uh possessions this year indianas all the way up at three, right? They've been playing a lot of high scoring a lot of close games You know kind of where they were at the end of last year toronto's all the way down to 28 in the league right now Uh, you know playing a bit slow. You obviously don't have as much offensive fire powers They did last year, but if toronto's gonna be playing up in pace against indiana I would side more with the raptors players tonight compared to the pacers players. So clippers raptors And then wizards, I think are all in play. You could say the nets have a tougher matchup Going up against The heat tonight That's certainly, you know, not the easiest matchup in the world So i'm a little bit hesitant on some of The nets players tonight, of course harden and gerand can always go off. I do like bruce brown As a value options tonight, but not trying to overexpose myself to the nets tonight austin saying it was a trick question the $6,000 range makes you upset Uh Lillard sellers lillard salary is $8,200 I am looking to have plenty of exposure to lillard You know, it's kind of you know, one of my I guess you call it like flag plants of the day where 8200 is simply too cheap for lillard Obviously not given the production he's shown this year, but given the production that he's shown in years past I expect some you know positive regression for his fandom points per minute his usage Obviously, he's been very very cold uh from downtown to start the year. I think he's only hit two three corners If I remember correctly, like he's o of is o of 9 207 and o of 8 from from downtown He's obviously a significantly better three-point shooter than those, you know, this three game sample size So i'm going to be looking to you know buy back in on lillard at a decreased salary hoping that he really goes for a ceiling gig DJ is asking of those four stacks. Which players would you start with? That's a good question You know zubach i'm totally fine with there paul george Reggie jackson, I think he's been you know sneaky consistent for the clipper So those would be the main three then I said the raptors I'm still big on scotty barns, you know scotty barns and pressures are Jewish should still be popular Vin fleet will basically always get there. His usage is going to be super high He's going to probably be one of the most consistent players in mba dfs But my kind of you know dart throw pick is gary trend Love the three-point volume from him The pacers are allowing 13 made threes from their opponents per game to start the season I took the over on gary trend Three-point prop tonight, which I think is one and a half two and a half Uh, two and a half. I took the over on gary trend's three-point prop. So I would go uh barns Vin fleet trend and then achua in that order, you know, I think achua is still going to be a solid option But I don't want to be factoring in everything just given the you know, his position I want to be Uh prioritizing other players at the center or power forward position Andrews asking need a value center right now I am rolling with plumlee but have my doubt time. So I think plumlee is a solid option overall The issue I have is it's more about this game environment where we're looking at a Uh, where is it? Matt, you know 220 over under and it's a five and a half point spread Um Would you be shocked if this game hit the under and the hornets control this game from start to finish? And it's a bit of a blowout just because it happens to be Orlando and we know Orlando is a super weak team You know, no, I don't think anyone would be super shocked in that scenario If the hornets control that game. So I understand plumlee being a safe option or a consistent option But his upside I think is a little bit lacking tonight just given the The context of the game. So if you have the salary and you can get up to john collins I think that would be great If you want to drop down and take the value with a chua who I do think is fine I think that's also an option and then dropping down to zubak could also be there. So I think zeller is fine tonight. He's just not moving the needle in a big way. I think some of the other The other options around him are great If a sports is asking and if ad is announced out tonight, who do you like to pair with westbrook? Now that's the real interesting question if anthony davis is going to be out tonight Westbrook is going to be an awesome play. I really like carmelo anthony Tonight it's not something I say too often, you know, it really goes down to what their starting lineup could look like Let's just give this a quick refresh You know, what they're starting lineup We don't have any updated news yet But what their starting lineup will look like if davis happens to be out because he was banged up last night Obviously, we're not going to be expecting Dwight howard to be in there. I assume it's going to be carmelo anthony That's my assumption. It'd be westbrook monk basemore anthony and jordan now of that lineup Deandre jordan and ken basemore aren't big like volume shooters, right? Where we're going to be looking at monk who certainly played well last night To certainly fill up some of the missing shots and then alongside carmel anthony westbrook is going to be there getting his volume You know getting his offensive usage