Daily Fantasy Basketball Preseason Picks For Monday, 10/10

The NBA hit pause on the daily fantasy basketball preseason scene on Sunday, as we had just two games and one was super early in the morning (#China). Maybe it was the league’s homage to football taking over the second part of the weekend, but no matter, because NBA DFS preseason action returns on Monday night.

We’ve got a healthy 5-game slate tonight, with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan closing the action at the Staples Center in a late night clash with the Utah Jazz.

We know your main interest here is gauging which NBA players to use in DraftKings’ daily fantasy basketball preseason leagues, so we won’t waste your time. Join us as we hit up each game and see which value picks are your best bets:

Note: It goes without saying that the big names that cost the most are stellar plays if they suit up – especially if they’re seeing good run. Our goal every night during NBA DFS preseason action is to point out the cheaper options that you’ll want to use.

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Charlotte Hornets

• Kris Dunn – Wolves ($5k)
• Zach LaVine – Wolves ($5.5k)
• Shabazz Muhammad – Wolves ($4.4k)
• Ramon Sessions – Hornets ($5k)
• Jeremy Lamb – Hornets ($4.9k)
• Marco Belinelli – Hornets ($4k)
• Frank Kaminsky – Hornets ($5.4k)

Kemba Walker played a little bit in Charlotte’s last game but wasn’t very good. He looks primed to hit the floor again tonight, making it possible he gets a little more run and produces at a decent level.

If he’s out or limited, though, we could look at Ramon Sessions. Sessions hasn’t been very good and doesn’t have a very high ceiling, but if the run is there we may want to take a look.

The value point guard I’m eyeing on this slate is actually Kris Dunn. He was solid in his pro debut, registering an appealing 6-7-4-2 line in 24 minutes. His shot wasn’t there but the guy clearly gets his hands in a lot of stats. If he can see 20+ minutes again tonight, I love his chances of getting 25-30 fantasy points.

Teammates Lavine and Muhammad are the only other value Minnesota players to consider. Muhammad is apparently being looked at all over the place (SG, SF and even PF) so it stands to reason that Minnesota will be trying him out a lot during the preseason. He doesn’t do much in the way of defensive stats, but he can flat out score. If he gets 20+ minutes he’s worth a look. LaVine can get steals and assists, but is much the same as a strong scorer. He scored 9 points in 23 minutes the other day and should be worth a play again tonight.

Back with the Hornets, I’m looking at Lamb, Belinelli and Frank the Tank when it comes to their bench. I’m not really enamored with them, though, considering Charlotte gets Marvin Williams and Nicolas Batum back in the starting lineup tonight. Lamb and Marco don’t do anything but score, anyways, so Kaminsky is the play, if anything.

Top value targets: Dunn, LaVine, Muhammad and Kaminsky

Cleveland Cavaliers @ Atlanta Hawks

• Kay Felder – Cavs ($4.9k)
• Channing Frye – Cavs ($4.6k)
• Jordan McRae – Cavs ($5.2k)
• Tim Hardaway Jr. – Hawks ($4.1k)
• DeAndre Bembry – Hawks ($4k)
• Kris Humphries – Hawks ($4.2k)
• Mike Muscala – Hawks ($4.3k)

Cleveland is resting their entire starting five tonight, so this game is a terrific spot to expose yourself a ton.

Ty Lue to rest normal starters in ATL on Monday; will start @2kayzero, Dahntay Jones, James Jones, Jordan McRae & Cory Jefferson.

— Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG) October 10, 2016

Kay Felder and Jordan McRae are the two names to watch here, as both draw the start and have been very good in preseason play already. It’s unclear if veteran big man Channing Frye will also rest for this one, but if not he’s a viable value pick due to his rebounding and shooting from outside.

For Atlanta, the big focus could be on their bench bigs, specifically K-Hump and Muscala. Both logged 19+ minutes in their preseason debut and with injuries down low, they could see more run tonight. Muscala displayed some nice versatility, posting a solid 9-5-4 line.

One guy to watch for the Hawks might be DeAndre Bembry, who logged 21 minutes in his pro debut and chipped in 7 points and two dimes. Atlanta will want to see more out of the rook to gauge if he can become a part of their main rotation.

The same could be said for sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr., who was absolutely brutal (1 of 13) in his preseason debut. He started and logged over 25 minutes, though, so it’s nice to see the Hawks are giving him a chance to prove himself. If that happens again tonight, he could be playable in the hopes he keeps firing away and gets hot.

Top value targets: Felder and McRae

San Antonio Spurs @ Detroit Pistons

• Tony Parker – Spurs ($4.5k)
• Dejounte Murray – Spurs ($4.4k)
• Kyle Anderson – Spurs ($5.1k)
• Jonathan Simmons – Spurs ($4.3k)
• David Lee – Spurs ($4.2k)
• Dewayne Dedmon – Spurs ($4k)
• Ish Smith – Pistons ($4.5k)
• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Pistons ($4.8k)
• Stanley Johnson – Pistons ($4.8k)

Tony Parker is weirdly a good NBA DFS preseason value pick after scoring 15 points in 20 minutes this weekend. He’s old and pretty erratic, though, plus the Spurs could opt to sit or limit him tonight. Keep a close eye on him, but it’s worth noting he did look good in his preseason debut.

