NBA DFS Showdown Playbook October 28: New Orleans Pelicans vs Phoenix Suns
An injury-depleted Pelicans squad travels to Phoenix tonight to face the Suns after their huge win against the Golden State Warriors. This Showdown slate will come down to who suits up for the Pelicans and who can guess their rotations and usage correctly. Here are the NBA DFS top plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings!
New Orleans Pelicans vs Phoenix Suns
NBA Injury News
New Orleans Pelicans injuries
- Brandon Ingram – OUT
- Kira Lewis - OUT
- Jose Alvarado – QUESTIONABLE
- Herbert Jones – QUESTIONABLE
- CJ McCollum – QUESTIONABLE
- Zion Williamson - QUESTIONABLE
Phoenix Suns injuries
- Jae Crowder – OUT
- Ish Wainright - DOUBTFUL
NBA DFS Showdown Slate Picks
MVP/CAPTAIN
Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Booker made headlines for his spat with Klay Thompson this week, but he should also be praising him for his consistent play. Devin Booker has been between 45 and 53 fantasy points in each of his first three games and has not shot below 48% in any contest so far. While the Phoenix Suns rank 23rd in pace this year, the New Orleans Pelicans are middle of the pack so this is a pace-up spot for the Sun. Booker’s minutes have been slightly down to 35 lately, but the usage is sitting at 29%. Considering the health issues of many of the Pelicans, he is my favorite pick for the MVP slot tonight.
Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
As you can tell from the New Orleans injury report, every starter is Out or Questionable except for Jonas Valanciunas, and that includes Herbert Jones, who is Questionable as the replacement for a concussed Brandon Ingram. Some of these players will end up suiting up and should soak up a lot of usage from those who are out, so let’s start with the best fantasy options in that scenario. Zion looks like the beast from two years ago this year and is averaging 1.27 fantasy points per minute. He has been consistently right at 30 minutes per night as the Pelicans don’t want to push him too early, but he has a great chance to double-double tonight with Ingram and potentially McCollum on the bench.
CJ McCollum, New Orleans Pelicans
If McCollum does end up playing he might be the best wing option available in this game. Brandon Ingram and his 29% usage rate will be gone, so McCollum has an excellent chance to ramp up his own 26% usage numbers. Alvarado is not a shooter, and Herbert Jones is there for his defense, so this is going to be the McCollum and Zion show in what should be a very fast-paced, competitive affair. The total on this game is already up to 225.5 tonight.
UTILITY
Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns
Paul may now be of the age where we don’t see many transcendent fantasy performances anymore, but he is still a consistent source of points per dollar on these Showdown slates. The minutes are just fine for Paul to start the year (34 per game), and he is averaging 37 fantasy points per game, including torching the hated Warriors for 42 on Tuesday. We can more realistically predict around 35 fantasy points each night for Paul, with a ceiling for more tonight in a pace-up spot. Jose Alvarado might be pesky, but I’ll take the savvy Paul in this matchup.
Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns
Ayton bounced back from a game on Sunday when was saddled with fouls to score 41 fantasy points on Tuesday. His presence in the paint will be desperately needed tonight as Jonas Valanciunas will be asked to play an oversized role because of all the injuries for New Orleans. But Ayton in the paint all night should lead to a big fantasy performance. The Pelicans rank 26th in the league, allowing opponents to make shots up to nine feet away from the basket (50%).
Jonas Valanciunas, New Orleans Pelicans
Some of Alvarado, McCollum, Jones, and Williamson will surely play tonight. But if for some reason they do not, J-Val would be the DFS play of the century. Even with all of the Pelicans that have been in the lineup, Valanciunas averages 37.5 fantasy points per game. My prediction in this game is that his minutes will be much closer to 30 than the 23 we saw in the last two games. He obviously gets the biggest bump if Zion Williamson misses as New Orleans will be desperate for rebounds and paint scoring.
