One game with a good amount of fantasy potential is the matchup tonight between the number one and number three teams in the Eastern Conference. The 20-11 Pacers, only 2.5 games behind the Raptors, had their 7 game win streak broken last night in a 92-91 at-the-buzzer loss to the 8-23 Cavaliers. Tonight they will be looking to come back from that disappointing loss as they travel to Toronto for the start of a short two game road trip, while the 23-9 Raptors will be looking to end their current two game losing streak, having suffered losses on the road to the Trailblazers and the Nuggets. 

Victor Oladipo ($8,700/40.10 FPPG) returned to the court last Wednesday after missing the previous 11 games with a knee injury. With him playing around 32 minutes per game with an average 16 points, 6 rebounds and 7.5 assists since his return to the lineup four games ago, his rebound and assist averages appear to have bounced back quickly (average 7.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists pre-injury) but he still needs to put in some work and take some time to help regain his pre-injury scoring average of 24.4 PPG. He also hasn’t had any trouble at all picking back up where he left off in regards to fantasy points with above 30 FP in all four games, including a 57.1 FP showing in the Pacers victory against the Knicks on Sunday. While it may take a little bit for him to get fully back to his pre-injury playing levels, Oladipo has already showed great progress, making him a valuable addition to fantasy lineups tonight. 

With the Raptors plagued by injuries, Kawhi Leonard ($9,700/46.02 FPPG) has seen an uptick in his already high usage lately with 37 and 38 minutes in the two games since he returned to the lineup after a minor injury of his own. In the Raptors loss against the Nuggets on Sunday, Leonard put up a double-double with 29 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Except for a few scattered instances, performances like this one have been common for Kawhi this season, whose average 26.3 points per game makes him the leading scorer for the Raptors as well as the 8th ranked player overall in the league for average PPG scored. Leonard has had impressive fantasy performance this season, finishing with 40 FP or above in 73.7% of the games he has participated in since October 30th including two games above 60 FP. With the Raptors  relying on Kawhi even more than usual, he is a solid choice for fantasy players looking for a dominant pick to add to their rosters tonight.

For fantasy players looking for a value pick to add to their lineups, Fred VanFleet ($5,200/21.17 FPPG) might just fit that bill. While VanFleet was out of Sunday’s matchup due to a back injury, it appears that he will start tonight in place of the injured Kyle Lowry. The last time he was in this role he played for 37 minutes, put up a season high 21 points and was also able to add 4 rebounds and 8 assists for 33.8 fantasy points. His scoring has been pretty inconsistent this season, but he will definitely see his playing time increased tonight which will give him more time on the court to put up points. While VanFleet might not be a fantasy player’s first choice on a normal day, with the injuries on the Raptors team thrusting him into a bigger role and his last performance as Lowry’s replacement in mind he is worth looking at as a low priced pick tonight and if he doesn’t pan out Fanduel drops the lowest scoring player in a lineup so he doesn’t add much risk but the upside is substantial. 

Both teams in this matchup will be desperately seeking a win. While the Raptors are still the top team in the East, with their last two games ending in a loss for them they will be working hard to win tonight so they can keep their advantage against the number two Bucks, who only trail them by 1.5 games. The Pacers, who are the number three team in the East will be looking to close their 2.5 game gap to the top while also attempting to recover from an embarrassing loss against the Cavs last night. No matter what team a fantasy player is rooting for, the picks on both sides of this matchup will definitely leave it all on the court tonight as they look to lead their teams to victory. 

Using Pace as a leading indicator, what players in prime match-ups can we look to for value and a higher than usual DFS points floor.

Like the majority of other players out there in the DFS universe, I have been burned by John Wall and Nemanja Bjelica the past couple nights so I am ready to wash the taste of those two out of my mouth with this extremely nice 12-game slate we have tonight.

I actually think both of those guys are solid plays tonight, but – Wall especially – has been up and down so much this year, it’s hard to look at a $10,200 price tag ($1,300 more than Jrue Holiday, as an example) and say I am comfortable paying up on the second night of a back-to-back after overnight travel.

The good news is there is plenty of value to pair with the mega-studs on this slate. Here are some of my favorites from a pace perspective.

Oklahoma City @ Sacramento
236 Implied Total
’18-’19 Pace:
Oklahoma City – 6^th
Sacramento – 2^nd

SINCE PUBLISHING THIS, SCHROEDER HAS BEEN SUSPENDED FOR ONE GAME. FOR VALUE PIECES TONIGHT, I WILL PIVOT OVER TO BUDDY HIELD AND (CRYING WHILE I WRITE IT) NEMANJA BJELICA

Dennis Schroeder ($5,700) – At this price tag, I am absolutely in love with Schroeder tonight. What is so appealing about Schroeder is that, as the sixth man, he is typically game-script neutral. When it is a close match-up, he plays his usual 28-30 minutes and also gets solid minutes in blowouts since he runs the second unit when Westbrook and George are off the floor.

Schroeder’s usage, despite coming off the bench, is a healthy 25.6%, in line with other guards such as Derrick Rose, Klay Thompson and De’Aaron Fox. With a team pace bump of 3.9 points and tied for the highest team total of the night, only an extreme blowout would prevent Schroeder from reaching his regular minutes tonight. Sacramento ranks 28^th in defensive efficiency against shooting guards, where he regularly plays when sharing the floor with Westbrook, so look for Dennis to improve slightly on his 1.00 fantasy point per minute production against a giving Kings back-court.

New Orleans @ Milwaukee
233 Implied Total
’18-’19 Pace:
New Orleans – 4^th
Milwaukee – 5^th

Brook Lopez ($5,700) – With Anthony Davis eligible at power forward, you can get even more exposure to this game by locking in Lopez to the center spot. I am intrigued by his upside tonight in a game where two of the league’s fastest teams are getting a pace bump because of the speed of their opponents. Both teams get at least a 2.5 point pace bump tonight, and while Lopez isn’t your typical bang down low center (hurting his rebounding numbers), this sheer number of possessions allows for more opportunities where he excels, scoring, three pointers, and blocks.

We don’t get many bigs in the NBA who have the combination of 2.5 three pointers and 1.9 blocks per game, but Lopez is defying all logic with those numbers this season. Lopez is averaging over 30 FD points per game in his last five and you have to go back to November 21 to find a game where he didn’t have at least one blocked shot. One a night where I want as much exposure to this game as I can get, Lopez is an affordable way to get there without blocking the path to Davis, Holiday, Giannis, or Bledsoe.

Washington @ Houston
225 Implied Total
’18-’19 Pace:
Washington – 7^th
Houston – 29^th

Chris Paul ($8,200) – While Paul may be towards the high end on price, the value he could potentially return in this match-up shouldn’t be overlooked. The Rockets see a 2.1 point pace bump tonight and Paul will line up against a team handing out points to point guards like Christmas presents.

As mentioned before, the Wizards are coming off a back-to-back with overnight travel, so I am not particularly high on any of their starters. With tired travel legs, I am relying on some uninspired defense against the Rockets, who have been scoring points in droves the past week. Paul’s price essentially hasn’t changed this month and he is regularly hitting 4x value with double digit points and at least eight assists and a steal in his past five games.

There is a real blowout risk in this game, as Houston is favored by 11 at home, but Paul has played less than 31 minutes only once in his last eight games so a role through at least the first three quarters should be secure. The environment is certainly working in Paul’s favor this evening to be the latest PG to add to the growing number of memes that highlight John Wall’s embarrassing defense.