Welcome to the 2024-25 NBA Season, where teams rest their starters on Opening Night!

I’m more confused by it than cranky, but alas. We do what we can with what we're given.

Reports also have come out today suggesting the NBA will be investigating the 76ers for “player availability violations." So if nothing else, at least we know we're not imagining that these are some significant shenanigans.

 

 

 

Superstars or not, we have a daily fantasy slate to dominate. I’m still excited to help you build the best NBA DFS Showdown lineups possible and win while you watch the Bucks vs. 76ers on ESPN tonight.

Let’s get after it!

NBA DFS Showdown Picks & Game Preview: Bucks vs. 76ers On ESPN

As has been the case for 5+ years, the Philadelphia 76ers will go as far as the health of Joel Embiid will take them. They’ve tried to manage his workload over this same timeframe and have, frankly, failed. As a result, Philadelphia’s front office has dialed up Embiid’s injury management program further, bringing the 2023 MVP along so slowly that he won’t see game action until the team’s fourth game against Detroit on Wednesday, October 30.

The 76ers are managing Paul George’s workload with kid gloves, too. The 9-time All-Star tweaked his knee in a preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks and will now be handled even more cautiously than what was already planned when he signed a 4-year, $212 million contract with the team this summer.

What does this mean for tonight’s NBA DFS Showdown slate specifically? First, we’ll be playing Tyrese Maxey everywhere we possibly can. And, second, we’ll be adjusting our lineups to make sure Maxey is in all of them.

 

 
 

 

And, also, Andre Drummond. Andre Drummond SZN, only it’s in 2024 rather than 2014.

Have I mentioned how much I hate it when teams over-aggressively rest their superstars? Paul George might be made of paper mache, but I have DFS lineups to build, darn it!

On the Milwaukee side, we’ll need to navigate two key news items: Khris Middleton is out, and Gary Trent Jr., Tauren Prince, and Delon Wright are all in.

Middleton is expected to miss the first few weeks of the season with an ankle injury. This means we’ll tailor our lineups to match last season’s tried-and-true playbook for games Middleton misses. We’ll play Giannis everywhere, and we’ll play Dame Lillard everywhere.

All together, this sure sounds like a stars-and-scrubs slate to me.

Bucks vs. 76ers Showdown Slate In A Sentence (Or Two):

The high-end core couldn’t be more cut-and-dry. You’ll win or lose on this slate based on whether or not you get the role players right - which will be all the more fun to figure out before the first game of the season.

 

 

 

Bucks vs. 76ers Notable Injuries & Lineups

Milwaukee Bucks Key Injuries

Milwaukee Bucks Projected Lineup

Philadelphia 76ers Key Injuries

Philadelphia 76ers Projected Lineup

 

 

 

NBA DFS Showdown MVP Captain Picks - Bucks vs. 76ers On ESPN

Giannis Antetokounmpo - $12,000 DK, $12,500 FD 

What needs to be said? Giannis is one of the five best players in the NBA, has averaged 30 pts, 11.5 rebounds and 6 assists per game for the past 6 seasons with terrifying consistency, and tonight will have his fantasy floor raised even further due to the absence of Middleton.

Giannis should be the highest scoring player on this DFS NBA Showdown slate and - barring a 40-point outburst from Maxey or Lillard - it won’t be particularly close. He is a must-play and a must-Captain in cash games.

Tyrese Maxey - $10,000 DK, $15,000 FD 

Maxey is an All-Star-caliber player in his own right, but becomes an absolute monster when Embiid is out. With Paul George out as well, Maxey will shoulder the load offensively, to say the least, and has a clear path to being the second-highest fantasy scorer in single-game contests on DraftKings and FanDuel.

Need further justification before you MVP Maxey over Giannis? Consider this: When Embiid and Tobias Harris were both off the floor last season, Maxey’s saw spikes in his usage rate (+6.2%), points per-36 (+5.4) and DraftKings fantasy points (+3.6). His 34.6% usage rate in these situations is almost 2% higher than Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 season average of 33.0%.

