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If you’re here for all the picks, projections and tools you need to build winning DFS NBA lineups on Opening Night, then look no further.

The NBA DFS Playbook will be your one-stop-shop for your Showdown lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings all season long. You could call it a cheat sheet, but it’s so much more than that.

The Playbook also integrates with our NBA DFS Projections and NBA Lineup Generator. You’ll not only be able to get NBA news and fantasy advice, but also turn these tips into playable lineups with just a few clicks.

All together, we plan on helping you win more AND have more fun playing NBA DFS Showdown slates this season.

 

 

 

But without further ado, let’s get into the late game of our 2024-25 NBA Opening Night Slate. Here are our DFS NBA picks, predictions and playbook for the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, October 22, 2024.

NBA DFS Showdown Picks: Timberwolves vs. Lakers

Narratives, narratives, narratives! There’ll be no shortage of narratives on tonight’s nationally televised NBA broadcast.

The Lakers have a new coach, as well as a new rookie who’s related to someone famous. There. We gave Bronny his obligatory mention.

While JJ Reddick takes the reins with exactly zero NBA coaching experience, reports have made it clear that he’s closely collaborating with the team's analytics department. Optimizing the team’s shot selection and attempting more 3-pointers are two points of emphasis early this season. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not this is apparent in LA's scheme tonight.
 

 

 

The Timberwolves are coming off one of their most successful seasons in franchise history, but ironically traded the face of their franchise this offseason. Karl-Anthony Towns is out, and Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo are in. There rightfully are concerns on Randle’s role and all-around fit, but it’s hard to see DiVincenzo’s arrival as being anything other than a big positive. Minnesota needed both bench scoring as well as outside shooting, and DiVo is coming off a career season in both regards.

Tonight both teams will be beginning crossroad seasons of sorts. It’ll be fascinating to watch, and all the more fun to play from a fantasy perspective. 

Showdown Slate In A Sentence:

There are more unknowns to this Showdown slate than you’d think, making it all the more important to find where the minutes will go - and then follow them.

 

 


 

Timberwolves vs. Lakers Notable Injuries & Lineup

 

Minnesota Timberwolves Key Injuries

  • None
     

Minnesota Timberwolves Projected Lineup

  • Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert
     

Los Angeles Lakers Key Injuries

  • Jarred Vanderbilt, PF - Out (Foot)
  • Christian Wood, C - Out (Knee)

 

Los Angeles Lakers Projected Lineup

  • D’Angelo Russel, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Anthony Davis

 

 

 

NBA DFS Showdown MVP Captain Picks for Opening Night

Julius Randle - $8,600 DK, $12,500 FD 

He’s simply too cheap to not be given strong consideration for your Captain. 

Nobody seems to think Ant and Randle will play well together. I could write an entire article analyzing the topic, but for tonight, we’re only concerned about, well, tonight. And Randle will not only see big minutes, but big opportunity as well.

He has to. Where else is KAT's usage going to go? 

Randle only played in one preseason game, but it was a positive one. He racked up 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in 26 minutes. The Timberwolves trotted out their projected starting lineup that game, so this line is as relatively legit as a preseason line can be.

While Randle attempted 12 FGs, Edwards chucked up 23 shots in his 30 minutes of gametime. DiVincenzo hoisted 17 attempts in his 28 minutes off the bench, which all together paints the picture of there being plenty of shots to go around – and as scripted, no less.

 

 

 

There also are questions about how Randle will play alongside Rudy Gobert. I could write an entire article on this topic as well, but the oversimplification is that if Randle can thrive alongside Mitchell Robinson, he can do just fine in Minnesota while he’s on the floor with Gobert.

Look, there will be rust to shake off - Randle hasn’t played since suffering a season-ending injury on January - and new-team kinks to iron out. But if his preseason showing is any indication, even at his most inefficient, he’ll see around 32 minutes and accrue his typical volume stats accordingly. 
 

 

 

Randle has the 4th-highest price on DraftKings, and the 5th-highest on FanDuel - which is a shame, because the cap matters more when playing on the former vs. the latter. Nonetheless, the savings enjoyed when playing Randle at MVP can make all the difference when it comes to stuffing one more superstar into your lineup this evening.

Randle will absorb the vast majority of the usage opened up by KAT’s departure. That and his relative salary savings alone make him a solid DFS NBA pick for Captain/MVP on Opening Night.

 

 

 

Anthony Davis - $10,200 DK, $15,500 FD 

Brow is projected to be the highest-scoring fantasy player in this game. No surprises there.

Brow also is the most expensive player to roster in this game. No surprises there, either.

Some might shy away from Captain-ing him because of the matchup. Well I can say with confidence that Anthony Davis is one of the very small handful of NBA players who is wholly matchup-proof. 

His stats against Gobert say as much. He has faced the Stifle Tower 21 times throughout his career. In those game, Davis has averaged 26.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.7 blocks. We will lock that stat line into our NBA DFS Showdown lineups 100x/100.

Davis isn’t a must-MVP, but he’s about as much of a must-roster as you’ll find in this specific fantasy format. Plug him in with confidence, and Captain him whenever your lineups allow it.

 

 

 

Anthony Edwards - $9,600 DK, $14,000 FD 

Ant is THE man in Minnesota now. You could argue that has been the case for a few seasons now, but it’s officially official and boy does it ever set us up for some fireworks on Opening Night.

The brighter the spotlight and bigger the spot, the more Edwards thrives. I expect him to be the most energetic player on the floor tonight, and to absolutely terrorize whatever combination of Austin Reaves and LeBron James the Lakers try to throw at him defensively.

