Golden State Warriors (-3) @ Philadelphia 76ers; O/U 213.0
Golden State Warriors Injuries
Klay Thompson – Out
James Wiseman – Out
Andre Iguodala – Questionable (Knee)
Philadelphia 76ers Injuries
Ben Simmons - Out
**Please note that players not listed below are not necessarily a complete fade and any player listed can certainly be used as the MVP/Captain. These are merely suggestions for players to use when setting Showdown lineups.
MVP/CPT
Stephen Curry, PG (GSW) – Not sure if you have heard, but Curry is 10 three-pointers away from the all-time record. Tonight, he takes the court against his brother, on national TV, and in prime time. Talk about a narrative. And talk about chalk city. In two of his last three games, Curry has attempted 17 three-pointers each and he has been consistently in double digits as far as attempts, so breaking the record is possible. That is really the only narrative tonight as his value is really going to come down to how the shot is falling. Going with two lineups tonight, one with and one without, might be the best way to go here.
Joel Embiid, C (PHI) – The fact that Embiid has admitted to not being fully healthy is concerning, but the production has been there for the center as of late. That being said, he is coming off a rough matchup, and performance, against Utah on Thursday as he put up just 19 points while grabbing nine rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Prior to that, Embiid had a prolific three game stretch, and things look to be tough once again tonight from a match-up perspective. He is clearly the second-best player on tonight’s slate and he is the only option who has the potential to match Curry’s upside, but I wouldn’t force him into the captain spot.
Seth Curry, SG, (PHI) – Let’s stick with the narrative, but take things in a different direction that still offers upside and allows us to save a substantial amount of money. Curry is averaging 16.4 points in his last five games, and there is some upside in there as well with the guard playing 30-plus minutes a night. There is also the chance it turns into a shooting competition between the Curry brothers.
Utility
Draymond Green, PF/C (GSW) – Green isn’t going to get six steals every night and he also isn’t likely to hit double figures in any category, but he’s likely going to come close in two or three of them. That means we are getting 30 to 35 fantasy points in most cases, with some upside, at a fair price.
Jordan Poole, PG/SG (GSW) – Someone else has to score for Golden State, and often times Poole is up to the task. There are some efficiency issues at times, but Poole is often in double figures with shot attempts so it’s not a huge lift for him to get to the 18 points per game he is averaging. If Poole got more consistency on the rebound and assist front, then things would really look good (and the cost would be a lot higher).
Tyrese Maxey, PG (PHI) –Targeting Curry defensively could represent an opportunity here, but Maxey has been struggling offensively as of late. He still gets the playing time and has the usage, so now he just needs to find his shot again.
Tobias Harris, PF (PHI) – This is all about roster construction here as we know that Harris is going to deliver on his 19.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, but he isn’t to stray much from that. At the same time though, we shouldn’t take it lightly as it generally results in around 35 fantasy points in most cases.
Andrew Wiggins, SG/SF (GSW) – Overall, Wiggins is averaging 18.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, but his offensive production does have some measure of variability. Wiggins plays at least 30 minutes a night, but it really comes down to whether or not he gets double-digit shot attempts or not, and we know where the offensive focus is going to be tonight.
Dart Throws
Kevon Looney, C (GSW) – Looney starts, but no matter what he does, he doesn’t get out of 15-to-18-minute range. But with that playing time, Looney has proven to be productive on most nights and he is coming off an 11-point, six rebound performance against Portland a few nights ago.
Danny Green, SF (PHI) – Sticking with the starter theme, Green is a little more fortunate in the minutes department (26.2 on average in his last five games), but not as efficient with the production. In that stretch, Green is shooting just 33.3% from the field, both overall and from three-point land, so his value here comes down to a few more of shots falling and he is only averaging 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
Juan Toscano-Anderson, PF (GSW) – The results are all over the place here, but roster construction requires options at various price points, and we know the forward averaged 20 minutes of playing time over his last five games. In that stretch, Toscano-Anderson has scored 7.8 points per game along with 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists and he does flash some offensive upside depending on how the game goes.