Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors

Spread: GSW -14.0

Total: 218.5

 

Injuries:

Los Angeles

Golden State

 

 

 

MVP/Captain

 

 

With four of the big stars out of this game tonight, it will continue to be the Jordan Poole show – and that’s a show worth watching. Poole is playing at about the same elite level we used to see from Curry, averaging 46.8 fantasy points per game over his last four contests. Most importantly, he is averaging almost 34 minutes per night. 

 

 

 

We have seen vintage Klay Thompson in three of the last four games, dropping 49, 38, and 56 DK points in those contests. Fully recovered from injury, he has played more than 37 minutes in three of the last four as well. Now he gets to face a Lakers defense that's without its stars and allow the third-most fantasy points to shooting guards in the last 15 games. 

 

 

 

When Davis, Westbrook, and LeBron all sit this season, Malik Monk gets huge bumps across the board. His usage jumps up to 24.6%, his assist rate is 21.9% and his rebound rate is 8.2%. He should be the Lakers' primary scoring option tonight and there also isn’t any reason why he won’t play 35 minutes in this game – even if it is a blowout. 

 

Utility

 

 

The other huge beneficiary from the Lakers' stars all being out tonight should be Talen Horton-Tucker. In those circumstances, THT has a 28.4% usage rate and 14.8% assist rate. His usage spikes up 9.8% when those guys sit and only Monk has played more minutes. Whether THT starts tonight remains to be seen, but you can give him a slight bump up if he starts over Avery Bradley in this meaningless game for the Lakers. 

 

 

 

After a four-game stretch where he saw only 15 minutes in three of those, Carmelo Anthony is back to 25 minutes per night over the last three contests. He produced 22 fantasy points per game with the extended playing time over that span. Anthony will have no choice but to play at least that many minutes tonight and his usage also gets a massive bump to 26.9%. 

 

 

 

In the absence of Steph Curry’s offense the past couple of weeks, Andrew Wiggins has stepped up admirably – averaging 31.4 fantasy points per game in the last 10 days. He is contributing in rebounds, assists, and steals in addition to his scoring. Wiggins has also increased his three-point percentage to almost 41% in that time. The Lakers are also bottom-five against small forwards in their last 15 games. 

 

 

 

Value Tier

 

 

Stanley Johnson put up four games of at least 23.5 fantasy points in the last couple of weeks when the Lakers were without at least two of their Big Three stars. Now he is in line to start and play big minutes similar to when he was playing mid-30s minutes at the end of March. Now just $3,400 on DK, he should provide immediate value at that salary considering how often he will be needed. 

 

 

 

The $3,800 salary for Gary Payton II tonight is especially good when you consider he can get a healthy number of minutes in the fourth quarter with this game likely turning into a blowout. Payton is playing around 20 minutes per night anyway and he has at least 15 fantasy points in five of his last seven games. That 20-minute threshold is important for Payton. When he plays between 20-29 minutes this year, he averages 10 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and shoots 65% from the field. 

 

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