NBA Opening Night 2023 DFS Projections and Preview

NBA Opening Night 2023 Preview and Schedule

The NBA is BACK baby! And that means NBA daily fantasy is too. PrizePicks is here all season long to bring you the best NBA DFS projections and coverage. To get you hyped for the season, we put together this NBA opening night preview with DFS projections.

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It’s been a long but exciting offseason for the NBA and now all of that drama comes to a head tonight as 4 of the top teams battle it out in the West. We saw crazy trades and offseason moves like Dame to Milwaukee and Beal to Phoenix and now it’s time to put up or shut up.

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NBA Opening Night Schedule

• Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers - 7:30pm EDT
• Phoenix Suns vs. Golden State Warriors - 10:00pm EDT

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It’s hard to ask for better matchups for an opening night than these two stacked games. The defending champs take on Lebron as he enters his 21st season. Follow that up with the new-look Suns who don’t have Ayton or Paul (who will now play against them tonight for the Warriors) but added Bradley Beal to complement their already electric duo of Booker and Durant.

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The Western Conference will be popping tonight as we’ll see the top 4 teams take the court and try to start on a good note. It’s hard to imagine these veterans won’t be ready to make  an impact early but the offseason rust is sure to be present. Keep that in mind when placing nay entries for tonight’s slate.

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NBA Opening Night DFS Projections

Pts+Rebs+Asts

Lebron James - F, LAL

The King is back for his 21st season in the NBA. Most of the current players around the league grew up idolizing LBJ and some of them weren’t even alive when he first was drafted. It’s crazy to think he can continue to deliver at such a high level. But he always does. 

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Last year he averaged an incredible 28.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 6.8 APG. Tonight he’s projected 38.5 total points, rebounds, and assists, about 6 lower than his average in 2022-23. It’ll be a tough matchup against the Nuggets who swept the Lakers in the postseason last year but never count out King James.

To view all NBA DFS projections, click here.

Points

Nikola Jokic - C, DEN

The Serbian national, current NBA champion, and former NBA MVP returns to action tonight against Lebron, AD, and the Lakers. In the playoffs last year the Nuggets took care of business easily against LA behind Jokic’s dominance on both ends of the court.

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Last season he averaged 24.5 PPG, just below his current projection of 26 against the LAL. A healthy Lakers team could be dangerous defensively, but an entire offseason of rest might send the Joker over the top.

To view all NBA DFS projections, click here.

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Steph Curry - PG, GSW

I don’t care who your NBA GOAT is- MJ, Lebron, Kareem, whoever. There’s no debating who the greatest shooter of all time is. It’s Steph Curry. If you disagree, you’re just wrong and we’re not sorry. 

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Tonight Stpeh is projected to score 30.5 points against the Suns which is just above his season average of 29.4 PPG. It'll be interesting to see how CP3 fits into the new system, but don’t ever think that Steph couldn’t go off for 40 if he wanted. 

To view all NBA DFS projections, click here.

Rebounds

Anthony Davis - F/C - LAL

Since his college days at Kentucky, Anthony Davis has been one of the elite rebounders in the game. When he's healthy, he puts in serious work off the boards and is always ready to extend a play. 

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Tonight he’s projected 12 boards against the Nuggets. Last year his season average was 12.5 and if the Lakers want to avoid yet another loss to Denver, they’ll need to control the glass with Davis leading the way.

To view all NBA DFS projections, click here.

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