Cash Plays
Damian Lillard ($9,600) – There’s a smaller slate tonight, so there’s essentially an argument to be made for any player as a cash game play. This is particularly prevalent at the point guard position with multiple stars going. However, my point guard pick for the night is going to be Damian Lillard. Lillard has been on an absolute tear lately, posting at least 40 fantasy points in 7 of his last 8 games. He’ll be facing a Minnesota defense that gives up roughly 47 fantasy points a game to the point guard position, so he’s in a good position to continue his hot streak tonight at home.
Courtney Lee ($4,500) – Personally, I will be reaching down at shooting guard tonight. It doesn’t seem like a position where I need to pay 8k for a guy that may only get me 20 fantasy points, so I’m going to be targeting value plays, and Courtney Lee is first on my list. Both Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony are questionable tonight with injuries, and when both of them sat out last game Lee saw 40+ minutes. If one or both of them are out again tonight it should be more of the same for the 31-year-old shooting guard, making him a great call as a cash game play. Even if both of the Knicks stars do play, however, I still like Lee at his price point. A matchup with the Spurs will likely draw people away from him, though it’s important to note that San Antonio actually has trouble guarding the shooting guard position, as they’ve given up the 6th most fantasy points to the position over their last 10 games. Lee only needs a little over 20 FP to reach value and he should easily be able to do that given all the positive factors he has going for him tonight.
Andrew Wiggins ($7,000) – With LeBron and Melo both game time decisions, along with the fact the Spurs will likely blow the Knicks out with all of their injuries, my cash game pick is going to fall squarely on the shoulders of Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins was in our picks last night as a GPP play, and he didn’t disappoint. He put up 47 fantasy points in 44 minutes of action against the Lakers. His solid game will likely make him a popular pick tonight as he goes up against the Trail Blazers. Portland has been struggling against small forwards, giving up the 8th most fantasy points to the position over their last 5 games. With his price still down at 7k I think Wiggins is a fantastic play against them as he should easily get you 35 fantasy points.
Noah Vonleh ($3,800) – With another solid performance last night, Noah Vonleh has catapulted himself straight from GPP to cash game consideration. In his last 5 games he’s seeing an average of 28.4 minutes per game to go along with 21.3 fantasy points during that stretch. For a guy almost at minimum price, that’s great production and definitely something I’m going to want exposure to in my cash game lineup. He’ll be going up against the Timberwolves, who are middle-of-the-road when it comes to containing power forwards. Given that he should see another start tonight, I really like him in all formats and suggest you get him into your lineups.
Karl-Anthony Towns ($10,400) – Towns was our cash game center last night, as he put up 51.6 fantasy points in an overtime win against the Lakers. Personally, I love playing his kid because he’s never let me down. He consistently gets you 40+ fantasy points and carries the upside for 60+ on certain nights. That kind of consistency is exactly what you want in cash game picks, and that is why he’s on my cash game radar yet again today. Towns has basically shown he’s matchup-proof, which means he’s really a great pick no matter who he plays. Although, it doesn’t hurt that he’ll be going up against a Portland defense that has been weak at guarding the big man position all year.
GPP Plays
Cory Joseph ($4,800) – Joseph has just been too inconsistent to be a cash game play every night. However, he has shown some spurts of great play, which makes him a great call tonight as a GPP point guard since his price is down under 5k. Unfortunately, Dallas is great at defending the point guard position. However, I just look at this as another reason why he shouldn’t be too owned. He’ll see 30+ minutes again tonight so he really shouldn’t have an issue scoring 20+ FP. If you want to reach down at point guard I think Joseph is your guy.
Seth Curry ($5,300) – I’m going to stick with the Dallas/Toronto game for my GPP shooting guard pick and go with Seth Curry of the Dallas Mavericks. He seems to have bounced back from an awful week by putting up 23 points last night against the Clippers. His price dropped and he’s now closer to 5k than 6k. I think he’s another cheap option in tournaments that allows you to reach up for lesser-owned stars at another position. Toronto is great at defending the shooting guard position, though, so he’ll have his work cut out for him.
Otto Porter ($5,800) – Porter hasn’t been good over the last week, as he hasn’t scored more than 18 fantasy points in his last 3 games. A matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers is also likely to scare people away from him tonight. However, the Cavs actually have a difficult time containing small forwards. They’ve given up the 6th most fantasy points all year to the position and I actually think Porter is in a great position to do well against them tonight. The Wizards are currently chasing Cleveland in the Eastern Conference standings, so the game should have some good intensity and offer plenty of fantasy points to the sharp-shooting Porter.
Markieff Morris ($6,000) – I’m going to pick on the Cavs again and go with Markieff Morris as my GPP power forward. Cleveland has been absolutely awful against opposing power forwards recently, giving up 53.1 fantasy points a game to the position over their last 5 contests. This is good for 4th worst in the league over that stretch, and I think Morris is in a fantastic position to keep that bad streak going for them. Given all the factors, it’s kind of hard for me to imagine he doesn’t get 30 fantasy points tonight for your tournament lineup, so I highly recommend plugging him in.
Tristan Thompson ($5,000) – It should be another night in which the Wizards have absolutely no idea how to contain the center they’re facing, which just so happens to be Tristan Thompson. The rebound monster hasn’t been great lately, but the fact that he’s going up against a defense that has given up 53.9 fantasy points a game to opposing centers in their last 10 contests is just too much against them not to go with Thompson tonight. Even if he gets me half of that (right around 27) I’m still going to be happy and he’s still going to have reached value. I think he has some insane upside tonight and is definitely a guy I recommend having a lot of exposure to in tournaments.