But I do like carmelo anthony to step in and kind of fill some of that offensive void and get over 10 field goal attempts again So it would be westbrook carmelo anthony then malik monk for me in that order Neely on twitch is asking looking at these four guys for points rebounds and assist parlays Uh pg sabonis tray on the maculam. How do you feel about that? So I already took the over on maculam I already took the over on 31 or 32 and a half whatever was I forget Sabonis is like one of my absolute go-tos Just because he has like a double double or close to a triple double on a nightly basis. So I absolutely love that I assume you mean pg 13 instead of pg 3 pg 13 for paul george I I think that's it's a super easy matchup for him against cleveland I'm worried about the blowout potential because we're dealing with a Larger spread and I wouldn't be surprised if the clippers just kind of run them out of the gym So I'm a little bit lukewarm on that and then tray young of course the match up for tray young against the pelicans is Super easy like we're not going to be worried about their defense at all They're giving up, you know, 46 fan two points per game to opposing point guards tray young is going to be out there Dishing the ball is going to be out there You know putting up some three is like not worried about that at all again Kind of my the theme I'm going with I think this game is going to hit the over of 219 That's what I'm kind of buying into with brandon ingram. So of those four guys. I would say that mccullum is my favorite That's what I've already taken. I'll probably take sabonis Uh then tray young and then I assume that's pg 13 instead of pg 3 Grimm on youtube is asking nerkage or steven adams. Uh, that's a good question in this Uh, you know mid tier or so at center Uh, nerkage, I think is is a solid really solid option. You could say that the match up against steven adams isn't super easy But if the this game hits the over, uh, which I'm expecting it to and we're going to end if by chance Lillard continues a Lack of production the scoring from portland has to come from somewhere and it's I would say mccullum number one And then nerkage two, uh, I will say I did already take nerkage to have a double double at It's only plus 110, but I did take nerkage to already to post a double double So I am on board with that if you want to go to steven adams. I think that's also fine I'm not worried about the portland defense Uh, really at all. I don't think anyone should be worried about the portland defense He's obviously been super consistent to start the year. So if you want steven adams and nerkage to have a double double I'm not going to be surprised if you're asking me head to head. I would have to have adams odds Let's just see if his odds are posted for Uh, to post a double double to record a double double. Here we go I mean plus 200 is obviously better than than nerkage. So I if you're asking me head to head about those I would of course take adams at the at the plus money instead of nerkage at minus 105 CP three triple double tonight, um, you know that that's Let's see what his odds are because it's obviously, uh an option for For chris paul to do that the issue I have is the potential for a blowout Right where fenus gets up by a lot The kings can't keep up with them and then he gets pulled early plus 9500 It's obviously fantastic odds I would just prefer to to search for triple doubles in games with really high over unders and close spreads Just because we know that players will be out there for you know, the full game if chris paul only played 30 minutes night and the the sun's win this game Easily i'm not going to be surprised because it's a match up against sacramento So if it were a little bit closer spread a little bit higher higher of an over under I would have a bit more interest Uh, andrew on facebook is saying I was at naquilla. I was at a walker solid plate tonight Or does a potential blowout hurt him? I'm a big fan of na w Player that I wrote about at I would say many many times last year I think that you can be looking to him basically on a nightly basis. I don't think he's a threat for A blowouts just because we know that the pelicans are lacking offense And if he's going to continue to see this volume of shots, which is absolutely awesome Like I want to say really being a secondary score behind ingram because Ingram's volume of shots to start the season is awesome 20 or more in four straight games And we're seeing na w at 16 or more in three or four. I think that's fantastic He's obviously shooting a ton of three. So I am fully on board with na w basically Every single night In total something like dramatic changes Within their rotation Zion comes back and he starts to lose field with temps We will worry about that when we have to get there, but I am on board with na w each and every night $6100 I think is a super fine salary and again This is another game that I could expect to hit the over Whereas we're on 16th right now in pace. Atlanta is 22nd We should see Atlanta playing up in pace, you know The pelicans want to keep the scoring going to keep up with lantha who ultimately is the better team Austin is saying I'm worried about nurtures minutes like some I look at more than I do Definitely think a double double can happen 18 minutes