Lots of people will migrate to LeBro at MVP, and I don’t blame them. I’d say he has the highest floor of any player in this game. That said, when it comes to NBA DFS Showdown picks, we need to prioritize upside when working with a smaller player pool.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Ant did something truly special tonight. I’ll have some exposure to him at MVP accordingly.

 

 

 

Timberwolves vs. Lakers DFS NBA Picks: Mid-Tier Options

Rudy Gobert - $7,400 DK, $14,000 FD

I like Gobert MUCH more on DraftKings than on FanDuel, where he’s somehow priced as the 4th-highest player on this single-game slate.
Gobert will of course be tasked with slowing down Davis. He’ll have his hands full defensively all night long - which, frankly, doesn’t matter much for our intents and purposes.

In 21 career games against Davis, the Stifle Tower has averaged 13.6 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. He also has averaged only 3.2 fouls in these games, which is reassuring as far as fears of instant foul trouble go.

On DratKings, our DFS NBA Projections have Gobert pegged to be the fifth-highest fantasy scorer, while also having the third-best pt/$ value. That’s the exact combination we’re looking for with our mid-tier Showdown picks.

 

 

 

Donte DiVincenzo - $5,800 DK, $10,500 FD

I’m not going to say DiVo will have a greenlight from downtown, but I’m not not going to say that.

That might sound like a wildly irresponsible statement, but consider this:

  • In 4 preseason games, DiVincenzo attempted on average one three-pointer every 2.9 minutes.
  • The team held a “dress rehearsal” on 10/16, playing its starters for as full of a compliment of minutes as you’d expect before Opening Night. Playing off the bench, DiVincenzo threw up 13 three-point attempts in just 28 minutes.
  • Last season, DiVincenzo averaged 8.7 three-point attempts per game, the 4th-most in the NBA. Conversely, as a team, the Timberwolves averaged only 32.7 three-point attemps per game, the 8th-fewest in the league.

So entering this past offseason, Minnesota had a clear need for both bench scoring, as well as a boost from beyond the arc. They traded Karl-Anthony Towns and DiVo was part of the return. 

Don’t overthink this one. DiVincenzo is a solid mid-value play for tonight’s Timberwolves vs. Lakers NBA DFS Showdown slate.

 

 


 

D’Angelo Russell - $7,000 DK, $11,500 FD

Austin Reaves - $6,800 DK, $11,000 FD

Given his role, Russell might seem underpriced, but I assure you. He is not. 

Russell is priced correctly. 

Russell also is very clearly a less appealing option than Austin Reaves tonight.

Last season, when Russell, Brow and Bron were all on the floor together, D’Angelo saw a 4.9% drop in usage and 4.6-point decline in DraftKings points per game. It’s Russell, not Reaves, who suffers most from a DFS perspective when the Lakers are healthy.

Mind you, Reaves takes a hit when he’s sharing the court with Davis and James as well. It’s just not as severe of a drop as what Russell sees. 

On the flipside, when Reaves sees action sans Davis and James, his usage rate spikes to a team-high 29.8%. Russell’s 28.7% usage rate isn’t far behind, but it’s Reaves who typically sees more minutes with the second-unit in these situations.

Minutes + usage = money.

Our NBA DFS Projections say as much. Reaves is slated to play 35 minutes and score 32.6 DraftKings points. Russell projects to play 34 minutes and accrue 30.4 DraftKings points.

It’s a small edge, but it’s an edge - and it's much more reliable than flipping a coin. And while the salary savings are modest, those $200-$500 might make the difference as to whether or not you can reach to roster one more superstar.

All said, this is a single-game Showdown slate. It’s shaping up to be a stars-and-scrubs kind of night. Russell still falls into the “stars” category. But it’s Reaves who is mid-priced option 1a, and Russell 1b. Make your picks accordingly.

 

 


 

Timberwolves vs. Lakers Value Plays

Naz Reid - $5,400 DK, $9,500 FD

It’s not a bargain-bin basement price, but on this slate, it unlocks an awful lot of value that can be used elsewhere. The reigning Sixth Man Of The Year should have a slightly larger role off the bench this year to help fill the void left by Towns. And, even if he doesn’t, his 2023-24 average of 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds will still play perfectly in our one-day DFS games.
 

Timberwolves vs. Lakers Dart Throws 

Dalton Knecht - $3,600 DK, $8,000 FD

Yup, we’re going there!

The 17th overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft averaged 26.6 mpg and 10.0 3pa across five preseason games. The Lakers averaged the 3rd-fewest 3pa and 7th-fewest 3pm last season. Put those side-by-side and you see why he’s listed as a rotation piece on the Opening Night depth chart.

His floor is quite literally zero, but he’s priced so affordably that he doesn’t need to give you much more than that to pay himself off. Given the differences in scoring and salary cap, he should be used exclusively on DraftKings.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker - $3,600 DK, $7,500 FD

This is a bit of a minutes grab. “NAW” averaged 24.2 mpg after last year’s All-Star Game and solidified his place in Minnesota’s rotation. But the issue isn’t his minutes - it’s his role.

NAW is a poor man’s 3-and-D specialist, with added emphasis on the “D.” He’s essentially Jaden McDaniels after McDaniels gets into his standard first-half foul trouble.

If he’s the last man in and you love everything else about your lineup, Alexander-Walker is worthy of the dart throw. Given the aforementioned stars-and-scrubs structure of this Showdown slate, I could see a scenario where he doesn’t even hit his ceiling, yet still ends up in the optimal lineup.

 


 

Player Pool

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