If you plan on making just one or two lineups tonight, good luck. There are high-scoring games all over the place and that means plenty of guys are going to explode.
Point Guard
The Heat team has been decimated with injuries which leaves Goran Dragic and Tyler Johnson looking at heavy minutes. Both are in play today despite being on the second half of a back-to-back set. Dragic has more upside but Johnson is a great cash game play. Dragic played 40 minutes last night and Johnson played 36, it’s tough to fade either one against the Hawks.
James Harden is a near lock in cash games against the Lakers. There’s some blowout potential here so there’s a little room for concern, but not much. It’s tough to imagine Harden missing out on a triple-double against a depleted Lakers team so fire him up and watch the fantasy points come flying in.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is nearing $10,000 but he’s certainly earned that price tag. He’s been racking up each and every statistical category lately and he’ll be a solid play tonight in what should be a high-scoring game against the Blazers.
Deron Williams is playing way too many minutes right now and he’ll likely be hurt sooner rather than later. However, he’s just too cheap and has the ball in his hand too much right now. Do not fade D-Will.
FD | DK | Aces | YTD | |||||||||||||||||||
Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PT/G | Pts/G | Reb/G | Ast/G | Stl/G | Blk/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
Goran Dragic | MIA | A | ATL | 16 | 33.4 | 78% | 1.5 | 17.8 | 3.9 | 6.7 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.9 | 44% | 15.08% | 32.3 | 34.7 | 32.5 | 33.0 | $7000 | $7300 | $5600 |
Marcus Smart | BOS | A | ORL | 18 | 30.5 | 63% | 1.3 | 9.7 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 35% | 9.14% | 22.0 | 23.7 | 22.2 | 22.6 | $4700 | $4500 | $4000 |
Deron Williams | DAL | H | SAC | 12 | 28.8 | 85% | 1.3 | 11.3 | 2.4 | 6.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 37% | 11.77% | 22.8 | 24.7 | 22.9 | 23.4 | $5900 | $5700 | $4700 |
Shooting Guard
Isaiah Thomas has been ruled out and that leaves us with two solid options. When IT3 is off the floor, Marcus Smart sees his usage rate jump up nine percent. That’s huge and Smart has already been named as a starter tonight so he’s well worth a look as a value play in both formats. Avery Bradley is also a solid cash game option.
Tim Hardaway Jr. will get the start with Kent Bazemore on the shelf for tonight’s game. Hardaway Jr. has been solid off the bench for the Hawks but he will now move into the starting lineup. He should see a couple more minutes but this could actually be worse for his value considering his usage rate will take a hit. He’s extremely cheap so even with that concern, he’s in consideration for tonight.
C.J. McCollum is extremely consistent but he also carries significant upside. But he’s an odd case. He’ll get you 30-plus fantasy points in four straight games and then randomly drop a 50-burger. His matchup against the Bucks is one to target as it could be one of his massive games.
Lou Williams is coming off two monster games so his ownership will be inflated for obvious reasons. He’s still affordable on both sites and needs to be considered in all formats against a poor Houston defense.
FD | DK | Aces | YTD | |||||||||||||||||||
Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PT/G | Pts/G | Reb/G | Ast/G | Stl/G | Blk/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
James Harden | HOU | H | LAL | 21 | 37.1 | 84% | 2.9 | 28.7 | 7.6 | 11.6 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 5.8 | 45% | 21.99% | 52.9 | 57.6 | 53.3 | 54.3 | $11700 | $11400 | $8350 |
Will Barton | DEN | A | BKN | 9 | 30.1 | 68% | 1.3 | 14.6 | 5.1 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 43% | 12.29% | 25.0 | 26.8 | 25.2 | 25.6 | $6000 | $6200 | $4800 |
Tyler Johnson | MIA | A | ATL | 20 | 30.2 | 75% | 1.1 | 12.3 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 41% | 10.34% | 25.0 | 26.3 | 25.2 | 25.5 | $5200 | $5200 | $4600 |
Tim Hardaway Jr. | ATL | H | MIA | 22 | 21.2 | 63% | 1.4 | 11.3 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 47% | 12.14% | 16.2 | 17.3 | 16.2 | 16.9 | $3800 | $3400 | $3500 |
Lou Williams | LAL | A | HOU | 23 | 24.7 | 86% | 2.0 | 18.4 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 45% | 17.92% | 27.2 | 29.3 | 27.3 | 28.2 | $6100 | $6100 | $4800 |
Avery Bradley | BOS | A | ORL | 21 | 35.7 | 74% | 2.0 | 17.6 | 8.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 47% | 11.88% | 32.0 | 34.2 | 32.4 | 33.0 | $6600 | $6300 | $4900 |
Small Forward
Paul George gets a juicy matchup against the Suns who are coming off a terrible loss to the Jazz. The Suns struggle mightily against the SF position so George is in a great spot tonight. There are plenty of solid options tonight so he’ll likely go under-owned.
Kevin Durant has a terrible matchup on paper but this is the highest scoring game of the night and Durant is a solid play. You have to pick someone from this game at the very least and Durant is obviously one of the most appealing options.
I’m listing Will Barton as a SF because has that eligibility on DK. He’s been a beast since returning from his injury and he’s facing the lowly Nets. This should also be a high scoring game and Barton will have plenty of usage in this up-tempo game. It’ll be tough to decide between he and Sweet Lou. Why not both?
