I’m never a huge fan of 10-plus game slates, but tonight should be a good one. There are a ton of value plays available and lineup building should be easier than usual.
Point Guard
Dennis Schroder may not be my top play of the day, but he has a ton upside against a weak Denver backcourt. Jameer Nelson will likely draw the start against the Hawks tonight and while Schroder is extremely inconsistent, he’s an excellent tournament option.
Ricky Rubio sees a sizeable boost sans Zach Lavine and he’s firmly on my radar tonight. Though the matchup is neutral, Rubio is still under $7k and should notch a double-double in this one.
Michael Carter-Williams will be the chalk value play at the PG position tonight and for a good reason. He’s scored over 40 fantasy points in two straight games and Jimmy Butler is out once again. Also, Dwyane Wade is questionable due to an illness. Even if Wade plays, MCW is a near must-play in cash games.
Dion Waiters is doubtful to play tonight and it’s safe to say that he’s not going to suit up for this one. Goran Dragic has a tough matchup against the Bucks who have shut down PGs over the last four weeks. However, the increased opportunity makes him an interesting play in both formats.
| FD | DKPts/G | Yahoo | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Ricky Rubio | MIN | H | TOR | 46 | 32 | 88% | 0.7 | 8.8 | 3.8 | 8.2 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 2.3 | 39% | 14.6% | 27 | 28.7 | 27.4 | $6700 | $6700 | $24 |
| Michael Carter-Williams | CHI | A | GSW | 21 | 22.1 | 80% | 0.4 | 8.8 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 41% | 21.25% | 19.3 | 20.6 | 19.5 | $5000 | $4600 | $10 |
| Dennis Schroder | ATL | H | DEN | 52 | 30.6 | 83% | 1.2 | 17.3 | 2.8 | 6.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 3.1 | 46% | 27.18% | 28.8 | 31.1 | 29.4 | $6200 | $6000 | $25 |
| Goran Dragic | MIA | A | MIL | 44 | 34.2 | 78% | 1.8 | 20.1 | 3.9 | 6.5 | 1 | 0.2 | 3.1 | 48% | 26.54% | 33.8 | 36.4 | 34.6 | $8200 | $7500 | $34 |
Shooting Guard
The SG position is a complete wasteland tonight and if I could completely fade a position, it’d be this one. Devin Booker doesn’t have the best matchup against the Grizzlies, but he still has a very high floor. He has scored below 30 fantasy points just twice over his last 15 games and he’s had numerous 40-pointers in that span.
Bradley Beal is also in consideration tonight against the Nets, but this game could get out of hand in a hurry. Beal and Booker are pretty similar in terms of their fantasy output, but Beal has a better matchup and is more expensive. You could go either way, since both are relatively safe.
The only other SG I’m comfortable playing today is Klay Thompson. If Butler and Wade sit this one out, this game will be over by the third quarter for sure. But there’s a strong narrative pulling Klay Thompson, his grandfather just passed away, and it’s his birthday. Analytics can’t predict a player’s performance after something so substantial, so the Thompson play would be a shot in the dark.
| FD | DKPts/G | Yahoo | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Bradley Beal | WAS | A | BKN | 47 | 34.5 | 82% | 2.8 | 22.2 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 1 | 0.3 | 2 | 47% | 26.35% | 31.8 | 34.3 | 33.2 | $7400 | $7100 | $30 |
| Klay Thompson | GSW | H | CHI | 50 | 34.2 | 85% | 3.1 | 21.4 | 3.9 | 2 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 46% | 25.28% | 29.8 | 32.4 | 31.4 | $6700 | $6600 | $29 |
| Devin Booker | PHX | A | MEM | 51 | 34.8 | 83% | 1.9 | 21.1 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 42% | 27.92% | 28.9 | 31.4 | 29.8 | $7000 | $6500 | $30 |
Small Forward
Anthony Tolliver is SF/PF eligible and while he’s not a very exciting play, he’s a great option for salary relief. He should see 30-plus minutes sans Cousins even though he’s not starting. Tolliver is a fine cash play, but he doesn’t have much upside.
Paul George is an excellent play in both formats and you know George is going to ball tonight. He always steps up against LeBron James and with Thaddeus Young out of the lineup again, he’ll have to shoulder the offensive load even more than usual.
LeBron James has seen his price jump up to $10,600 but he’s still cheaper than John Wall. LBJ will be the focal point of the offense against the Pacers as per usual, and he’s one of the safest studs available. The entire Cavs big three is in play tonight.
