Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors

Spread: GSW -11.5

Total: 29.0

Injuries:

Houston

Kevin Porter QUEST

John Wall OUT

Golden State

Nemanja Bjelica QUEST

Draymond Green OUT

Andre Igoudala OUT

Otto Porter OUT

James Wiseman OUT

MVP/Captain

Steph Curry, PG – After a period of real struggle, Curry is finally back on track with more than 40 fantasy points in six of his last seven games. It certainly coincides with the return of Klay Thompson who can take some of the offensive and defensive load from Curry. The Rockets, as you may know, are bad against everyone and everything, but especially point guards. They allow the most fantasy points to the position this season. 

Christian Wood, C – Consistency is not a term that has defined the Houston Rockets or their rotation this year, but Wood is about as reliable as you can find. He has played more than 30 minutes in five of his last seven games and has more than 40 DK points in six of those contests. The Warriors have struggled against big men recently, allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to centers in their last 15 games.

Utility

Klay Thompson, SG – Thompson finally got a huge bump in salary, coming in tonight at $7,800 after he was $6,600 for his last two games. He still could provide value at that salary even though he hasn’t reached a ceiling game in his handful of games since his return. He now is consistently playing 26-27 minutes and we could see a bump up to 29-30 minutes soon. You want to be early on that before the salary jumps, and the Rockets are right team to give it a shot. They also are worst against shooting guards this year. 

Kevin Porter, Jr., PG – Assuming he suits up tonight, Porter is also someone we can look to for a solid 35-45 points from the Rockets and won’t be as chalky as someone like Wood. The Curry-Thompson combo is a menace defensively, but Porter contributes all over the box score: points, rebounds, assists, and steals. Porter only has one game below 35 fantasy points in his last five and routinely is on the court for more than 30 minutes. 

Andrew Wiggins, SF – Wiggins is another player who has benefited from the return of Thompson and that was never more evident than against the Nets on Saturday when he blew up for 49 DK points on just 18 shots. When he contributes on defense the sky is the limit, and he had eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks against Brooklyn. In this track meet of a game between two teams in the top 12 in pace (Rockets are number one), Wiggins should have plenty of possessions to pad his stats. 

Value Tier

KJ Martin, PF/C – Martin has been one of the most reliable scoring options for the Rockets over the last week, averaging 15 points per game to go along with five rebounds, two assists and more than a steal per game in that span. The Rockets have shown an unwillingness to play Alperen Sengun heavy minutes which has allowed Martin’s court time to stabilize somewhat. With no Draymond Green as an individual matchup, the lanes should be much clearer for Martin tonight. 

Jonathan Kuminga, PF – With no Draymond Green, Otto Porter or Andre igoudala tonight, Kuminga seems the likely candidate to draw the start and play a significant amount of frontcourt minutes. As a starter this year, Kuminga plays almost 21 minutes per game, and produces 11.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 48.3% shooting. At just $4,800, that’s all he needs to pay off 5x value.