NBA DFS Position Coach: December 2, 2016

Point Guard

With Jerryd Bayless on the shelf once again, Sergio Rodriguez makes for a very interesting value play in all formats. The Magic have guarded PGs relatively well but Sergio should still hit value in this one. 

Kyle Lowry has been one of the most consistent guards to date and a date with the Lakers is just what we needed as DFS players. He should kill the Lakers and he’s one of the top PG plays of the day. 

Though Elfrid Payton is now coming off the bench, he’s still seeing his normal allotment of minutes. The Sixers are a poor defensive team and Payton should be able to hit 5x value with ease. 

Isaiah Thomas seems to play a bit harder every time he plays against his former team, the Sacramento Kings. The revenge game narrative is always overused but I’m fully invested into the IT3 narrative. Regardless of that, he’s still a great play at his price given his consistency.

 Shooting Guard

It’s so hard to play Bradley Beal at $7,000 but if you haven’t been playing him recently, you’ve been missing out. He’s scored over 42 fantasy points in 5 of his last 6 games. The matchup against the Spurs is intimidating but for what it’s worth, he scored 45 fantasy points a few days ago against that same team. 

Dwyane Wade has been playing very well lately and you know he’s going to give it his all against his good friend LeBron. This is a great matchup tonight and Wade is a steal at $6,400. With everyone healthy, his upside is a bit limited but he can still have a very productive night. 

If you’re not feeling Kyle Lowry, feel free to lock and load DeMar DeRozan into your cash games. It’s pretty clear now that his upside is capped due to his inability to rack up the prereferral stats but against the Lakers, you can almost guarantee 40-45 fantasy points right off the bat. 

Justin Holiday is an intriguing option now that Courtney Lee is unlikely to play tonight. His stat set doesn’t suit DFS all that well but if he can get hot, he could exceed value fairly quickly into the game.

 Small Forward

If DeMarre Carroll rests tonight, Norman Powell becomes one of the top value plays of the night against the Lakers. The Raptors stack is real but I wouldn’t play both DeRozan and Lowry together. Powell-Lowry will likely be in plenty of my lineups if Carroll sits. 

Jimmy Butler will have the tough task to guard the struggling LeBron James but he’s fared well in years past. His price has dipped a bit and this game should be fairly high scoring unless the Cavs decide to rest anyone on the second game of a back to back. Butler is a great GPP play. 

Jae Crowder has not missed a step since returning from injury and he continues to be one of the most reliable Celtics players. He’s a good bet for 30 points every single game and I would chalk him up for 30 again against the Kings. Crowder is a solid cash option.

 Power Forward

Anthony Davis is an option each and every night but I have to give a pretty significant edge to DeMarcus Cousins tonight. Davis is a solid GPP pivot from Cousins because he’s going to be fairly low owned.

As for Cousins, you can play him just about everywhere. He’s scored 55 fantasy points or more in six of his last seven games. The Celtics have been atrocious in the rebounding category and DMC should feast yet again.

Kristaps Porzingis is on fire and there’s no other way to put it. He’s a very safe cash option as he hasn’t scored below 30 fantasy points in weeks. For what it’s worth, Porzingod just dropped 50 fantasy points on this Wolves team a couple of days ago. 

Kevin Love has also been on a tear recently, though he’s had two duds in a row. Before the duds, he had 11 double-doubles through 13 games. He’s an extremely safe option for that reason and his ability to get hot in a hurry makes him an appealing GPP option. You could go either way, Love or Porzingis but definitely pick one at the very least.

 Center

How can you not love Joel Embiid? The guy is a tank. His minutes limit has been raised to 28 and he’s been resting for multiple days so he’ll be very fresh. The Magic can’t guard big men so expect Embiid to go off. 

I’m one of the somewhat lucky ones to play KAT the other night where he went bonkers for 80 fantasy points. Now, his price has climbed to $8,900 but don’t be afraid. Towns will likely land in the 50-60 fantasy point range once again. He has a very high floor so even if he has an off game he should get you 35-40 points. 

If you’re looking for a cash game center but you don’t want to play Embiid for some weird reason, Marcin Gortat is your guy. The matchup against the Spurs is far from ideal but he’ll log 32-36 minutes. I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t hit value. 

Al Horford is coming off an odd game where he shot just five times through 31 minutes. That’s not going to happen ever again and despite his low shot attempts, he still mustered up 25 fantasy points. He’s a solid option at a fairly low price.