Gordon Hayward has quietly put together a string of solid performances and he’s remained low-owned over the last week. He has another decent matchup against the Pelicans and he should be fairly low-owned once again. Hayward can be considered in both formats tonight.
| FD | DKPts/G | Yahoo | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| LeBron James | CLE | A | IND | 47 | 37.6 | 69% | 1.7 | 25.9 | 7.9 | 8.8 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 4.2 | 53% | 29.63% | 48.4 | 51.8 | 49.2 | $11500 | $10200 | $53 |
| Paul George | IND | H | CLE | 44 | 35.5 | 92% | 2.3 | 22.5 | 6.1 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 45% | 28.17% | 35.9 | 38.8 | 37.1 | $8600 | $7800 | $39 |
| Gordon Hayward | UTA | A | NOP | 45 | 34.7 | 87% | 1.9 | 22.2 | 5.8 | 3.5 | 1 | 0.3 | 2 | 47% | 27.57% | 35 | 37.3 | 36 | $8000 | $7600 | $33 |
Power Forward
Karl-Anthony Towns faces a Raptors team that just gave up a triple-double to Blake Griffin. Towns has been destroying lately and while his price is a lot to ask for in GPPs, he’s always a fine cash option. Zach Lavine’s absence only helps Towns as well.
James Johnson sees a small usage increase when Dion Waiters is out of the lineup, and there’s a chance we see some extra JJ tonight. He’s a fantasy beast when he gets the minutes. But he remains a tournament-only option due to his inconsistency.
Kevin Love will be in most of my cash lineups tonight as Lavoy Allen will be in for a rude awakening. K-Love should be in for a massive double-double tonight as the Cavs will look to make a statement against the Pacers. He has enough upside to deploy in tournaments, but I’d rather pivot to a guy like Millsap.
Taj Gibson will be asked to play a larger role on the offensive side of the ball with Butler out. However, I’ll only be playing Gibson if Wade ends up sitting as well. The Bulls are running out of scorers so Gibson would be an excellent, low-owned value option if that’s the case.
| FD | DKPts/G | Yahoo | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Taj Gibson | CHI | A | GSW | 50 | 27.6 | 70% | 0.0 | 11.7 | 7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1.4 | 52% | 19.13% | 23.5 | 24.5 | 23.5 | $5000 | $4800 | $16 |
| James Johnson | MIA | A | MIL | 47 | 26 | 69% | 1.2 | 11.6 | 4.9 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 1 | 2.2 | 48% | 21.16% | 24 | 26 | 24.6 | $5900 | $5200 | $24 |
| Kevin Love | CLE | A | IND | 43 | 31.8 | 87% | 2.7 | 20.4 | 11.1 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 43% | 26.94% | 36.8 | 39.8 | 38.2 | $8200 | $8700 | $38 |
| Anthony Tolliver | SAC | H | BOS | 40 | 22.7 | 80% | 1.4 | 7 | 3.7 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 46% | 12.79% | 13.7 | 14.9 | 14.3 | $4600 | $4000 | $10 |
Center
If you’re not playing either Kosta Koufos or Willie Cauley-Stein, you’ve got balls, kid. I have both in plenty of my lineups and you can easily make the case to play both in the same lineup. Koufos is $3,600, while WCS is $3,500. Both are expected to start tonight against the Celtics and it’d be a major surprise if they didn’t exceed value by a sizeable margin.
After a cold streak a few weeks back, Marcin Gortat is rolling again. The one downside of playing both of the Sactown bigs is that you can’t play any other center. That’s a major problem considering the center spot is enticing tonight. Gortat gets the Brooklyn Nets and he should hit cash game value at the very least.
Hassan Whiteside is rolling again and it appears he’s finally over his most recent ankle injury. He’s scored over 40 fantasy points in three straight games and he should have his way against the Bucks, especially with Waiters out. He has 60 point upside and he’s a good bet for 40 every time he hits the floor due to his rebounding prowess.
| FD | DKPts/G | Yahoo | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | MIN | H | TOR | 52 | 36.4 | 81% | 1.2 | 23.3 | 11.9 | 3 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 51% | 27.49% | 43.7 | 46.3 | 44.3 | $10800 | $9800 | $47 |
| Willie Cauley-Stein | SAC | H | BOS | 45 | 12.2 | 54% | 0.0 | 5.2 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 57% | 18.79% | 10.1 | 10.5 | 10.1 | $4600 | $3500 | $10 |
| Kosta Koufos | SAC | H | BOS | 52 | 19.1 | 55% | 0.0 | 6.3 | 5.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 61% | 14.33% | 15 | 15.7 | 15 | $4900 | $3600 | $10 |
| Marcin Gortat | WAS | A | BKN | 51 | 34.6 | 67% | 0.0 | 11.9 | 11.5 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1 | 1.6 | 60% | 14.36% | 29.6 | 31 | 29.6 | $6900 | $6300 | $21 |
| Hassan Whiteside | MIA | A | MIL | 47 | 33 | 56% | 0.0 | 16.9 | 13.9 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 2 | 2.1 | 56% | 23.03% | 38.2 | 40 | 38.2 | $9100 | $7900 | $37 |
Stacks
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