The first Monday of the New Year brings us an eight game NBA slate that is chalk full of top names in Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.  Along with the top priced guys there is also plenty of value on this slate thanks to injuries that will let you fit in a couple of those big names and really let you get creative with your builds.

 

Point Guard

Malcolm Brogdon has been a popular value play since taking over and is coming off a monster DFS performance on Saturday night which saw him scored 15 points with 11 rebounds and 12 assists and return over 10x value.  On Monday he gets to face off against a Thunder team that is allowing the seventh most fantasy points to opposing point guards and should lead to another solid performance from Brogdon in a game that has a 212 total and just a one point spread.

Brandon Jennings got the start at shooting guard on Saturday with the Knicks still without Courtney Lee due to a wrist injury.  In Saturday’s contest the Knicks were also without Kristaps Porzingis and saw Carmelo Anthony limited to just 19 minutes due to knee soreness which lead to Jennings playing 41 minutes and producing his best night of the season as he scored 32 points with five rebounds, seven assists and one block. Anthony and Lee are both questionable for Monday’s game and Porzingis is already considered out which should lead to another night of heavy minutes for Jennings.

Kemba Walker is coming off a big time performance against the Cavaliers on Saturday which saw him score 37 points with five rebounds and five assists. On Monday he faces off against a Bulls squad that will be starting Michael Carter-Williams at point guard who is not much of a defender and offers a solid matchup for Walker to do some damage.

John Wall and the Wizards find themselves in an attractive matchup against the Rockets. Currently Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley is considered questionable to play which would provide a big boost for Wall given Beverley’s defensive ability but this game has a 229 point total and is one of the highest paced contests of the night so even if Beverley plays Wall still figures to be one of the top scoring point guards on the slate.

 

Shooting Guard

James Harden had an absolutely insane night on Saturday against the Knicks as he dropped 53 points with 16 rebounds and 17 assists.  While you can’t trust that Harden will drop yet another game against the Wizards he does has four triple-doubles and eight double-doubles over his last 12 games.  This game also has the highest total of the night at 229 and the Rockets themselves are scheduled to put up 119 in a higher paced game.  A 5x night for Harden should be pretty easy to achieve.  

Giannis Antetokounmpo offers a little over a $1,000 price discount on Harden but he himself had a huge game on Saturday, scoring 35 points with nine rebounds, seven assists, seven blocks and two steals.  The Greak Freak has a pretty solid floor and his size and athleticism makes him a matchup problem for any team trying to defend him.  This game has a 212 point total but just a one point spread which should lead to a productive outing for the Bucks best player.

Thanks to Kyrie Irving being inactive due to an injured hamstring Jordan McRae got his first career start on Saturday and took advantage of the increased playing time by scoring 20 points with four rebounds and one assist over 31 minutes of play.  Irving is again questionable to play on Monday night and with McRae being min price on nearly all formats he would make for an interesting value option for those players looking to fit in multiple top priced players into their lineup.

 

Small Forward

Gordon Hayward has maybe the best matchup of the night as he faces off against a Nets team that is allowing the most fantasy points to opposing small forwards this season.  The Nets also play at one of the higher paces in the NBA this season which actually causes the Jazz to have the highest projected pace increase of the night.  This game is projected to have a 204 total and a spread of seven points in favor of the Jazz.  Hayward figures to see increased ball handling duties with George Hill out of the lineup which should only help his production.

LeBron James is in an interesting spot as he faces a Pelicans team which ranks in the middle of the road against small forwards and should see increased usage if Kyrie Irving is out of the lineup.  James is also a near $2,000 price discount on the likes of Westbrook, Harden and Davis while also having a ceiling that is fairly similar.  I am going to be using a lot of James tonight, especially if Irving does in fact sit.

Even though Bradley Beal is likely to play on Monday I still like the matchup that Otto Porter will face as the Rockets are ranked 24th in terms of defense against the small forward position this season.  This game also offers up the highest point total of the night at 229 and the pace of play should make it easy for Porter to make value for those looking for a mid-tier play at the position.

 

Power Forward

Derrick Favors has one of the best matchups of the night as he will get to face a Nets team that ranks 28th in DvP against opposing power forwards and is a team that ranks towards the bottom of the league in rebounds.  Favors price tag is severely depressed given his injury issues and playing time cap this season however he has seen his playing time cap raise to 25 minutes and seeing as he is normally a $7,000 power forward when healthy his price tag of under $5,000 is a must for those players looking to stack some of the higher priced players in their lineups. 

Serge Ibaka has put together some solid games of late with Evan Fournier out of the lineup.  Fournier is again questionable to play on Monday night which would lead to increased usage again for Ibaka against a Knicks team that is going to be without Kristaps Porzingis and likely Carmelo Anthony as well.  At under $7,000 Ibaka is a decent mid-tier play as long as Fournier is indeed out of the lineup.

Kevin Love is another player with a very favorable matchup on Monday night as he faces a Pelicans squad that is ranked 27th in the DvP rankings against power forwards.  Love also sees an increased usage rate when Kyrie Irving is out of the lineup which is a possibility for tonight as he continues to deal with hamstring issues.  Love is averaging 23.9 points and 12.3 rebounds over the last nine games as was stated in the playbook and a mini-stack of LeBron James and Kevin Love is something I have in my lineup tonight if Irving does in fact sit.

 

Center

Joakim Noah has certainly frustrated fantasy owners this season however on Saturday night he turned in one of his best performances yet, scoring 15 points with 16 rebounds, two assists and one block over 29 minutes.  With news that Porzingis is not likely to play on Monday the Knicks figure to give Noah an increased role once again which should allow for him to easily meet value against a Magic team that ranks 26th in DvP against centers.

Like all the Jazz players Rudy Gobert has an absolutely stellar matchup against the Nets on Monday night.  He could very well be the top scoring center on the slate as the Nets rank dead last against centers in the DvP rankings and Gobert himself is having a career year as he is averaging 12.5 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.  The Nets are one of the league worst rebounding team and their center Brook Lopez, despite being over seven feet tall, is not much of a defensive player.  A 5x should very much be in the cards for Gobert tonight for those looking to spend up at the center position.

Going back to that Knicks/Magic matchup we have Nikola Vucevic who will have the privilege of facing off against a Knicks team that ranks 29th against opposing centers according to the DvP rankings.  The Knicks will be shorthanded on Monday with Porzingis likely sitting out and while Noah has been known for his defense in the past that has not been the case this season.  Vucevic is a talented offensive center and has returned near 6x value over his last two games.

Stacks

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