FanDuel

Larry Nance , SF CLE ($5,300)

Nance is finally healthy and in his last two games he has regained the positive momentum he showed earlier in the season. The forward played 38 and 37 minutes respectively so minutes won’t be an issue for Nance as saying that Kevin Love has struggled to find his groove would be an understatement. In his last game Nance followed up a 14-point, nine rebound performance by scoring 18 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. Moving forward I feel comfortable expecting a similar performance from Nance and that should be good for around 35 FD points. 

Nico Mannion, PG GS ($3,500)

With Stephen Curry sidelined tonight, it’s Mannion who enters the starting lineup, and it’s generally pretty difficult to ignore a starting point guard at this price point. In his last five games since returning from the G League, Mannion has finished with between 15.4 and 20.8 FD points per night while playing in a limited role behind Curry. Over that period, the point guard reached the 10-point mark on two different occasions along with a high mark of six assists. If he meets those standards, we expect around 5x value, and then it’s all upside from there and in an expanded role, its very possible. 

Aaron Gordon , PF ORL ($5,400)

Gordon returned to action last night for a short-handed Orlando team, and while he didn’t do much to stand out, we did get a well-rounded performance from the forward. Of greater importance is the fact that Gordon played 31 minutes, and didn’t show any ill effects from the ankle and hamstring injuries that had previously kept him sidelined. I would expect him to continue to handle a heavy load for Orlando, and tonight should be a fast-paced match-up with Brooklyn. With 17 points, seven assists, and five rebounds last night, Gordon set a reasonable production floor and its very possible he hits the 40 FD point mark as this is going to be the cheapest we see him for the remainder of the season. 

DraftKings

Saddiq Bey, PF DET ($5,000)

Overall, Bey has been pretty solid for Detroit thus far in his rookie season. There have been a few clunkers thrown in but for the most part, he has given us a good body of work around the 25 to 30 DK point mark on average. Not like we weren’t paying attention to Bey all along, but he has begun to really catch our attention as of late as he emerges as a consistent scoring threat. The rebounds are coming along as well, but at a more moderate pace. That is at least prior to Wednesday night when Bey put up 28 points and grabbed 12 boards. Don’t go into tonight expecting a repeat performance, but at his price you don’t need to either. More importantly, it’s nice to know what Bey is capable of.

Nicolas Claxton , C BKN ($3,600)

The Nets have a sizable gap in the post and now that Claxton is healthy, he has begun to take advantage of the opportunity. Claxton played a season high 23 minutes on Wednesday as Brooklyn relied on him down the stretch in the fourth quarter. He was productive scoring 11 points while grabbing eight rebounds and blocking two shots. The biggest takeaway here for me is the playing time but it’s not the first time he hit double figures in scoring this season as he previously had games with 16 and 17 points, so the ability is there and now the role is following. 

Kevon Looney , C GS ($3,200)

With no James Wiseman tonight, let’s take a shot on his replacement at a bargain basement price. While Golden State lacks for depth in the middle, I’m not sure that Looney will get more than 20 to 25 minutes of playing time tonight. Even still, he doesn’t have an incredibly high ceiling of production to hit to meet his salary for a 6x or 7x return as he has had shown flashes this season of 10 points and six to eight rebounds.