though Yeah, I'm the minutes aren't super amazing But this game just trending the way that it is with a 233 and a half over under 234 and a half over under jumped up a little bit of two-point spread You know, it should be super close. All the starters should be out there for plenty of minutes Uh, you know, I want to buy into You know, I don't know if it's you want to think of it a little bit of it's hedging But I as I said before I said on the podcast. I said it now. I want to have a lot of lillard in Dfs tonight at $8200. I really think it's a good match up. He's just He's going to bounce back at some point Right. He's just too good of a player to continue to produce, you know, this uh, this little to start the season so i'm buying into Uh, dame big time in dfs and then i'm also betting on nerkage to hit a double double because a dame You know busts in dfs and he doesn't work out at least hopefully nerkage picks that back up And does get the double double So I don't know if you want to call that hedging or whatever it might be but that's something that I like to do so i'm on both sides of it grim is asking bruce brown or patty mills I wrote up bruce brown today as a value playing On number fire.com. I do three values every day He is grading out as one of the better Or is it one of the better guards? I think tonight he was projected obviously it's going to change with the lebron james You know, so it's obviously not going to be the same but i'm big on bruce brown Just love his minutes are going to be consistent If I can find him here brown Oh, he's still at the top So he's projected highly. I like his ability to you know, fill up a stat sheet. You can knock down a couple threes Grab some blocks and steals. I obviously provide tremendous fantasy value But the upside the upside lies with patty mills. That's where the upside comes from The volume of threes he's taking off the bench is really encouraging to start to start the season 679 in these three games over 10 field attempts off the bench in a crowded offense In three of the four games he's going to be playing a ton of minutes So I do like bruce brown, but I like patty mills a little bit more based on this potential upside Uh, obviously bruce brown doesn't have the same scoring ceiling that patty mills does So I would go with patty mills over bruce brown Uh, why is fangal begging us to play russ and dame tonight? Well, dame's been struggling. That's uh, that's absolutely a fact. Uh, his Production is obviously just not where we expected it to be to start the season But he's and that's and that's you know, it just that's where salary should be He's been lacking production now Obviously the salaries came out for tonight's slate last night as the slate locked Obviously they came out, you know, it's seven to one right after the slate locks and Westbrook didn't go for 63 points before the salaries came out and now we have the news that LeBron James is out and anthony davis may not play who's listed as questionable. Hopefully we can get an update on this Uh, it's just a russel westbrook kind of night And I don't know if you want to factor in that he's going up against okloma city his former team Take that for what you will but With no lebron with the potential for no anthony davis If anthony davis does play how healthy is he is going to be one of those situations where davis plays and he starts and then 16 minutes into the game he goes to locker room and then doesn't return and then it's just the russel westbrook show I'm in on westbrook tonight. I am fully in on him. He's going to be one of the players. I have the most exposure to tonight sports is asking Who's your top fantasy player tonight in the $4,000 range? At a specific position or just overall because if you give me like a specific position a little more detail That will make things a little bit easier on the $4,000 range Well, bruce brown is there. So I certainly like him. You could molly bunk. We know is going to be super chalky Especially if davis gets rolled out. I expect him to be popular to begin with I'd like some of the production that we've been seeing from anthony simons off the bench for the trailblazers You know, he's picking up some of the offense of slack if dame is struggling You know his minutes should be around 20 per game I can certainly get that three-point shot going if that game hits the over. Hopefully he will be producing as well Shooting guard. All right shooting guard in the $4,000 range. So I'm going to lean again to Bruce brown. I think that's fine patty mills is 4500 also a fine option Malik monk is here lukinard, you know, I don't know Where his shooting comes from sometimes, but if he can get this hot He makes a nice a gvp option again a player that shouldn't be super popular Ken baysmore, I assume will be somewhat chalky just because The increased offense of it availability for the lakers But there's not too much down here gary trend is how much is gary 20s 40? Yeah, 4600. So I would take gary trend. I would take patty mills bruce brown These sorts of players in here. We're looking for some, you know, some scoring upside I will say joe harris not to add a third nets player in here, but I believe he's only two or three three pointers away from Setting the record for the nets for the most all-time Three-pointers and