If you’re only building one lineup tonight, Maxey must be in it. If you’re building multiple lineups, Maxey is more than fine as an MVP alternative to Giannis in GPPs.

Andre Drummond - $8,000 DK, $13,000 FD 

Drummond will likely be the third-highest-owned player on the Bucks vs. 76ers Showdown slate. He should only be your Captain in GPPs on DraftKings, and even then, only if you’re building multiple lineups.

It feels like he has been around forever, but Drummond is only 31 years old. In the 10 games he started for Chicago last season,  he averaged 14.1 pts, 17.9 rebs, 1.8 blk and 1.1 stl in 29.1 mpg, reminding the world of what he’s capable of when given ample run.

He has a lower floor tonight than you might think. But he also might break the slate with a vintage 20/25 performance. If you think we’ll see the latter, then lock him into your Captain spot in at least one lineup on DraftKings.

 

 

 

Mid-Tier & DFS Value Plays For Wednesday, 10/23

Kelly Oubre Jr, - $7,400 DK, $12,000 FD

Using the same situation from above, Oubre’s usage rate surges to 27.1% - the second-highest on the team behind Maxey - when he was on the floor sans Embiid and Harris last season. He sees a +3.1 FG differential and averages 37.0 more FanDuel points per-36, which also are second-highest on the team behind Maxey. 

Someone has to score for Philadelphia tonight, and Oubre will very happily step up to take those extra shots. Our DFS NBA Projections peg him for 32.5 DraftKings points tonight, which forecasts to be the fifth-highest on this slate. He might not fit into all of your lineups, but pick him as a mid-tier play with confidence when he does.

Gary Trent Jr. - $6,400 DK, $9,000 FD

Trent is the epitome of a boom-or-bust play when priced in the mid-tier like he is tonight. He gets hot and randomly goes off for 25+ points a dozen times each season. He also gets ice cold a dozen games each year and can single-handedly crater your DFS lineups with his token 2-25 FG performances.

Hyperbole aside, Trent’s high ceiling warrants consideration as a mid-tier play in tournaments tonight. Milwaukee signed him in for his 3-point-shooting prowess and will give him the opportunity to start. He’s strictly a GPP play, and I like him a bit more on FanDuel than DraftKings, but if Trent explodes tonight, you’ll want to have some exposure.

Caleb Martin - $5,800 DK, $10,000 FD

The 76ers are thin on the wings tonight, which means Martin should see enough minutes to be a worthwhile mid-tier DFS pick. He’s not going to set the world on fire, but we’ll need to pinch our nose on a few picks tonight out of necessity. His ceiling is low, but his floor is high.

 

 

 

Bucks vs. 76ers NBA DFS Value Plays

Jared McCain - $4,400 DK, $6,500 FD

McCain should crack tonight’s rotation. The 76ers selected him with the 16th overall pick in this year’s Draft to bolster their backcourt. George’s absence gives the combo guard a path to minutes tonight. He saw an average of 22.8 mpg during the preseason, reports from camp have all been encouraging. We need to find some significant savings to succeed on this slate, and McCain should give us exactly that. 

This is a GPP-only play. I believe in McCain, and you should too. But Nick Nurse runs some wild rotations at times, and we simply don’t know with certainty where McCain’s minutes stand before the regular season starts.

Guerschon Yabusele - $2,400 DK, $7,000 FD

Yabusele is my absolute favorite “scrub” for this stars-and-scrubs DFS Showdown slate. Written off as a 1st-round bust from the 2016 Draft, Yabusele’s stellar play in the Paris Olympics put him back on the 76ers radar. The 28-year-old is coming off a career-best year with Real Madrid in Spain, and has continued to perform admirably during the preseason.

He’ll serve as the club's backup center tonight, and is also expected to play minutes at power forward behind Caleb Martin. All considered, Yabusele is a stellar value pick who will be in the majority of my Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia DFS NBA Showdown lineups tonight.

 

 

 

Player Pool

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