Brooklyn Nets & Phoenix Suns

Over/Under: 228

Spread: PHX -7

Brooklyn travels to Phoenix to take on the Suns and close out a back-to-back in a late-night showdown!

News to Watch:

*Kevin Durant – Out

*Kyrie Irving - Out

Player Breakdown:

CPT/MVP

James Harden PG (BKN) $18,000

Not to say I would ever avoid Harden and his ceiling, but I did intend to tonight based on his price. However, with both Irving and Durant sidelined tonight, it’s awfully hard to do so as all signs would point to Harden taking over the game as we have previously become accustomed to seeing. Last night Harden set the ceiling pretty high as he recorded a triple-double in Sacramento with 29 points, 14 assists, and 13 rebounds as made sure to remind everyone what he is capable of. Despite the price, it truly is hard to fade Harden under these circumstances. 

Devin Booker SG (PHO) $14,400 

Only when you are working on a streak of three straight 30-plus point games is scoring 27 points a disappointment. It is now five straight games of greater than 40 fantasy points for Booker, who with two games of 36 points in that stretch, comes with a scoring upside that can really only be found in Harden tonight, but at a substantially cheaper price. The game figures to be high scoring and lacking in defense which fits Booker perfectly. After a slow start to the season, and an adjustment to playing with Chris Paul , Booker is averaging 27 points per game so far this month while adding four rebounds and four assists for a well-rounded statistical package. 

Deandre Ayton C (PHO) $12,600  

Prior to the blockbuster that brought Harden to Brooklyn, DeAndre Jordan was being used in a limited role. It is unclear how he will respond in back-to-back nights, but even with Jordan, the Nets have trouble defending opposing centers. Ayton is a traditional center who is primed to take advantage of his opponents’ weakness and the 13.8 points and 12.3 rebounds he is averaging so far this season isn’t too bad either. 

MID-TIER

Jae Crowder PF (PHO) $5,400 

I came close to going with Mikal Bridges here but $1,800 in cost savings you get from Crowder made the difference for me. The Nets also struggle to defend against opposing power forwards so Crowder is in a position to succeed tonight. There has been some inconsistency to Crowder’s game over his last 10, but it’s hard to argue with 31 fantasy points in two of his last three games which gives him five games out of his last 10 with more than 30 points. The problem though is that he has a combined 65.5 fantasy points in the other five games. With 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season, Crowder is a dependable performer on average. 

Bruce Brown SG/SF (BKN) $5,200  

Acquired to provide cost effective depth and defensive ability, Brown struggled to find his shot initially with the Nets this season. As of late though both Brown’s production and playing time has begun to stabilize and tonight he once again finds himself in the starting lineup. With Brooklyn down two of their three big scorers, Brown not only should be expected to log around 25 minutes of play, but the offensive usage should be there. Last night that didn’t exactly work in his favor as he scored just three points while attempting four shots from the field but his overall skill set does provide a solid floor as we still got 14 fantasy points out of Brown. In his previous game against the Warriors, Brown did put up 18 points so there is some offensive upside here as well. 

Joe Harris SG/SF (BKN) $6,800  

In case you haven’t heard, Durant and Irving are out tonight for the Nets. The bulk of Harris’ production comes on the offensive end as he is averaging 14.6 points per game so far this season. The shots will be there tonight for the swingman which makes it one of the better nights to target him as he will be one of the main offensive options for Brooklyn. 

DART THROWS

Dario Saric C (PHO) $3,800 

We’ve already brought up how bad the Nets are against opposing centers, so it only makes sense that we would look Saric’s way. It’s important to note that he is not a traditional center in the sense that Ayton is, but through nine games so far this season, it’s hard to argue with Saric’s production for the price. He is averaging 20 minutes a game with no less than 16 since his first game of the season so we aren’t gambling on playing time, but there is some inconsistency in play here with three games of seven points or less. Instead, focus on the overall picture here of 10.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. 

Cameron Payne PG (PHO) $2,200 

Payne has appeared in two games since returning from a foot injury and the good thing is the fact that he has played 15 and 20 minutes, respectively. The fantasy production though has been minimal with a combined 11 points, three assists, and two rebounds so this is mostly all about salary relief here. This is as cheap as I’m willing to go tonight but in fairness there have been a few bright spots from Payne so far this season with an average of 15.8 fantasy points per game.

Landry Shamet SG (BKN) $3,000 

Shamet will likely be the first player off the bench tonight for Brooklyn, at least on the perimeter, and that is a good thing. At the price we aren’t looking for much and it really is all upside here, but after playing 28 minutes last night and averaging 23 minutes over his last six games, there is at least a floor of playing time in place. Over that stretch, Shamet is averaging 12.2 points per game, so as long as he can reach that mark, he will have provided a solid return on our investment.