Cash Plays
Rajon Rondo ($5,400) – Rondo wasn’t very owned in cash games last night as he exploded for 46 fantasy points over 40 minutes. The game did go to OT, so I obviously don’t expect him to get the same amount of court time against the Pistons tonight. However, he has won his starting job back and his price is still well under 6k. For a guy that should easily get 30+ fantasy points tonight I love him in all formats. He should have high own % because of his great game last night, and he’ll be facing a Detroit team that is in the bottom 10 in the league in fantasy points allowed to point guards this season.
Gary Harris ($6,100) – I really don’t like the shooting guard position tonight as far as cash games go. The only guys really on my radar are Victor Oladipo and Gary Harris, who are both priced at $6,100. However, I’m more than likely going to go with Gary Harris since I’ve had Oladipo dud in my lineup more times than I can even count. Harris and the Nuggets will be going up against Cleveland tonight, a team that is actually bad at containing shooting guards. The Cavs have allowed the 4th most fantasy points to the position all year and the Nuggets are definitely going to need scoring tonight. Considering that is Harris’s specialty, I don’t see him having trouble getting 30 fantasy points and reaching value for your lineup.
Jimmy Butler ($8,900) – There are a few star-caliber small forwards on the slate tonight, but I personally will probably end up plugging Jimmy Butler into my lineup. He was in our cash game plays last night and exploded for 64 fantasy points. He’s really been playing well since Wade went down with an injury, and I don’t expect to see his price under 9k for the rest of the year. I’ll be taking advantage of this and the fact that he’s facing a Detroit team that has been awful against small forwards over their last 5 games, giving up an average of 49.9 FP to the position. I like a stack of Rondo/Butler in cash games tonight.
Ersan Ilyasova ($4,500) – Paul Millsap has already been ruled for tonight’s tilt with the Wizards, so Ilyasova is expected to get another spot start. After having a great fill-in game on Saturday, Ersan came out Monday with a less than spectacular effort, posting 19.7 fantasy points in 28 minutes of action. He’s expected to get the same kind of run time tonight and he’ll be facing a Washington Wizards team that has given up the 5th most fantasy points to power forwards this season. I expect him to easily reach value against them.
Dwight Howard ($6,800) – If you’ve been reading these articles you know I love to pick on Washington’s front court. And with Millsap out again that’s exactly what I’m going to do as Dwight Howard and the Atlanta Hawks will be in the state capitol tonight to face the Wizards. Washington has been giving up over 60 fantasy points a game to centers in their last 5 games, and no, that wasn’t a typo. He should be able to absolutely feast tonight on their weak defense and I look forward to watching it happen.
GPP Plays
John Wall ($10,000) – It’s a Russell Westbrook night, which also means it’s a night no one should be buying up to any of the other big name point guards. Hence, I think John Wall is a great call in GPP tonight. The Hawks are particularly bad at containing point guards and have been extremely bad over their last 10 games. In those 10 contests they are giving up an average of 53.8 fantasy points per game, which is good for 2nd worst over that stretch. Wall should easily be able to keep their bad streak going tonight.
Nicolas Batum ($7,000) – He’s not a head-turner or a highlight real player, but Nic Batum gets the job done 100% of the time. He has also quietly been a great fantasy player, averaging 32.44 fantasy points in the 65 games he’s played in this year. Tonight, the Hornets will be in Orlando to take on the Magic, who haven’t been great against the shooting guard position this year. Expect Batum to get you his usual 30 FP, but also bring huge upside for 40+ as well, which we’ve seen him do multiple times this year.
Robert Covington ($7,400) – Covington has kind of been the man in Philadelphia (along with Saric) since the Sixers decided to make a ton of moves around the trade deadline. He’s consistently getting 30 fantasy points a game and has gotten extremely close to 50 on many occasions. For a guy priced at $7,400 that’s a huge positive in tournament games. The 76ers will be facing OKC tonight, a team that is middle-of-the-road when it comes to stopping small forwards. Covington should do great tonight in what I think may end up being a close game.
Enes Kanter ($5,500) – Kanter is kind of a risky play considering he has only seen 20+ minutes once in his last 5 games. However, that 20+ performance did come in his last game on Monday, in which he put up 27 fantasy points in 25 minutes of action. Coming off his injury, he’s seen a decrease in minutes. However, considering OKC will be facing Philadelphia tonight I don’t think Billy Donovan will tiptoe around his minutes since Kanter will have a matchup he can exploit. He should be able to flirt with 30+ FP off the bench for Oklahoma City tonight.
Myles Turner ($6,200) – Turner is coming off a really solid game against a Utah squad that should have given him fits. Watching him play against them I was really impressed and am eager to see what he can do tonight against a Boston team that should be a much easier matchup. The Celtics are giving up over 50 fantasy points a game to the center position over their last 10 games, which is 11th worst in the league. Turner should be pretty evenly matched as he goes up against Al Horford tonight, and it should be fun to watch them battle down low. I expect him to get around 30 fantasy points, but he does carry the potential for a little more.