Welcome to Tuesday, which boasts a healthy seven game NBA slate. The matchups are interesting, but I expect a somewhat lower scoring night out of this grouping as six of the Top 10 teams in defensive efficiency are playing. Nice fantasy matchups go to Sacramento, Boston, LA, and Indiana. Key injuries to watch for tonight aren’t many, but include Draymond Green, Marques Chriss, Brook Lopez, Victor Oladipo, Markieff Morris, and Bruce Brown. Key players that remain out tonight include Damien Lillard and Kemba Walker, along with Marc Gasol, Jeremy Lamb and the usual Bulls. In this column, I generally set $6000 FD/$5000 DK as the bargain threshold, and I try to indicate when I think a position is particularly well-suited--or not--to using the cheap plays given the landscape of the particular slate. Tonight’s slate tips at 7:00 pm EST.
Point Guard
Aaron Holiday, Indiana Pacers vs. Charlotte ($3700 FD, $4600 DK)
Note the price discrepancy on Holiday here, as both Lamb and Oladipo could be sidelined tonight. There is of course a chance that Holiday doesn’t show up big in the box scores, but on the whole, he’s been worth the price when playing at least 25 minutes. Though they play slow, Charlotte is a nice fantasy matchup, and the Pacers are big home favorites. Obviously preferable on FanDuel.
Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics at Portland ($5300 FD(SG), $6100 DK)
Expect Smart to be very highly owned against the Lillard-less Trail Blazers tonight. Given that Walker will also be out, Smart should again handle the point guard duties. With a healthy team around him, Smart could reach 6-8X value in this primo PG matchup.
Also consider: Rajon Rondo ($4200 FD, $4000 DK)
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Shooting Guard
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, LA Lakers vs. New Orleans ($3900 FD, $3200 DK)
The Lakers get the Pelicans, a great guard and overall fantasy matchup, at home tonight, which is also the reason Rondo gets a slight nod tonight. You can actually put together some decent stars and scrubs lineups if you consider guys like KCP. In the last four games, he’s exceeded 20 fantasy points three times. A lot of his production has come by way of steals (he has nine in that span), so the fact that New Orleans ranks sixth in the league in turnover rate while playing at the third-fastest pace has me excited for the prospects for this very low risk salary.
Luguentz Dort, Oklahoma City Thunder at Chicago ($3800 FD, $3300 DK)
The Thunder have been getting a little more consistent with Dort’s usage (21-24 minutes in four straight games now), and he’s been playing a little bit better. He’s another player I’m into for the steal possibilities, given that he has three each in the last two games, and Chicago turns the ball over at the second-highest rate in the league. While he’s not doing much in the other peripheral categories, he has scored double-digit points in these last two games since the All-Star break as well. Low risk, decent reward play.
Also consider: Buddy Hield ($5800 FD, $6600 DK), Bogdan Bogdanovic ($4400 FD, $5600 DK) vs. Golden State
Small Forward
Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings at Golden State ($5000 FD, $5300 DK)
Barnes might feel a bit sorry for his old team tonight, given their defensive woes (they rank 24th in defensive efficiency) and even worse offensive problems (30th in offensive efficiency), but should that keep him from taking advantage of the league’s second-best SF matchup? I think not. He is averaging 29 fantasy points in two games against the Warriors this season, and has topped 35 fantasy points in four of his last five games, including the two since the break. Kent Bazemore ($4900 FD, $4300 DK) has also been playing well for the Kings (small sample), most notably in his monster game Saturday vs. the Clippers. Don’t expect a full repeat, but I do think Bazemore will be fine if you need to come down the extra $1K from Barnes.
Juan Toscano-Anderson, Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento ($4000 FD, $4100 DK)
Looks like the Warriors are going to be short a forward or two again tonight, and in the last two games, it has been Toscano-Anderson stepping up. It’s not often I get to write up two new guys in the same article, but here I am. Sure, we’d rather rely on Andrew Wiggins in this nice spot, but Juan offers significant salary savings and has hit 31 and 38 fantasy points in his last two games, well over a fantasy point per minute. Frankly, it’s just nice to see some of these young bright spots in the Golden State rotation.
Also consider: Danilo Gallinari ($5700 FD, $6100 DK), Justin Holiday ($3800 FD, $4100 DK)
Power Forward
Daniel Theis, Boston Celtics at Portland ($5000 FD, $4900 DK(C))
Though I think we’ll see Enes Kanter a bit more tonight than last game, Theis is still a solid play. Boston is a five-point road favorite in Portland tonight, taking on the 26th-rated defense with their Top 5 offense. That offense has included double-digit points from Theis in five straight games, in which he is also averaging 10 rebounds a game with the occasional block and/or steal. For the price, in this Top 5 frontcourt matchup, Theis is a cornerstone kind of player wherever you fit him.
Nicolo Melli, New Orleans Pelicans at LA ($4100 FD, $4000 DK)
Melli is not a play I feel super strongly about, but I think he’s intriguing in what could be a blowout loss for the Pelicans. Of course, LA has one of the best defensive ratings in the league, and that goes for every single positional matchup as well as overall. But Melli has been playing reasonable minutes, and converting them into at least 20 fantasy points most of the time. I should mention that this game carries the highest point total of the night by far (238.5 points). If Melli’s peripheral shot is falling like it was Sunday, you’ve got a low-owned, high scoring option on the cheap.
Also consider: Nemanja Bjelica ($5300 FD, $5900 DK), Paul Millsap ($5300 FD, $5100 DK)
Center
Harry Giles III, Sacramento Kings at Golden State ($4000 FD(PF), $4400 DK)
One of the reason to save at the other positions is to be able to afford Nikola Jokic here, so I only see Giles being used in GPP lineups if at all. The Kings continue to be shorthanded in the frontcourt, though Alex Len ($3900 FD, $3700 DK) has made his debut now. We’ve hammered the Warriors enough, but this, too, is a nice matchup for fantasy centers. Giles looks like the player to roster, though I don’t at all mind hedging with Len for some security in tournament lineups.
Miles Turner, Indiana Pacers vs. Charlotte ($5800 FD, $5000 DK)
Turner is the matchup-based bargain play to roster tonight, as the Hornets have risen to allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing centers. Steven Adams, for a bit more, gets the other juicy matchup with Chicago. In my big picture mind, Turner is a disappointment; I always expected a lot more from him and this season is no different. HOWEVER, even he is crushing the Hornets; in two games this season, he’s averaging 38 fantasy points. So, yes, I’ll take the shot here, especially with the notable price depression on DraftKings.
Also consider: Cody Zeller ($4900 FD, $4500 DK)