Washington Wizards & Golden State Warriors
Over/Under: 239.5
Spread: GSW -4.5
Washington and their explosive backcourt travels west to take on the Warriors and Stephen Curry in a late-night showdown!
News to Watch:
*Bradley Beal – Probable (Hip)
*Thomas Bryant – Out
Player Breakdown:
CPT/MVP:
Russell Westbrook PG WAS ($17,400) –
Over his last five games, Westbrook is averaging a triple-double (22 points, 13.6 rebounds, 11.4 assists) which is good for 60.6 DK points. I tried over thinking it and looking for alternative for the top spot, but sometimes you just have to pay up. It may seem like you are chasing the top end of Westbrook’s performance, but what he has done over his last five games isn’t that much different from his overall production this season. There is going to be a lot of offense in a fast-paced game tonight, and Westbrook will be in the middle of it.
Stephen Curry PG GSW ($16,200) –
That over/under has to catch your attention. It’s also interesting to see the Warriors favored tonight, and that means a lot is expected of Curry, and with good reason. Washington struggles to defend opposing point guards and there is one of Curry compared to the two Washington stars but he is too one-dimensional at times. Curry is working on a streak of four straight games of at least 32 points and that culminated with a game high of 41 in a winning effort against Milwaukee on Tuesday. It’s clear that the Warriors go as Curry goes, and they will once again be heavily relying on him tonight. We would like it though if he could keep the turnovers down and chip in a few more assists.
Bradley Beal SG WAS ($15,600) –
After playing 30 minutes on Wednesday, it doesn’t appear that we should be concerned with Beal’s hip. He was efficient from the field making 11 of his 19 shots which was good for 26 points, but that was the bulk of his production. Beal is the clear leading scorer for Washington averaging 31 points per game this season, but his upside is limited (especially compared to Westbrook) due to his lack of production in the other categories.
MID-TIER:
Draymond Green PF/C GSW ($7,800) –
If the Warriors are going to be busy offensively tonight, Green will likely be heavily involved as one of the more surprising playmakers this season. After a rough start to the season offensively for the forward, Green has picked things up a little bit as of late from a scoring perspective as he is now reaching double figures. It hasn’t come at the expense of his distribution skills as Green is still averaging nine assists over his last four games while scoring 11 points and grabbing 6.8 rebounds per game.
Rui Hachimura PF WAS ($8,000) –
There have been games this season in which Hachimura has been a high-volume shooter, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see that be the case once again tonight. Beyond the two obvious answers in Washington, Hachimura is the only other option with 30-point upside tonight and we can also expect him to log another 30-plus minutes of run while grabbing seven or eight rebounds to establish a solid floor.
Andrew Wiggins SG/SF GSW ($8,200) –
Behind Curry, Wiggins is the clear number two from a scoring perspective which is a good thing from a volume perspective. Especially on a night like this, the upside is very clearly there for Wiggins but you also have to live with nights like Tuesday when he went four of 15 from the field. But from that perspective, Wiggins offers a ceiling like no one else tonight so he almost has to be in your GPP lineups, but I would stay away in cash games.
DART THROWS:
Kent Bazemore SF GSW ($2,400) –
Bazemore is almost Wiggins-lite for a substantially discounted price. That is not to say the drop in price isn’t warranted, but the swingman is likely one of the first players off the bench for Golden State and should be good for at least 20 minutes of action. The last two games for Bazemore of 18 points (27.75 DK points) and two points (10.25 DK points) illustrate the range of potential outcomes for him tonight, but at the price, it’s a risk worth taking.
Davis Bertans SF/PF WAS ($4,600) –
The first man off the bench for Washington scored 22 points in 19 minutes on Wednesday while still being on a minutes restriction. I would look for his workload to potentially increase tonight while he continues to be successful from behind the arc. Bertans fantasy production can be streaky based on how his shot is falling, but at this price and upside he fits perfectly into a GPP lineup tonight.
Ish Smith PG WAS ($3,800) –
Smith is the slightly cheaper of the two Washington bench guards, and he has been more successful as of late in his 15 to 20 minutes of playing time. There is a ceiling of about 15 to 20 DK points, but Smith does fill the stat sheet and offers some upside in the scoring department.