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Memphis Grizzlies @ Golden State Warriors
Spread: GSW -4.5
O/U: 221
Injuries
Grizzlies
Sean McDermott - OUT
Warriors
Damion Lee - QUEST
Klay Thompson - OUT
Kelly Oubre Jr. - OUT
James Wiseman - OUT
MVP/CPT
Am I crazy to think Valanciunas is the top play of the slate? I know Stephen Curry is on the other side of the court, but Valanciunas is on a different planet right now. Who is going to keep him off the glass? He’s coming off a 23 point, 23 rebound performance and has now topped 16 rebounds in four-of-six (once against GSW) and in six-of-nine. The Warriors rank 20th in DvP against centers and 27th in rebounding rate. Valanciunas should feast here.
Look, there isn’t a lot we have to say here. If Curry gets hot, nobody can stop him. Nobody. He won the league's scoring title for a reason. He’s put up 50+ DKP in seven-of-eight games while putting up 30+ actual in nine-of-10. Pick your poison between Curry and Valanciunas at the CPT spot, but know, Curry will be higher owned.
I think if there was someone I’d use other than Curry or Valanciunas to possibly make things work so I could fit them both, it would be Brooks. Brooks is playing his best basketball of the season heading into this contest. He put up 43 DKP in the teams first play-in game and has put up north of 30 DKP in five straight games. If you want to comfortably fit Curry and Valanciunas and still use guys that are reliable to fill out the rest of your lineup, look no further than Brooks.
Mid Tier
The triple-double upside is ALWAYS the thing that draws us to Green. He’s also good defensively and can notch a few steals and blocks with ease. He only took five shots in the previous game, which is always the concern, but if the points come, we already know everything else is going to be there and he could put up a big line.
Jaren Jackson Jr.
You LOVE to see Jackson playing 30 minutes a night because he has a tremendous ceiling when he does. He really wasn’t aggressive against the Spurs, but that figures to change here against Golden State. He also likely guards Draymond Green a lot here, which benefits him because Green’s not the most aggressive offensive player and Jackson is very foul happy. He could stay out of foul trouble here which will let him flow offensively.
The Warriors rotation is really depleted and JTA is playing a big role each and every game. He played 25 minutes against the Lakers and although he didn’t do a lot, he’s a high upside player, especially at this cost. Not someone I’d use for cash games, however.
Value Tier
If you look at how things played out for the Warriors in their match-up with the Lakers, Poole ended up playing 26 minutes and was on the floor to close the game. He is very electric offensively and has a 26% USG rate this season. He’s someone we should use in a lot of our builds due to his upside.
With the Lakers choosing to play a lot of small ball, it forced the Warriors to play without Looney a lot last time out. That said, in 20 minutes, Looney grabbed 13 boards and put up 27 DKP. The Grizzlies aren’t taking their center off the floor and Looney should play a lot more here. He has double-double upside here.
So Allen only played five minutes in his return from a seven-game absence, but now has had an extra day to improve his health even more. He’s been a regular in this Grizzlies rotation all year long, averaging 24.5 minutes per game, so maybe taking a shot on Allen could be worth it. It’s tough to trust after seeing him be a non-factor in the first play-in game, but tonight could be different.