nets history. I think he's about to tie or pass jason kid So if you want to buy into that that's certainly an option, but I would stick with monk simons patty mills those sorts of players Oh, you meant small forward. Okay small for we're going to small forward But those are some shooting guard options at the $4,000 ring. So the $4,000 range at small forward Obviously, we're gonna have some of the same players Uh crossing over with the dual position eligibility Uh But tomb could be a sneaky option Kevin herder gary trend again not so little. I'm pretty big on not so little especially if Norm Powell is out again Really solid minutes for him. Obviously, don't worry about this first game. He obviously didn't start But in the games that he did start Really solid production from not so little a great game environment going up against The grizzlies 234 and a half over under it's a close spread. So if pal was out I like little if you need to go a little bit cheaper I could look to kevin herder gary trend Again, maybe joe harris if you want to buy into that Uh, no one like is jumping off the page at me tonight You know Yeah, bobby portis doesn't have dual position eligibility. It's it's yeah, it's power forward center So I do like bobby portis. I was one of my favorite value plays, but he's not a small forward Do you plan on being overweight more to yannis or carl if any talents tonight from diffuse on youtube? Uh, I plan on being overweight on yannis tonight 11,200. I think that there's obviously a ton of value on a 10 game slate and just given the Potential production that he brings on a on a nightly basis when they're fully healthy is obviously unbelievable Removing brook low pez removing Drew holiday from their lineup I think grants him another 60 plus points tonight, you know 55 65 points or so tonight That's really where he should be a few extra rebounds with no Brooke low pez. Yes, I know bobby portis should be in there. He's taken a few more threes this year, which is good to see You know, he's more confident pulling up in shots, which is good to see. So my answer is yannis A little bit overweight on him compared to carl until he towns Was curious to hear tom's answer on that monk is the obviously obvious chalk dork 4,800 was much better last year, but he's getting He's getting men's tarant span that shouldn't see a bump without morris senior I agree with all that more. Malik bunk is clearly the chalk at Shooting guard slash small forward whatever you want to call it with Lebron james out central for anthony gave us to be on malik monk Really should be out there for again 30 to 35 minutes Plenty of field goal attempts from him The 10 field goal attempts obviously is a bit of an outlier that game was super close Went to overtime. So we can't be trusting on 10 but 5 6 maybe 7 3 point attempts from malik monk Certainly in play hopefully going for 30 plus standard points. I know I will have plenty of shares of malik monk Just because it's such a great spot for him and Really anyone on the lakers. We're not worried about the match against the thunder. Yes, the 216 point over under isn't amazing With You know a lower over under considering some of the other options we have on the sleep But the usage and volume of shots malik monk could be seeing would be awesome Uh franz Wagner for the magic. Yeah, I think that's a fine option. Uh magic are here Uh, I think it's you know, he's fine, you know, he Ultimately, he doesn't move the needle for me a whole lot just because if we look at the offense overall for the magic We know that you know, a lot of the shots are going to be going to call anthony jail and sucks And they're certainly getting mo bamba involved involved a lot Again, not overly worried about the the horton's defense or anything I just know that you know a certain point he's going to have a limited ceiling just because he's not the primary Option on offense for for them. So that's what it really comes down. So I think he's fine Totally fine option. Maybe I'll mix in a few shares of him I think his salary is obviously very affordable tonight. I think you can drop him in some lineups, but You know, yeah a good option at like a good option. Just not Amazing if that's the best way to put it. Uh deandre bambry any value that's a pass for me Uh on the nets just the minutes are just inconsistent We can't be trusting that just because he happened to play 18 in the most recent game against washington You know dnp in one game and seeing, you know Five total minutes in other two games is not something you really want to be trusting They're they're better options at that low end. Uh, you know shooting guards small forward We're off to a slow start. I he's going to score 50 soon. Derek on fendal. Uh, excuse me, Derek on Uh facebook is saying going to score 50 soon. Maybe tonight. Yeah, I am a big proponent of that I spoke about lilorid on the podcast I spoke about lilorid here again I'm buying back into lilorid at $8200 as a player that we know can outperform his salary Hopefully a lot of points in that game. Hopefully, uh, a lot of fantasy value for all involved All right, so that does it for today's mba Q&A I'll be back next week next wednesday for another edition As always you can follow me on twitter at dfs underscore tom until next time. Good luck in your contest