Cash Plays
Patty Mills ($4,000) – Patty Mills was one of my stack players in the SA/GS game a few nights ago with all the stars out, expecting him to be a good value option that could hit 15-20 FP. He surprised me, however, by dropping 30 fantasy points for the 2nd time in 3 games. Tonight, Tony Parker and Dejounte Murray are out yet again, allowing Mills to see as much court time as he can possibly handle. His price is only up to $4,000 and I think he will be the most heavily owned player on the slate. Make sure to get him into your lineups.
Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,700) – Giannis is the highest priced player on this slate along with John Wall. With no Westbrook, Harden, or LeBron I already feel his ownership will be slightly increased, but I’m mainly going to focus on his matchup tonight. The Memphis Grizzlies have struggled to defend point guards and shooting guards since the all-star break, as they are in the bottom 4 in fantasy points given up to both positions over that time. Specifically over their last 5 games they have given up 54.2 fantasy points a game to the shooting guard position, and 4 of those 5 shooting guards they faced were no where close to the skill set Giannis possesses. He should easily keep their streak of bad games going tonight at the FedEx Forum.
Brandon Ingram ($4,000) – Ingram reached value last night against the 76ers, but somehow his price went back down to 4k. Rather than mull over this, however, I’m going to talk about the fact that he has now posted at least 22 fantasy points in 4 straight games and draws a matchup with the Denver Nuggets tonight, a team that he dropped 33 fantasy points on the last time they met. Denver is currently giving up the 4th most points in the league at 110.9 per game and I think this is an ideal matchup for Ingram. At the very least, he’ll offer value at the small forward position so you can reach up at other areas.
Nikola Jokic ($10,000) – Jokic is the beneficiary of a matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers tonight, a team that has given up the most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season. This is a game I may be looking to stack just because there shouldn’t be any defense, meaning there will be plenty of fantasy points to go around for everybody. At Jokic’s 10k price he needs around 50 fantasy points to reach value. With Faried doubtful tonight and Wilson Chandler looking like he may not be able to play either I think Jokic should easily exceed his price tag. Even if one of them does play, though, I think he will still have a great game on the road tonight in Denver.
Karl Anthony-Towns ($10,500) – I’m sorry for another high-priced pick but I think KAT is in a great spot to do well tonight against the Washington Wizards tonight. He is getting between 40-50 fantasy points just about every game and, for a guy with his price tag, I’m not exactly expecting him to reach his full value every single night (which would be over 50 FP). His consistency mixed with his star potential make him a great play any day, my salary is just generally used up by higher priced guys like Westbrook or Harden. With KAT being one of the most expensive guys tonight he is definitely on my cash game pick radar and I’m going to do everything I can to get him into my lineup.
GPP Plays
Kemba Walker ($8,400) – Walker’s production has made him a DFS monster over the last 2 weeks. He has put up 40+ fantasy points in 6 of his last 7 games and gets a matchup tonight against the Chicago Bulls in Charlotte. The Bulls are giving up 56.7 FP a game to the point guard position over their last 5 games and facing Kemba Walker will not be the solution to any of their problems. He needs 42 to reach value tonight, which he should have absolutely no trouble doing for the 7th time in 2 weeks.
Buddy Hield ($4,200) – It’s hard to say where Hield’s own % will fall tonight because we’ve seen his minutes fluctuate while on the Kings. With such a crowded backcourt in Sacramento it’s kind of amazing he even sees 20 minutes a game, but I think that is the minimum he’ll see tonight against Orlando. I’m focusing mainly on his minutes because if he’s given the court time he is a fantastic play, which is what we’ve seen over the last 2 games. In both contests he’s seen 30+ minutes and racked up 23+ fantasy points, which are both well above his averages. If Joerger keeps working him into the rotation we’re going to see his price start to steadily rise over the next few weeks. I think tonight is a good night to roll with Hield considering he’s still around 4k and the Kings have liked what they’ve seen out of their new rookie, meaning they are likely to keep giving him the court time he deserves.
Kent Bazemore ($4,300) – Bazemore always seems to play well against the exact teams you think he would struggle against, like the San Antonio Spurs team he faces tonight. The Spurs guard against the small forward position very well, so if Bazemore wants to do well he’s going to have his work cut out for him. He hasn’t been spectacular of late, but also hasn’t been awful considering his price tag. He hasn’t scored less than 16 FP in his last 4 games and he only needs around 21 to reach value tonight. I personally believe he carries significant upside with him and could be a great GPP play tonight in San Antonio.
Blake Griffin ($9,100) – No one is going to be rushing to get Blake Griffin into their lineups tonight given that he has a matchup against the Jazz, who are by far the best defensive team in the league. However, in his last matchup with them he put up a 26 point/10 rebound double-double and Los Angeles slipped by Utah 88-72. That game was in Utah, which is exactly where the Clippers will be tonight to take on the Jazz in their 4th and final meeting of the season. Griffin should have a low own % tonight and makes for an ideal GPP play.
DeAndre Jordan ($7,400) – I’m going to keep my GPP center pick in Los Angeles and go with DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers. Coming off one of his best games of the season on Saturday (a 19 point/20 rebound effort against the 76ers), Jordan is probably eager to keep his hot streak going. He’ll have the same difficult task as Griffin going up against a tough Utah Jazz team. Part of the reason the Jazz are so good against big men is because they can stop the rebound game. However, in his last 2 meetings with them Jordan has put up 16 and 13 rebounds, while also averaging close to 10 points per game. Long story short, he keeps his season averages the same against them and carries some insane upside, like when we saw when he put up 57 fantasy points just last game.