Back-to-backs are never fun to target when it involves the older players but Carmelo Anthony has to be on your radar. The Knicks may be without Derrick Rose and if that’s the case, Melo is a great option. His usage rate jumps up a ridiculous 14 percent when Rose sits so he would be an elite cash option if Rose sits.
FD | DK | Aces | YTD | |||||||||||||||||||
Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PT/G | Pts/G | Reb/G | Ast/G | Stl/G | Blk/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
Kevin Durant | GSW | A | LAC | 21 | 34.5 | 87% | 2.0 | 27.0 | 8.4 | 4.7 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 57% | 18.23% | 48.4 | 50.9 | 48.8 | 49.4 | $10200 | $9700 | $7500 |
Paul George | IND | A | PHX | 14 | 34.6 | 95% | 2.3 | 20.4 | 7.0 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 44% | 15.08% | 35.8 | 38.8 | 36.1 | 36.9 | $8300 | $7800 | $6200 |
Carmelo Anthony | NYK | H | CLE | 21 | 34.1 | 87% | 2.1 | 23.0 | 6.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 44% | 15.50% | 35.0 | 37.3 | 35.3 | 36.1 | $7600 | $7400 | $6100 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo | MIL | H | POR | 19 | 34.2 | 78% | 0.6 | 22.4 | 8.7 | 5.8 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 53% | 18.84% | 46.9 | 49.3 | 47.3 | 47.2 | $10200 | $9800 | $7200 |
Power Forward
If Kevin Durant just doesn’t cut it for you, Blake Griffin should. He’s cheaper than Durant and is arguably safer given the price point. The Warriors have not been great against PFs and Blake Griffin has the chance to have a massive game tonight. Give him a look.
With Andrew Bogut and Dirk Nowitzki out for tonight, the Mavs will be a bit shorthanded in their frontcourt. Salah Mejri will likely start against the Kings but I’m going with Dwight Powell here. He’s coming off two strong performances and I think he’ll perform well once again.
One of my favorite value plays of the night is Josh McRoberts. Sure, the guy hardly shoots but at a price this cheap, we just need him to contribute across the board as he typically does. He’s likely going to see minutes in the 25-30 range so he’s worth a look if you need to save some salary.
FD | DK | Aces | YTD | |||||||||||||||||||
Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PT/G | Pts/G | Reb/G | Ast/G | Stl/G | Blk/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
Josh McRoberts | MIA | A | ATL | 12 | 16.0 | 71% | 0.3 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 33% | 7.66% | 12.8 | 13.5 | 13.0 | 12.9 | $3600 | $3300 | $3500 |
Blake Griffin | LAC | H | GSW | 21 | 33.0 | 76% | 0.2 | 21.1 | 9.0 | 4.8 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 48% | 17.28% | 40.7 | 42.3 | 41.2 | 40.9 | $9400 | $8600 | $6350 |
Dwight Powell | DAL | H | SAC | 20 | 20.4 | 71% | 0.1 | 6.8 | 4.9 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 48% | 9.22% | 17.1 | 17.6 | 17.3 | 17.1 | $3900 | $4100 | $3700 |
Center
You have to take advantage of injured teams and there’s a couple of centers that will benefit from that type of situation. Hassan Whiteside has been killing it once again and he will continue to do so until further notice. It’s not the greatest matchup against Dwight Howard but Whiteside’s going to get a double-double with a few blocks regardless.
Al Horford will be asked to do a bit more on offense with their main scorer and facilitator Isaiah Thomas out of the lineup. He has the ability to contribute across the board each and every night and we should see a nice stat line at the end of tonight. The Magic are bad against centers but Bismack Biyombo’s insertion into the starting lineup has made that problem a bit less worrisome.
Brook Lopez is likely looking at 30 minutes tonight but the guy has been unreal this season. He’s stuffing the stat sheet and has shown no signs of slowing down. Despite the lower minutes, Lopez has still managed to put up numerous 50 fantasy point performances. He has a chance to do that tonight against the Nuggets.
It would be wrong for me not to include DeMarcus Cousins in this article. He’s scored below 50 fantasy points just once over his last 10 games and he’s been absolutely tearing it up. I doubt the Mavs will be able to slow him down especially with their depleted frontcourt.
FD | DK | Aces | YTD | |||||||||||||||||||
Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PT/G | Pts/G | Reb/G | Ast/G | Stl/G | Blk/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
DeMarcus Cousins | SAC | A | DAL | 20 | 34.5 | 75% | 1.8 | 29.1 | 10.5 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 46% | 21.92% | 48.8 | 51.6 | 49.3 | 49.7 | $11100 | $11000 | $8000 |
Brook Lopez | BKN | H | DEN | 18 | 28.1 | 81% | 2.2 | 19.9 | 5.2 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 46% | 16.65% | 32.0 | 34.4 | 32.3 | 33.1 | $7400 | $6400 | $5500 |
Hassan Whiteside | MIA | A | ATL | 21 | 33.4 | 54% | 0.0 | 18.0 | 14.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 56% | 15.76% | 41.9 | 43.6 | 42.6 | 41.9 | $8900 | $9200 | $6800 |
Al Horford | BOS | A | ORL | 11 | 32.7 | 88% | 1.5 | 15.5 | 6.5 | 5.0 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 50% | 11.64% | 35.7 | 37.5 | 36.0 | 36.4 | $7700 | $6700 | $5900 |