This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
After a long offseason, a long-awaited Opening Night has arrived. As customary, the NBA eases into the new season with a noteworthy two-game slate that features the defending champions. The Nuggets will begin their title defense against LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers, while the nightcap features a star-packed showdown between the Suns and Warriors at Chase Center.
Slate Overview
For the latest spreads and over-unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There, you can also find player props, futures, picks articles and sportsbook bonus codes.
Tuesday's season-opening contests are both predicted to be closely contested, to varying degrees.
The Nuggets are unsurprisingly the larger favorite of the night, checking in as five-point favorites on FanDuel Sportsbook over the Lakers in a game that has a solid projected total of 228 points.
The Suns-Warriors nightcap could be a high-scoring barn burner, considering Golden State is just a one-point favorite and the projected total sits at a robust 235 points.
There are big names on the injury report in both games as well, which could ultimately lead to some line movement closer to tip-off.
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
Devin Booker, PHO (toe): QUESTIONABLE
Booker was able to practice Monday but is still dealing with left big toe soreness. If he's unable to play, Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic could be primary beneficiaries in terms of usage, while Grayson Allen and Eric Gordon could log the majority of minutes at shooting guard.
Bradley Beal, PHO (back): DOUBTFUL
Jordan Goodwin could be set for a start at point guard. Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen are also candidates to see more minutes and usage.
Draymond Green, GSW (ankle): OUT
In Green's absence, Kevon Looney will draw a start at center, while Chris Paul is likely to enter the starting five at point guard.
Other notable injuries:
Jarred Vanderbilt, LAL (heel): OUT
Elite Players
We have five players with five-figure salaries on Tuesday's slate – Nikola Jokic ($11,500), Anthony Davis ($11,200), Kevin Durant ($10,800), LeBron James ($10,300) and Stephen Curry ($10,000).
Jokic averaged 57 FD points during Denver's championship 2022-23 season and scored 65.4 to 81.2 FD points in three games during the Nuggets' four-game sweep of the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
Davis put up 52.7 FD points per game during last regular season and scored 50.3 to 71.5 FD points against the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.
Durant averaged 48.3 FD points per game between his time with the Nets and Suns last season and eclipsed 60 FD points on three occasions during Phoenix's postseason run.
James wrapped up last regular season with an average of 50 FD points per game and had tallies of 62.8 and 70.5 FD points in two of the four games against the Nuggets in the WCF.
Curry averaged 46.8 FD points last season while missing 26 games, and he had one tally of 69.8 FD points against the Suns during the regular season. He also posted a 34.2 percent usage rate with Green on the floor during the 2022-23 campaign.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Devin Booker, PHO ($9,600)
Booker's availability will have to be monitored, but if he's announced as available, he should naturally be in plenty of lineups and scored 42.3 FD points or more in three meetings against the Warriors a season ago.
Jamal Murray, DEN ($8,800)
Murray carries the upside of a higher-salaried player and scored 55.5 to 65.5 FD points in three of four WCF games against the Lakers last spring.
Chris Paul, GSW ($8,000)
If Paul is officially confirmed as being in the starting five due to Green's absence, he should be especially popular given his salary won't quite account for the level of opportunity he should see.
Jusuf Nurkic, PHO ($7,500)
Nurkic should see a full workload in his team debut and has looked good this preseason. As a player with a safe floor at a position with few options on a small slate, he should get plenty of clicks on his name.
Key Values
Christian Wood, LAL at DEN ($6,100)
Wood put together a solid season during his one Mavericks campaign in 2022-23, averaging 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 blocks across 26 minutes per contest. Given the upside he's demonstrated in the past, he could turn out to be one of the better offseason additions, and for Tuesday's purposes, he could play a fairly robust frontcourt role off the bench after a productive preseason. Wood posted a pair of 13-point tallies during the exhibition slate while putting in his usual dependable work on the boards, and his ability to rack up some quick scoring from distance gives him an added dimension that could allow him to offer a strong return on salary.
Kevon Looney, GSW vs. PHO ($5,400)
As alluded to earlier, Looney should be in the starting five Tuesday with Green sidelined. The big man is coming off a career-best 2022-23 campaign in which he produced new high-water marks in points (7.0), rebounds (9.0) and assists (2.5). Looney flashed some unprecedented fantasy upside in the process while helping the Warriors weather some key injuries, recording 30 or more FD points on 21 occasions. Looney could also enjoy a bump in usage with Green sidelined, which could make it even easier for him to deliver a strong return on his modest salary.
Josh Okogie, PHO at GSW ($4,300)
Okogie is slated to open the season as the starting small forward, and while he'll naturally be the fifth option on offense on many nights due to the assortment of stars around him, he should certainly have his fair share of opportunities to deliver on the very modest investment required to roster him. That could especially be the case Tuesday if at least one of Beal or Booker are sidelined. Okogie got his fair share of starting experience in his Suns debut campaign a year ago, averaging 22.2 FD points per contest in 26 games with the first unit while shooting a solid 36.0 percent from three-point range in the sample. Okogie scored over 26 FD points on 10 occasions during that span as well, so he's amply capable of getting to at least a 5x return on his current salary.
ALSO CONSIDER: Gabe Vincent, LAL at DEN ($5,200); Jonathan Kuminga, GSW vs. PHO ($4,600)
