I don’t remember seeing a slate this season that was so weak at the top. The top nine players in fantasy points for the season all have the night off, and of the guys remaining, Jimmy Butler is on the road for the second of a back-to-back while Karl-Anthony Towns and Kawhi Leonard have tough matchups against each other. Finding guys to spend big on will be a challenge, which is one reason I will begin a lot of my lineups at center. You almost have to pay for a center, and then you can go with cheap guys at power forward and point guard before rounding out your lineup with wing players.
Point Guard
Patty Mills Patty Mills is averaging 11.5 points and 5.8 assists in four games as a starter and Tony Parker is out for the foreseeable future. No team on Tuesday’s slate has allowed as many fantasy points to opposing point guards as the Timberwolves this season.
The Bulls lose an hour going to Detroit to play their fourth game in five nights, and while he is a bit risky, I like Reggie Jackson as a GPP play. Jackson played just 23 minutes in his season debut Sunday, but he could have his minutes restriction lifted as soon as Tuesday. Jackson scored 18 points Sunday, so he has some upside even if he doesn’t play 30 minutes.
While his teammates will likely be tired, Rajon Rondo should be well-rested after he served a one-game suspension Monday. Rondo had his first triple-double of the season last week against the Cavs, but he will probably flirt with another one Tuesday.
Miami’s injuries are beyond ridiculous. James Johnson has been ruled out Tuesday, and even if Luke Babbitt returns, Miami will have a ridiculously short rotation yet again. Goran Dragic is averaging 22.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists over his last four games. By way of comparison, John Wall is averaging 22.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 9.9 assists on the season.
Tyler Johnson doesn’t have Dragic’s upside, but he has played at least 28 minutes in seven consecutive games, and he has proven he will contribute in other areas when his shot is off, as has been the case the last two games.
I know I said Goran Dragic is a cheaper version of John Wall, and I believe that is true, but Wall is super safe, and have I mentioned the stars are terrible for this slate?
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | ACEPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
| Patty Mills | SAS | A | MIN | 21 | 23.5 | 94% | 1.9 | 11 | 2 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 0 | 1.3 | 49% | 11.31% | 18.8 | 20.5 | 18.9 | 19.8 | $4,300 | $4,200 | $4,000 |
| Reggie Jackson | DET | H | CHI | 1 | 23 | 100% | 2 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 58% | 21.28% | 22.2 | 24.8 | 22.3 | 23.2 | $6,500 | $5,600 | $5,000 |
| Goran Dragic | MIA | H | NYK | 15 | 32.9 | 78% | 1.3 | 17.1 | 3.9 | 6.7 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.8 | 43% | 14.73% | 31.5 | 33.8 | 31.7 | 32.2 | $7,000 | $7,300 | $5,500 |
| Tyler Johnson | MIA | H | NYK | 19 | 29.8 | 74% | 1.1 | 12.3 | 4.8 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 41% | 10.47% | 25.1 | 26.4 | 25.3 | 25.6 | $5,200 | $5,200 | $4,600 |
| John Wall | WAS | H | ORL | 17 | 35.5 | 83% | 1.2 | 22.4 | 4.2 | 9.8 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 4.5 | 45% | 18.68% | 43 | 46 | 43.2 | 43.6 | $9,500 | $8,700 | $6,650 |
Shooting Guard
Ellington predictably had a poor shooting game Saturday, but he still finished with 12 points in 39 minutes. That is basically his floor right now until Miami gets some perimeter players back, and he has already proven he is capable of scoring 20.
On sites where he is eligible at shooting guard, Jimmy Butler is like a desert oasis. Butler is averaging 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists on the second night of a back-to-back, and I will happily lock in that production at shooting guard.
All of the shooting guards in Tuesday’s slate have warts, and none of them have as favorable a matchup as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Dwayne Wade will not get the night off after he played 36 minutes Tuesday, and Pope should be able to take advantage, even if he gets fewer shots now that Reggie Jackson is back.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | ACEPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
| Wayne Ellington | MIA | H | NYK | 4 | 32.8 | 67% | 2.5 | 15 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0 | 0.5 | 51% | 9.40% | 21.4 | 23 | 21.5 | 22.7 | $4,300 | $4,200 | $3,700 |
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | DET | H | CHI | 22 | 33.1 | 83% | 2.1 | 15 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 42% | 10.37% | 25.2 | 27 | 25.4 | 26.2 | $5,700 | $5,700 | $4,750 |
| Jimmy Butler | CHI | A | DET | 20 | 35.9 | 88% | 1.3 | 25.7 | 6.7 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 47% | 16.93% | 41.7 | 43.7 | 42.1 | 42.4 | $9,200 | $8,900 | $6,550 |
Small Forward
If you want to take advantage of Phoenix’s porous defense, you pretty much have to go with Gordon Hayward or Rudy Gobert. Heyward has scored at least 22 points in eight consecutive games.
