Cash Plays

Tyler Ulis ($6,400) – Ulis has scored at least 34 fantasy points in his last 3 games and is averaging 16.3 points and 10.6 assists in those contests. He’s also filling the stat sheet with steals and rebounds. Moral of the story, he’s playing like an elite point guard but still has his price down around 6k. He’s also getting all the minutes he can possibly handle, seeing 40+ a game since the Suns decided to bench Bledsoe. I will personally be taking advantage of his recent production and I expect many to do the same. He’ll be facing a Heat team that has decent numbers this season when it comes to guarding point guards, though they have been giving up over 48 fantasy points a game to the position in their last 10 contests.

Josh Richardson ($4,600) – Dion Waiters has already been ruled out tonight with an ankle injury. While Richardson has filled in for him he’s been seeing 30+ minutes of court time, and the same should occur tonight as the Heat take on the Suns at AmericanAirlines Arena. At $4,600 he’s definitely a viable cash game option considering his usage, and I expect many to plug him in as one of their shooting guards tonight.

Jimmy Butler ($8,900) – Jimmy Butler has produced 2 straight 45+ fantasy point performances, though he’s still priced under 9k. With the Wade injury Butler has been forced to run even more of the offense, and at only $8,900 I don’t think his price is anywhere near the kind of production he should have tonight against the Raptors. Toronto isn’t awful against the small forward position, but with Jimmy Butler’s usage I fully expect him to drop the 45 fantasy points we need for him to reach value.

James Johnson ($6,400) – I’m not really a fan of the power forward position tonight. Though there are plenty of options, I think I’m going to end up getting James Johnson of the Miami Heat into my lineup again. I gave him a start 2 days ago against the Portland Trail Blazers and he didn’t disappoint, putting up 47.9 fantasy points in 31 minutes of action. Tonight, he’ll be facing another team that is awful at containing the power forward position: the Phoenix Suns. He probably won’t put up the same numbers, but he should be able to hit a little over 30 and reach value for your lineup. He should also have a decent ownership, making him a great call in cash games.

Jusuf Nukic ($6,700) – I’m not entirely sure who I’m going to have as my cash game center yet, so I’m just going to write about one of the most reliable guys in Jusuf Nurkic. The Bosnian Beast has only had one bad performance as a Portland Trail Blazer, which was a 2 point, 8 rebound effort against the Pelicans last week. However, he has turned in 11 performances of 30+ fantasy points since he became a Trail Blazer. He’s extremely consistent and produces at a rate that, in my opinion, should have him priced over 7k. Since he’s not, I have him in my lineup frequently and I am likely to do the same again tonight. He’ll be facing a Milwaukee defense that has been awful at containing centers all season, especially over their last 5 in which they’ve given up 56.2 fantasy points a game to the position.

GPP Plays

 Cory Joseph ($5,000) – Cory Joseph has been producing a little more of late, so he actually may be on people’s radars tonight. However, with so many other options I think he will fall out of cash game consideration into more of a tournament pick, which is great news considering he’s only $5,000 and has a matchup tonight against a weak Chicago team. Point guards have been tearing the Bulls up of late, as Chicago is giving up an average of 55.5 fantasy points a game to PG’s over their last 10. I think it’s possible for Joseph to have a great night tonight and I am going to strongly consider starting him in my GPP line.

Seth Curry ($5,300) – Curry has been awful lately, posting 11 fantasy points or less in 4 of his last 5 games. However, his price has come down a thousand dollars and he’ll get a matchup against his brother tonight in Dallas, so I think it’s one of those games where you should at least consider the younger Curry for excitement purposes. Statistics wise, the Warriors aren’t great at containing shooting guards, so Seth should be able to score a bit tonight at American Airlines Center.

Matt Barnes ($4,200) – Matt Barnes is so unspectacular that I hardly ever see him in anyone’s lineup since he joined the Warriors. However, tonight Andre Iguodala will have to sit due to a strained left hip and its only logical Barnes will be taking up a lot of those minutes. McCaw will probably draw the start, but expect Barnes to see at least 25 minutes of action and be a great play for his small price tag.

Serge Ibaka ($5,700) – I can’t think of a logical reason as to why he would be owned, so tonight I will probably be looking to get Serge Ibaka into my GPP lineups. He’s still seeing the 30 minutes of court time he was getting with the Magic, but just hasn’t been doing too much with it as a member of the Toronto Raptors. He’ll be facing a Bulls team that are in the bottom half of the league over their last 10 games in total fantasy points given up to power forwards. Considering he doesn’t even need 30 to reach value, but also carries 40+ point fantasy potential, I really like him tonight at home.

Pau Gasol ($5,900) – Since moving to the bench Gasol has actually been putting up better numbers and is just playing better overall for Popovich and the Spurs. When he faced off with Minnesota earlier this month he put up 32.1 fantasy points in 30 minutes of action, and I think he has the potential for the same kind of success tonight against them. I’d say out of all the GPP plays he’s actually one of the riskiest considering he’s still a bit pricey for a bench player, so make sure to use him at your own risk. However, I do think he has some solid upside tonight at the Target Center.