Point Guards

Damian Lillard is coming off the back end of a back-to-back and that usually warrants some concern. He’s almost guaranteed to play 35 minutes as long as the game remains close, another 40 point explosion is on the horizon. The Suns have given up the third-most fantasy points to PGs.

This slate is loaded with back to backs but luckily the players I’m targeting are young enough to play heavy minutes in the beginning of the season. James Harden is a monster and the revamped New York Knicks will have no chance if they try to stop him. He’s $1,700 than Russell Westbrook and he’s worth considering in this spot. 

The Sixers held their own against the Magic last night but coming off a back to back, they should be pretty gassed. Kemba Walker has quietly been producing and he should be in for a monster performance against the Sixers. The Sixers have given up the most fantasy points to point guards and it’s not very close. Fire him up in any format. 

Sticking with the same game, Sergio Rodriguez has been a very pleasant surprise for the Sixers. He’s racking up dimes and actually scoring the ball quite a bit. The Hornets are giving up quite a bit of points to point guards and Spanish Chocolate should have no problem racking up another 30 fantasy points or so. He’s my value PG of the day

Shooting Guards

You know what they say, ride the hot hand. DeMar DeRozan has been on fire to start the season and he’s one of the streakiest players in the league. He’s been very quiet on the stat sheet aside from points but he needs to be in a few of your lineups against a high pace game with the Wizards. He’s nearing 8k so don’t go overboard, this could be the game he finally misses his value. 

Batum is averaging a cool 30 fantasy points per game but he has a date with the Sixers tonight. Along with Walker, both make for great plays against a Sixers team that can’t defend any position very well. The blowout potential is there and this is an ugly game but the Sixers have been keeping games close recently. I don’t love Batum here but he will be in plenty of my lineups based off the matchup alone. 

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is finally heating up after a miserable first two games. He has a fine matchup with the Brooklyn Nets who have a terrible perimeter defense. He’s a poor man’s DeRozan so his ceiling will always be capped by a lack of counting stats. 

That’s it for my SG’s, if you’re in on Harden and hate the SG plays, throw him in at the SG position on DraftKings. That’s the beauty of the multi-position eligibility. FREEDOM.

Small Forwards 

Ride the hot hand, I’ll keep reiterating it. In GPPs this isn’t necessarily the case as the players are often the chalk. But for cash games, it’s impossible to fade Tobias Harris right now. He had another outstanding performance against the Knicks last night and he’s on fire from deep to stop the season. The Nets are not a tough team to score on and I expect Harris to play well again. Harris is also just $6,100.

It finally happened. Dario Saric had a great game. Fantasy players all over the world fell in love with Saric’s stat set and he finally produced. Robert Covington has not scored in his last two games and since the Sixers are on the back end of a back to back, Embiid will likely sit or play very limited minutes. Saric could be a steal at $4,500.

Jae Crowder has been on an absolute tear to start the season and he’s shown no signs of slowing down. With Avery Bradley and Al Horford questionable, Crowder’s usage would see a large bump in his usage rate. Both could very well play but he’s still a solid play at just $5,600 on DraftKings.

Power Forwards

Playing any big against the Lakers is usually a good bet but those who played Myles Turner last night probably don’t feel that way anymore. Paul Millsap is near matchup proof because he fills up the stat sheet almost every night. He hasn’t shot the best to start the season, yet he’s still been a top option in DFS. It’ll be tough to skip over Millsap’s name tomorrow.

Taj Gibson has been my go to PF option so far this season. He’s had to deal with two blowouts to start the season and he has still hit or exceeded value in all three of his games. He gets a matchup against Boston once again. Gibson scored 32.5 DK points in his last game against Boston. 

All of Charlotte is in play here and Marvin Williams has proven to be one of the most consistent Hornet players as of late. His game isn’t flashy but he’s always a good bet for a 15 point, 8 rebound game with a couple of threes. DraftKings offers a bonus for double-doubles and three pointers, both of which Williams is capable of doing. 

Trevor Booker is coming off a 19 minute performance due to a blow out. I love targeting guys who are coming off weak performances because their ownership always takes a substantial dive. Booker can fill up the stat sheet in a hurry and he’s a near lock to hit value as long as he can get 26-29 minutes.

Centers

I may be rolling out a few Millsap-Howard combos tomorrow against the Lakers. A combined $15,600 in salary isn’t too bad considering both could conceivably hit 50 in this one. Dwight Howard is a beast on the boards and his only bad game this year came in a blowout win against the Sixers. He should dominate the glass against the Lakers.

Coming off a surprise rest day, Marc Gasol should be in the 30-32 minute range. He’s off to a hot start and he actually hit four threes in his last game. Luckily, DraftKings has a utility spot so if you can’t decide between Howard and Gasol, DK has you covered. Gasol has been playing well under the radar so I’m hoping he remains low owned. 

Rarely will I ever recommend two players from the same position, on the same team. But the Lakers will likely be without Mozgov and could get destroyed but the Hawks who have been surprisingly good this year. If the spread opens up in favor of the Hawks at 10 or more, Mike Muscala may end up being the value play of the night. It’s tough to ever bet on a blowout but Muscala has been getting some run regardless of the score. He’s averaging 23 fantasy points per game at just $3,400 and this game could be over fairly quick.