Don’t look now, but Marcus Morris has scored at least 10 points in six consecutive games and he has at least four rebounds in five straight. In a pretty rough slate for small forwards, Morris is super safe and I love his matchup against the tired Bulls.
I don’t necessarily think you need to go cheap at small forward, but if you want to, Troy Williams is a fine option. Williams is averaging 10.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in seven games as a starter this season, and you could certainly do worse than those stats.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | ACEPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
| Gordon Hayward | UTA | H | PHX | 16 | 35.9 | 90% | 1.7 | 22.8 | 6.4 | 3.9 | 1 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 44% | 16.55% | 36.8 | 38.9 | 37.1 | 37.6 | $8,100 | $8,200 | $5,900 |
| Marcus Morris | DET | H | CHI | 22 | 32 | 82% | 1.5 | 14.3 | 4 | 2 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 1 | 44% | 10.46% | 23.7 | 25.2 | 23.9 | 24.4 | $5,000 | $5,100 | $4,450 |
| Troy Williams | MEM | H | PHI | 16 | 16.9 | 57% | 0.4 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 42% | 10.64% | 10.3 | 11.2 | 10.4 | 10.5 | $4,200 | $4,400 | $3,800 |
Power Forward
Dario Saric has averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds over the last two games with Robert Covington out, while Ersan Ilyasova has averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor are out Tuesday as well, so both players should be pretty safe. Richaun Holmes is a bit riskier, but he should serve as the de facto center for the depleted 76ers.
JaMychal Green should be able to push around Saric and Ilyasova for rebounds, and he might be the best pick of this group to get a double-double.
I think last week I compared the power forward position to the shooting guard position, and that comparison works for Tuesday’s slate as well. While I am perfectly content going cheap with one or more power forwards from the Philadelphia game, there is no doubt Kristaps Porzingis is the best power forward of the slate by far. You have to spend money someplace, other than just center, and Porzingis will do just fine.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | ACEPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
| Dario Saric | PHI | A | MEM | 21 | 24.8 | 73% | 1.3 | 9.7 | 6 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 39% | 11.46% | 19.1 | 21.1 | 19.4 | 19.8 | $4,100 | $4,900 | $3,700 |
| Richaun Holmes | PHI | A | MEM | 17 | 15.5 | 69% | 0.4 | 6.9 | 4.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 53% | 12.32% | 15.5 | 16.4 | 15.7 | 15.7 | $3,500 | $3,600 | $3,500 |
| Ersan Ilyasova | PHI | A | MEM | 3 | 20.7 | 0% | 1 | 5 | 5.3 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 38% | 7.14% | 13.2 | 14.7 | 13.5 | 13.7 | $4,600 | $4,600 | $4,000 |
| JaMychal Green | MEM | H | PHI | 22 | 30 | 77% | 0.6 | 9.4 | 7.1 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 48% | 8.73% | 21.2 | 22.4 | 21.5 | 21.5 | $5,200 | $5,700 | $4,450 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | NYK | A | MIA | 20 | 34.3 | 79% | 2.3 | 20.6 | 7.4 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 47% | 13.73% | 34.8 | 37 | 35.1 | 35.9 | $7,600 | $8,000 | $5,950 |
Center
No team has surrendered as many blocks as the Suns, and only the Nets have allowed more points. Like Andre Drummond, Rudy Gobert has been a double-double machine the last two weeks, but Gobert’s blocks give him a bit more upside.
I almost feel sorry for Richaun Holmes if he has to go against Marc Gasol for 30 minutes. Philadelphia allows 46 rebounds per game, and a lot of those will probably go to Marc Gasol.
I think I may end up playing more than one center in a lot of lineups. No team has allowed as many fantasy points to centers as the Knicks, and Hassan Whiteside will continue to get a ton of shots and rebounds with so many of his frontcourt mates injured.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | ACEPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $FA |
| Rudy Gobert | UTA | H | PHX | 22 | 31.8 | 65% | 0 | 10.8 | 11.3 | 1 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 64% | 11.31% | 30.8 | 32.1 | 31.3 | 30.8 | $6,900 | $6,400 | $5,200 |
| Marc Gasol | MEM | H | PHI | 21 | 33.8 | 81% | 1.6 | 18.9 | 5.7 | 4.2 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 2 | 45% | 14.56% | 35.2 | 37.2 | 35.4 | 35.9 | $7,500 | $7,400 | $5,700 |
| Hassan Whiteside | MIA | H | NYK | 20 | 33.3 | 56% | 0 | 17.8 | 14.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 2 | 56% | 15.72% | 41.5 | 43.3 | 42.3 | 41.5 | $9,100 | $9,600 | $6,650 |