Cash Plays
Russell Westbrook ($13,400) – Though Harden has a great matchup tonight against Denver I think I’m more likely to fade him and go with Russell Westbrook against the Warriors in cash games. Russell has played very well in the 3 games against Golden State this year, and it’s obvious the Thunder will rely on him heavily to keep them in this game again. He should rack up an insane amount of fantasy points and is the star I’m looking to get in cash games tonight.
Will Barton ($5,800) – With Gallinari and Chandler both out again it will be another night in which Will Barton is heavily owned. He’s coming off a sub-par performance against the same Rockets team he’ll get to face tonight, but his price has also been lowered to accommodate that. It will be yet another high scoring game, so there will be plenty of fantasy points up for grabs. Barton should reach value with ease so make sure to get him into your cash game lineups.
Joe Johnson ($3,900) – I want to wait for the Jazz’s injury report to come out before I make any decisions as to whether or not I want any Utah guys in my lineup, though I think Joe Johnson should end up being a great cash game start. Both Rodney Hood and Derrick Favors are questionable tonight against Indiana and if one or both of them sits Joe Johnson’s usage goes through the roof, much like it has the past couple games. Keep an eye on Favor’s more, though, because if he’s out Johnson will get another start. The Jazz will be facing an Indiana team that have struggled to contain small forwards all season, especially over their last 5 games in which they’ve given up an average of 45.7 FP a game to the position.
Ersan Ilyasova ($4,500) – Paul Millsap has been ruled out with a knee injury for the Hawks matchup with the Hornets tonight. Filling in for Millsap on Saturday Ersan did very well, putting up 34.3 fantasy points in 27 minutes of action. I expect him to get the same kind of usage tonight and he has a great matchup against Charlotte, a team that has given up the 6th most fantasy points to power forwards this season (45.6) and the 3rd most over their last 5 games (52.6).
Nikola Vucevic ($8,000) – I think a lot of people are going to think Vucevic is over-priced tonight at 8k, but with a matchup against the 76ers I don’t see how he doesn’t get at least 40 fantasy points considering he’s on the court for about 30 minutes every game. The Sixers have given up the most fantasy points to centers this season and have been absolutely atrocious against the big man in their last 10 games, giving up an average of 63.4 fanduel points a game to the position during that stretch. At $8,000 I personally think Vucevic is under-priced for what he should be able to do tonight and am going to do everything I can to get him into my lineup.
(Note: Vucevic has a “game time decision” stamp next to his name, so make sure he’s active before locking him in. If he sits, I highly recommend starting Bismack Biyombo ($4,300) in cash games).
GPP Plays
Jeff Teague ($6,600) – Jeff Teague’s price is down from what I think it should be at, since I generally consider him to be more of a 7k and up kind of player. He hasn’t been too spectacular of late and he has a matchup tonight against the Jazz, two things that I believe will draw people away from him. However, if Utah is bad at containing a position it’s the point guard. The Jazz have given up 49.3 fantasy points a game to PG’s over their last 5 games, which is good for 10th worst in the league. With what I expect to be a low ownership I think Teague is a great call in GPP games tonight.
Lou Williams ($5,500) – Williams will get to face the Rockets again tonight for the 2nd time in 3 days. With two fast paced teams going at it I expected Williams to have a better game than the 19.7 fantasy point effort he turned in on Saturday. However, I think that is if floor tonight and his ceiling is much larger against a bad defensive team like the Nuggets. At $5,500 he only needs about 27 to reach value and I think he has a great shot of doing that tonight at the Toyota Center.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ($5,100) – Kidd-Gilchrist will be facing the Hawks tonight, one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to guarding the small forward position. They give up just over 45 FP a game to small forwards and he really only needs half of that to reach value tonight. He should be able to fill up the stat sheet so make sure to get him into your GPP lineups.
Ryan Anderson ($4,300) – I don’t necessarily love any power forwards in tournaments tonight, so I’m going to go with a guy that has serious upside and low ownership consistently: Ryan Anderson. He’s ridiculously cheap now that he’s strung together 3 straight bad games, but he also has the upside for 40+, which at this price makes him a great GPP play. His main job is to score, which is great news considering the Nuggets/Rockets game should be a high scoring affair.
Al Horford ($6,600) – It looks like another night where I pick on Washington’s frontcourt because I’m going to go with Al Horford of the Boston Celtics as my GPP center. Washington has continued to be awful against the big man and at $6,600 Horford should easily be able to score 30+ fantasy points and reach value, though he has the potential for even more. The Wizards are giving up close to 60 fantasy points a game to centers and I’m looking forward to watching Horford run all over their defense tonight.