With Davis sidelined, James is the only big game in town for the Lakers as he comes close to a triple-double on a nightly basis. Over his last 10 games, James is averaging 52 fantasy points per game and to say he is playing at a high level would be an understatement. With the other top options tonight priced in a similar neighborhood to James, I feel more comfortable looking his way as opposed to trying pick correctly between the two Washington guards.

Bradley Beal SG (WAS) $18,600

Beal was the high scorer Saturday night for Washington in what was his second straight 37-point effort and third game out of his previous four with at least 35 points. With 32.9 points per game, Beal continues to score at a high level and that should be no different tonight as he is reaping the benefits of his efficiency from the field shooting 47.8%. Aside from one dud performance against Miami earlier this month when he made just one shot from the field, Beal hasn’t put up less than 40 fantasy points in his last 10 games, and he seems to hover around the 50-point mark on a nightly basis.

Russell Westbrook (WAS) $18,900

While Beal is clearly the better offensive option in Washington’s backcourt, we shouldn’t be overlooking Westbrook either. From a scoring perspective, at 19.3 points per game so far this season, he isn’t at the levels we previously have come to expect from him but with 9.5 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game, he comes close to a triple-double on a nightly basis. Westbrook is working on a streak of five straight games of double-digit assists totals, and while it would be nice, we can’t bank on the 27 points he put up on Saturday. We might be splitting hairs here, but the offensive upside Beal offers puts him slightly ahead of Westbrook for GPP lineups. It’s hard to go wrong with either option though and Westbrook might offer just a little bit more cash game security.

MID-TIER

Kyle Kuzma SF/PF (LAL) $8,600

Kuzma continues to be the clear beneficiary of Davis’ absence and his nagging back issue doesn’t appear to be an issue. In four of his last five games, the forward has scored between 16 and 23 points but aside from averaging six rebounds per game, Kuzma doesn’t contribute in any other areas which does limit his upside. Based on what we have seen from Kuzma to this point, there really isn’t a path to much more than 30 fantasy points which makes him more of a cash game play tonight.

Montrezl Harrell C (LAL) $7,400

Despite coming off the bench, Harrell is good for about 25 minutes per game and with Washington struggling against opposing centers from a fantasy perspective so far this season, it is a good situation tonight. It also helps that Harrell is coming off one of his best games of the season against the Heat on Saturday as he scored 18 points (his third straight game in double figures) while grabbing 10 rebounds. This is the peak of Harrell’s value, but from a GPP perspective, the 37 fantasy points do lend itself to optimism for tonight as Harrell has eclipsed the 25-fantasy point mark in seven of his last 10 games.

Davis Bertans SF/PF (WAS) $7,000

After a disappointing effort in what we thought was a positive situation on Saturday night that saw Bertans score just six points, fantasy owners have to be left with a sour taste. I wouldn’t hold it against Bertans tonight as he did play 34 minutes and take nine shots, so for now we can chalk it up as an off night as he was coming off a 35-point effort. That is the high end of Bertans upside, but he should be good for 10-15 points tonight while throwing in a few rebounds. While I wouldn’t consider him a must play, Bertans is one of the better options at this price point.

DART THROWS

Garrison Mathews SG/SF (WAS) $2,400

Matthews continues to be in Washington’s starting lineup so that on its own puts him on our radar. The problem though, is that his upside then disappears pretty quickly as he has logged 12 minutes in two of his last three games. Matthews doesn’t do much other than score (6.9 points per game) and he is as cheap as I’m willing to go tonight as you will need to save some salary cap space on a top-heavy slate.

Robin Lopez C (WAS) $4,200

Lopez is a budget play I actually feel good about. So far this month he has consistently been getting greater than 20 minutes of playing time and while he may not be the most exciting player to watch, there has been a level of dependability in his performance. At this price, 10 points along with a few rebounds is a nice base as all he really needs to do is get you in that 15 to 20 fantasy point range, and as of late that hasn’t been a problem.

Talen Horton-Tucker SF (LAL) $3,800

If you take out the six-minute dud performance Horton-Tucker had three games ago against Minnesota, along with another one against Memphis, things haven’t been too bad for the forward. There is a level of buyer beware here, but for the most part you get a well-rounded, albeit slight, line from Horton-Tucker and he is a little more dependable and salary cap friendly than some of the other Lakers’ options in this range.

Player News

No Players Found

{{item.datetime}} (ET)

More Player News