DART THROWS
Jock Landale, Phoenix Suns
There was much debate before the season about who would play the backup role to Deandre Ayton in Phoenix: Jock Landale or Bismack Biyambo? It’s clearly been all Landale so far and he is trending up in the most important stat of all – minutes. He was at 22 minutes in the Suns’ last game against the Warriors, and he also crossed the 20-fantasy point threshold for the second straight time. His minutes have increased in every game this year and his salary is way too low for the time on the court. I wish he was a little bit cheaper than $4,000 on DraftKings, as he probably only has a ceiling for 6x at that salary, but if for some reason this turns into a blowout, Landale could end up getting a lot of run.
Herbert Jones, New Orleans Pelicans
Jones is in line for major starters’ minutes tonight assuming he starts for the injured Brandon Ingram. His minutes have shifted up the past three games anyway from 28 to 35 on Sunday. So now we just have to hope that his knee issue is behind him and he is ready to go. His fantasy production has been somewhat disappointing so far (16.8 per game). Still, he will be forced into a larger role tonight, especially considering the wing defense they will need against Devin Booker and Miles Bridges.
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Player News
Buddy Hield had 15 points (5-of-14 FGs), three rebounds, one assist, one steal and four three-pointers against the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Thursday.
Hield moved into the Warriors’ starting lineup in the first round and the team became somewhat reliant on his scoring. With Stephen Curry (hamstring) out in Game 2, Hield started and played 29 minutes. The 32-year-old shooting guard led the Warriors in field goal attempts, though no one in a Golden State uniform was able to reach 20 points. The Warriors weren’t able to overcome a double-digit first half deficit. Despite the four made three-pointers, they’re going to need more from Hield as the series shifts to Golden State, especially if Curry remains out.
Jimmy Butler had 17 points (6-of-13 FGs), seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and two three-pointers against the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Thursday.
Butler couldn’t get it done without Stephen Curry (hamstring) on the road in Game 2. The Warriors fell behind by double-digits early and never recovered. Butler had 17 points on 13 shots, which wasn’t far off from the 20 points he had in Game 1. Still, the Warriors have to regroup as they head home for Games 3 and 4 as they try to figure out a way to keep this series close until Curry can return to the court.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 20 points (7-of-13 FGs), two rebounds, three assists, one block and four three-pointers in Game 2 against the Warriors on Thursday.
Alexander-Walker was a key scorer off the bench in Game 2. He, Naz Reid and Donte DiVencenzo combined for 10 made three-pointers off the bench. In a game where the Warriors were desperate for scoring without Stephen Curry (hamstring), those bench points were too much to overcome as the Timberwolves won by 24 points.
Julius Randle had 24 points (10-of-17 FGs), seven rebounds, 11 assists and one three-pointer in Game 2 against the Warriors on Thursday.
Randle led the Timberwolves in scoring in the Game 2 victory. The 30-year-old power forward was just three rebounds away from a triple-double. He was a steadying presence in his 33 minutes as Anthony Edwards dealt with an ankle injury towards the end of the first half. Edwards recovered from his injury to play 34 minutes, but Randle is still the next most important player in this series for the Timberwolves.
Anthony Edwards had 20 points (6-of-13 FGs), nine rebounds, five assists, three steals, one block and two three-pointers in the Timberwolves’ 117-93 victory over the Warriors in Game 2 on Thursday.
Edwards appeared to suffer a sprained left ankle towards the end of the second quarter as the Warriors’ Trayce Jackson-Davis landed on his foot. Edwards turned the same ankle in the first round against the Lakers and appeared to re-aggravate the injury. The 23-year-old shooting guard would go on to start the second half and play a team-high 34 minutes in the Game 2 victory. Edwards will only have one full day off before the series resumes in Golden State for Game 3 on Saturday.
Warriors will start Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Quinten Post in Game 2 against the Timberwolves on Thursday.
No surprise here as Curry was always a long shot to make it back for Game 2 after leaving Game 1 with hamstring injury. While there has been a report that the 37-year-old point guard is expected to miss a week, there is no firm timetable for his return. The Warriors will go big with their starting lineup for Game 2 with center Quinten Post entering the lineup in Curry’s absence.