5 Stats to Know: NBA DFS October 20

The NBA season is here, and that means we have tons of new DFS stats, tools, and information to dive into. This article will present you with five actionable stats in order to help you with the night’s NBA slate of games. 

We only have a small two-game slate Thursday, but we have some of the best teams in the NBA on the hardwood, so let’s get to the 5 stats of the day for the slate. 

1. James Harden led the 76ers with 1.4 FPPM in their opening gam

James Harden tied the team for shot attempts per minute while leading the team in points and assists. He looked engaged and motivated to attack on the offensive end. That is a dangerous James Harden. 

2. Jrue Holiday had a 29.8% usage rate with Khris Middleton off the floor last season

Keep in mind this may be a bit of a noisy stat, as when he was on the floor without Khris Middleton but sharing the floor with Giannis Antetokounmpo his usage was just 22.3%, however there will be times where Jrue Holiday is running the offense without Giannis. 

3. Both Anthony Davis and LeBron James saw usage rates over 30% in their opening game

This should be a continued trend, as the Lakers’ success lives and dies with these two, but the interesting part of that trend is the effect it had on secondary players. Russell Westbrook played 30 minutes and saw a 22% usage rate, and Kendrick Nunn saw a 19.5% usage rate while playing just 23 minutes. After that, no other player who played double-digit minutes saw a usage rate over 14%. This is a very consolidated offense. 

4. Paul George has a 27% usage rate when sharing the floor with Kawhi Leonard as a Clipper

This gives PG a strong baseline expectation of volume, and it sounds like Kawhi Leonard might even come off the bench to start the year, only expanding the ceiling of Paul George. They do have new additions of scorers like John Wall and Norman Powell that have not yet played with both George and Leonard, but regardless Paul George should see a ton of usage — especially when Kawhi is off the floor.

5. Four 76ers players attempted at least 14 shots in their opening game

Joel Embiid led the team with total shots at 18, while Tyrese Maxey saw 16 shots and Tobias Harris and James Harden each had 14 shots as well. This tells me a couple of things, that shots are going to be pretty bunched up between these four, but also that we are going to see big boom/bust potential for Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. There will undoubtedly be games this year where Harden and/or Embiid are taking 20-plus shots, and those will likely be nights where we see Maxey and Harris getting fewer shot attempts, but the potential ceiling for 14-plus shots should be there every night as we saw Tuesday.