San Antonio’s main starters are in play if they’re going to play a good amount, but they could always get Pop’d at the last second. If so, their main bench guys are Murray, Anderson, Simmons, Lee and Dedmon. Anderson is really the only one you can trust from that group, though, as he’s pretty versatile.

Detroit ran their starters quite a bit in their first preseason game and SVG didn’t love their defensive effort, so he could force them out there for even longer to get some work in. That’s tough to gauge, but one guy that needs minutes with this team is Ish Smith.

Smith did not play well in his preseason debut, but with Reggie Jackson on the shelf, he’s their starting PG for now. He needs to get it going so they can use him with confidence to start the year.

KCP is a sound two-way guy and can blow up at times, so if the run continues to be there, he’s worth a look. If the Pistons go the opposite way, maybe look at Stanley Johnson. He’s trying to prove himself and earn a locked in role in his second season, so SVG might let him prove himself tonight.

Rookie big man Henry Ellenson is a dark horse if the Pistons rest anyone, but the run isn’t there yet.

Top value targets: Ish Smith

Washington Wizards @ New York Knicks

• Tomas Satoransky – Wizards ($4.6k)
• Kelly Oubre Jr. – Wizards ($5k)
• Ian Mahinmi – Pacers ($4k)
• Brandon Jennings – Knicks ($5.1k)
• Justin Holiday – Knicks ($4k)

Update: @JohnWall is back. He's set to make his return tonight in New York: https://t.co/t8Zk9GADoL

— Wiz of Awes (@WizOfAwes) October 10, 2016

John Wall is set to make his 2016-17 NBA preseason debut, but it’s unclear just how limited or effective he’ll be. Going up against Brandon Jennings (Derrick Rose is out due to legal travels) probably can’t hurt.

Wall is too expensive to confide in without any idea of what to expect out of him, while Jennings is pretty cheap. It’s worth noting this isn’t a great matchup for BJ and he hasn’t found his stroke yet. Who knows, maybe he does tonight.

Marcin Gortat and Ian Mahinmi are both nicked up, but so far it sounds more likely for Ian to suit up over Marcin. If that’s the case, he could start and depending on his run he could be a threat for a double-double.

Oubre and Holiday are two fun bench guys for either side. Oubre was awesome (24 points) in his last game and is in serious contention now for the main SF gig in D.C. Another huge game tonight could go a long way in shoving Otto Porter to the bench.

Holiday isn’t looking at a big role just yet, but he can score the ball and with Rose out, there could be guard minutes to go around. He exploded a few times last year in Chicago, so he looks like a fun value dive to free up salary to be spent on elite centers.

The real NBA DFS value play could be Tomas Satoransky, as Wall could be limited and Trey Burke might sit out (ankle). If so, we could be looking at a massive role for a young talent that delivered a sweet 10-6-6-2 line in 40 minutes of action in the Wiz first preseason game.

Top value targets: Satoransky, Oubre and Jennings

Utah Jazz @ Los Angeles Clippers

• Shelvin Mack – Jazz ($4.7k)
• Joe Johnson – Jazz ($4.3k)
• Trey Lyles – Jazz ($5.5k)
• Austin Rivers – Clippers ($4.7k)
• Brandon Bass – Clippers ($4k)
• Mo Speights – Clippers ($4.2k)

The last game of the night could be interesting, as the Clippers ran their top stars a good amount their last time out, and that could be the case again in front of their home crowd. If so, CP3, Blake and DJ should all be very highly owned.

If those guys sit or we know for sure they’re limited, then the door is wide open for Austin Rivers to step it up, while Bass and Speights could be active in enhanced roles. Raymond Felton and Jamal Crawford could also eat some minutes.

On the other side, Utah needs to make their way through the preseason without Gordon Hayward, who broke his finger recently.

Jazz F Gordon Hayward Will Miss An Unknown Amount Of Time With An Injury To His Non-Shooting Hand https://t.co/U3CA31udsX pic.twitter.com/RgjQR4Vgrq

— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) October 9, 2016

That could make for a bigger role for Joe Johnson tonight, who the Jazz seem unsure of what to do with.

Utah has other injuries that could free up minutes, too, with Alec Burks, Dante Exum and Derrick Favors all likely to sit this one out. That makes versatile big man Trey Lyles a must-start most likely, while we also may want to give Mack a look.

Top value targets: Lyles

That does it for Monday’s NBA DFS preseason preview. For the most part, we’re going to want to find the studs that are playing a good amount and then fit in Felder, McRae and Lyles in as they make sense. Carmelo Anthony also feels like an undeniable value tonight, so as long as he starts we’ll want to fit him in if possible, too.

Regardless of the route you take tonight, we wish you luck in your preseason daily fantasy basketball leagues!