The NBA is back in full swing, with all 30 teams taking the floor since Tuesday’s opening tip. The stars have shown out, but plenty of quality players are still producing under the radar.
DraftKings is offering a daily contest with the chance to win $100,000. After watching all the early action, I’ve honed in on two value plays to help boost your lineup.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $300K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
DraftKings Value Picks
Naz Reid ($5,000)
The forgotten beneficiary of the Julius Randle/Karl-Anthony Towns swap is Naz Reid. At 6’10”, the massive tweener has a guard-like handle that complements his 40%+ shooting from beyond the arc. He’s also a violent roll threat who sets crunching screens at the top of the key and peels off, ready to make the extra pass or throw down a vicious slam. Even with his emergence last year, Reid only averaged 24 minutes a night. With starting frontcourt duo Randle and Rudy Gobert incredibly volatile, Reid’s versatility helps him become the de facto “sixth starter” in the clutch in place of whichever one is struggling.
The 25-year-old gets a matchup against Toronto, one of the league’s projected basement dwellers, on their second night of a back-to-back. The Raptors are thin in the paint, trotting out Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl—solid individual defenders but not a sufficient pair to protect the rim. Coming off a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double against Sacramento, I expect Reid to post a similar line in a stellar home opener.
Tre Mann ($4,200)
“Allen Iverson light” is how Charlotte play-by-play announcer Eric Collins described Tre Mann’s new look checking in. With an oversized jersey, shorts, and matching headband, the 2000s vibes are in overdrive, but his refined game should be drawing the headlines.
The Florida product showed flashes during his three-year stint in Oklahoma City, but was stuck bouncing between the NBA and G-League, failing to break into the lineup consistently. Now on a rebuilding squad under championship coach Charles Lee, Mann can blossom without worrying about his place in the hierarchy. With Vasilije Micic struggling to adapt to the American play, Mann has emerged as the clear-cut backup ball handler.
He can create offense off the dribble and has an expansive bag that generates plenty of separation. He has a similar arsenal to Jordan Poole, but tends to be more in control and is a more willing distributor. Mann gets to square off with a Miami team whose defensive reputation hinges on past “culture,” along with Bam Adebyo anchoring underneath. The latter is a legitimate concern, but the perimeter defense is a shell of recent iterations. Mann is primarily a jump shooter, and if he continues to hunt his own offense, he should far exceed his low assigned salary.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is xaiver-aguiar) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
