Cash Plays
Tyler Ulis ($5,400) – Eric Bledsoe has been benched for the remainder of the season, a decision that has opened up a crazy amount of minutes for young Tyler Ulis. The 21-year-old saw 39 minutes against the Kings on Wednesday, putting up 13 points and 13 assists for 38.7 fantasy points. He’s got a great skill set and should have no problem reaching the 25-30 fantasy points he needs tonight. However, given the fact that he is now the main floor general I think he has a chance for an even bigger game tonight, so make sure to get him into your lineups.
Marcus Smart ($6,300) – Isaiah Thomas has already been ruled out for the Celtic’s next 2 games, which includes tonight’s tilt with the Brooklyn Nets. This is great from a fantasy perspective when we consider how well Marcus Smart has played when Boston has needed him to step up this year. Even if the Celtics pull away from Brooklyn, there will still be plenty of minutes for Smart to reach value. Fanduel did raise his price over 6k for the game knowing everyone would probably flock to him, but I still think he will be a heavily owned shooting guard that gets plenty of usage.
Jimmy Butler ($8,700) – Jimmy Butler is yet another pick that’s based on the fact that he’ll have some increased usage tonight. Dwayne Wade has been ruled out for the rest of the regular season and Fanduel wasn’t able to raise Butler’s price (it actually dropped from last game). At under 9k Butler should be extremely owned at the small forward position. He could see upwards of 40 minutes again tonight as the Bulls attempt to figure out how to split time amongst their rotation. He’ll be facing a Washington team that could be without John Wall and that are in the bottom half of the league in total fantasy points given up to small forwards.
Tobias Harris ($5,500) – Harris has now scored at least 20 fantasy points in his last 8 games. For a guy that only needs a little over 25 FP to reach value tonight he is a very safe start. I think most people will be starting him due to his recent production, so he’s also safe in that sense. The Pistons will be going up against a Toronto Raptors squad that have given up the 7th most fantasy points to opposing power forwards all season. Harris is in a great position to do well against them tonight.
Alan Williams ($5,800) – Both Alan Williams price and fantasy production are staying put, which is great news considering he’s averaging over 30 fantasy points per game in his last 8 contests, with a low of 22.5 and a high of 37.1. His consistency has made him a cash game option for almost 2 weeks straight and that will continue tonight as the Suns will be at home to take on the Orlando Magic. Rather than buying up for a center that doesn’t have that great of a matchup I recommend going for a middle-priced value option like Williams.
GPP Plays
T.J. McConnell ($5,500) – T.J. McConnell is one of my favorite players. I love pass first point guards and that’s exactly what he is. Rather than do too much of one thing he just stuffs the stat sheet, which is what I mainly look for in fantasy players. And he’s the main point guard in Philadelphia, so you know his minutes will be there from game to game. His best games come when he can score 10+ points because you know he’s got a great shot at a double-double with the way he passes. He’ll be facing a Dallas team that is struggling to defend point guards since they gave the starting job to Yogi Ferrell, so I think McConnell is in a great position to do well against them tonight in Philadelphia.
DeMar DeRozan ($9,300) – DeRozan has been less than spectacular lately, posting fewer than 40 fantasy points in each of his last 3 games and not coming anywhere close to value. Mix this with the fact that he’ll be facing a Detroit Pistons team that is tough against shooting guards and you’ve got a star caliber player with low ownership. However, Kyle Lowry is still out and DeRozan is still a star caliber player that is taking most of the shots for the Raptors. He has the potential to go way over his price tag any game and I think tonight is a good time to take a risk on him and see if he can get it done.
Bojan Bogdanovic ($4,100) – Last time Bogdanovic was in our GPP plays he went off for close to 40 fantasy points and was in every tournament’s winning lineup. He generally has a great scoring game every 2 weeks and is in a great position to have one tonight considering it’s been 10+ days since his last explosion. He’ll be facing a Chicago Bulls team that is in the bottom half of the league when it comes to containing the small forward position.
Gorgui Dieng ($5,300) – Considering Dieng’s price is only $5,300 and he averages 30+ minutes a game I think it’s safe to roll with him tonight against the Heat. Thibodeau changes Dieng’s minutes around every game depending on how they want to approach a specific team, but since he saw at least 25 minutes in the last matchup with the Heat I think you should be fine to plug him in and let him go to work against James Johnson, Hassan Whiteside, and the rest of the Miami Heat.
Robin Lopez ($4,500) – I’m not usually a Robin Lopez fan, but his matchup tonight is too good for me not to write about. He’ll be facing the Washington Wizards, a team that is generally pretty good at defending the center position. However, over their last 5 games they are in the bottom 10 in the league in total fantasy points given up to the position a game (52.9). Everyone on the Bulls is going to have to step up slightly with the Wade injury, including Lopez. Given the fact that he generally excels in these kinds of matchups I definitely like him tonight against a recently lackluster Washington defense.