Atlanta Hawks & Phoenix Suns

Over/Under: 221.5

Spread: PHO -6

Atlanta and Trae Young travel west to take on the Suns and Devin Booker in a late-night showdown!

News to Watch:

*De'Andre Hunter – Questionable (Knee)

*Cam Reddish – Out

*Lou Williams – Questionable (Trade)

Player Breakdown:

CPT/MVP

Clint Capela C ATL ($13,200)

You likely weren’t expecting to see Capela listed first, but he will be my main target in the captain spot tonight. That is not to discount other options, but it is a top-heavy slate, and any potential salary relief we can get is welcomed. Phoenix doesn’t do a great job of defending opposing centers and Capela also gives us some level of differentiation at the captain spot from the guards who will be heavily targeted. With 14.6 points and 14.1 rebounds per game this season, it’s not like Capela is a slouch either as he looks to bounce back from a rough outing against Denver in which he scored just 10 points while grabbing eight rebounds.

Trae Young PG ATL ($15,300) 

Young doesn’t come cheap but no one brings the upside potential that he does either. We do have some concern that the Suns have allowed the fewest DK points to opposing point guards this season, but the Young is the center of Atlanta’s offense. It has been almost three weeks since Young eclipsed the 30-point mark but he did come close a few games ago with 28 and 29 points before settling in at 21 points for each of his least two games. He is averaging just about 10 assists per game as well so I’m not knocking Young down too much for tonight because I’m not sure there is a path to victory without him and the upside he brings. 

Chris Paul PG PHO ($13,800) 

Atlanta struggles to defend the opposing point guard position (27th in the league per DK scoring) while they are much stronger against shooting guards (third best) so that’s why we are looking to Paul and not Devin Booker here. His last game against Charlotte aside, Paul has been a capable distributor over the last 10 days with 7.8 assists per game while also continuing to be a solid scoring option with 16 points per game. The upside is limited here, but the floor is also one of the highest we see on tonight’s slate. 

MID-TIER

Deandre Ayton C PHO ($7,600) 

Ayton is as steady as they come in the middle averaging 14.8 points and 11 rebounds per game. As long as you go into it expecting a performance of that ilk you won’t be disappointed, but I sometimes get caught in the trap of expecting more from the center. Aside from looking for more than just one blocked shot per game, the other knock on Ayton is the fact that there seems to be a governor on his offensive upside some nights. Over the last 10 days, Ayton is averaging 17.5 points per game as he appears to be showing some of that upside as we look for that to continue.  

Devin Booker SG PHO ($9,600)

I would be remiss if I excluded Booker. This is especially true when he is coming off a 35-point effort against Charlotte on Sunday. The issue for me, aside from the price, is the fact that while Booker is averaging 25.1 points per game this season, his offensive upside and consistency is lacking from previous seasons while he is averaging just four assists per game so that makes him more of a one-dimensional option. Additionally, the Hawks have had success against opposing shooting guards this season from a defensive standpoint. 

Jae Crowder SF PHO ($6,000)

Yes, there is some risk involved here as Crowder scored just two points in his most recent game, but all is not lost. The forward played 33 minutes, and he is consistently around the 30-minute mark, so playing time is not an issue here despite him being well below his average of 10 points per game as he came up short on all nine of his field goal attempts. Crowder does have a role in Phoenix’s offense, and he grabbed eight rebounds on Sunday so not everything was lost from a DFS perspective either.

DART THROWS

Cameron Payne PG PHO ($3,200)

As one of the first players off the bench for the Suns, we can expect close to 20 minutes a game of playing time behind Paul and Booker. By no means am I expected an explosive performance here, but Payne has the ability to score in double-digits and he is averaging 16.4 DK points per game while providing some salary relief. 

Danilo Gallinari SF/PF ATL ($6,600)

Which Galinari will show up tonight? There was a stretch where the forward was in the zone from an offensive perspective, but that appears to have fallen by the wayside as of late. The other issue is that Galinari is a one-dimensional fantasy player but he might be worth a dart throw to see if he gets hot tonight.

Torrey Craig SG/SF PHO ($2,600)

Craig appears to be carving out a solid role off the bench for the Suns that sees him playing close to 20 minutes per night. He brings some scoring upside, of about 10 points, to table while also showing the ability to fill the stat sheet as he grabbed eight rebounds a few games ago. We aren’t looking for much here, but there is a clear path to 20 DK points.