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Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 25.48 DK - 27.47
Patrick Beverly suffered a groin strain last Wednesday going in to the break, but the week off was all he needed and he returned unhindered against the Pelicans in the first game back on Thursday. He only managed 2 points, but that was due more to the addition of Lou Williams coming over from L.A. Even with the lack of scoring Beverley managed to fill out the stat sheet and walk away with a serviceable fantasy performance. Tonight the Rockets play host to the Timberwolves, a league average match up for point guards. While the presence of Sweet Lou may diminish Beverley's upside, at this price, as long as he continues to start and see 30 minutes a game, the floor should remain in tact and he should be a fine cash game play.
Opponent - MIA
Proj Pts FD - 33.84 DK - 36.22
Jeff Teague and the Pacers travel to Miami tonight to face the Heat. Teague has been a fairly consistent player this season with the occasional clunker thrown in, Miami is a bottom ten defense against opposing point guards, so this shouldn't be one of those. Thursday against the Grizzlies Teague picked up a double double, with 10 points and assists, to go along with 4 boards. The price is a little higher than I'd like it to be but there isn't a whole lot to love at point guard tonight. I don't see a lot of upside, but the match up should provide us enough safety to get by.
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 26.1 DK - 27.74
This game, along with the Hawks/Magic contest are a part of the 2 game early only slate on both sites. We're not going to focus much on it, but we will pepper in a few worthy considerations here and there, starting off with Ty Lawson. Lawson drew the start at shooting guard in his first game back from injury Thursday night against the Nuggets. While he didn't set the world on fire, he did put up a respectable 8/4/6 line with 2 steals in 31 minutes so we know he is at least feeling healthy. As long as he is going to see minutes in the low thirties at this price he is definitely worth a look, the only concern would be the fact that he's got Tyreke Evans and Buddy Hield breathing down his neck for those minutes. Until we see excatly what the Kings plan to do with minute distribution moving forward in the post boogie period, this might be a tournament play only on a larger slate, but a slate like this Lawson could be considered in all formats.
Dennis Schroder should be back in the starting lineup for the Hawks tonight. If for whatever reason he isn't, then Malcolm Delaney becomes an excellent option.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 28.66 DK - 31.13
This game covers both the early slate and the main slate, and while Evan Fournier is a near must play on the early, he warrants consideration on the main slate as well. When talking about minutes, it's hard to find a player safer than Fournier. He's come in under 30 minutes once in his last nine games, when he played 29 against the Mavs. In the last six contests he's only failed to pay value twice, coming in just under one of those times. The Hawks are a bottom ten defense against the two, and play at the eleventh fastest pace in the league which should have Orlando speeding up their own game providing Fournier some extra looks. On the early slate there's a case for Fournier in all formats, while considering him for your cash games in the main.
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 29.73 DK - 31.77
Tim Hardaway Jr. will remain in the Hawks starting line up while they ease Thabo Sefolosha back in from a groin injury. In the nine games the Sefolosha was sidelined, Hardaway averaged 19.4 points, 4.3 boards, 3.7 dimes in just over 35 minutes of play. The match up with Orlando is average, but as long as he continues to see about 30 minutes a game he remains a value. Once Thabo is full strength it could cut into Hardaways production so get your exposure while you still can.
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 24.77 DK - 26.81
With the acquisition of Nerlens Noel, it was unclear how the Mavs were going to move forward with their starting rotation, specifically, continuing to start Seth Curry, or returning him to the sixth man spot coming in off the bench. Ultimately Seth did draw the start on Friday, dropping 31 points against the Timberwolves, along with a steal, rebound, and assist. The worst part about this time of year is guageing all of the adjustments teams make following their last minute moves at the deadline, and while there weren't a whole lot of big names shuffled around, there were still enough pieces to have us looking closely at certain players and how the changes will impact them and that is certainly the case here, but as long as Seth continues to run with the starters and see minutes around the thirty mark he makes a fine cash game option.
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 55.6 DK - 60.47
What can be said about the King that hasn't already been said? He's an absolute beast out there and is always in the conversation regardless of the match up. Thursday night he decimated the Knicks, putting up his sixth triple double of the season with an 18/13/15 line in 37 minutes. The Bulls come into Cleveland tonight as ten point dogs, but even if this one does get out of hand, I see Chicago staying competitive long enough to allow James to do what he does, and that's make fantasy magic happen. The Bulls are a league average opponent and are allowing 9% more assists and 14% more steals to opposing threes. The price is at the lowest point it has been since the start of the month which has me liking the King in all formats.
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 51.56 DK - 54.52
The Nets come in to this game as 22 point underdogs, this is also the highest projected scoring game of the night. So, even if this one does get out of control, someone has to send it out of control and that someone will most likely be Kevin Durant. We all know how bad the Nets are on defense, and these are the two fastest teams in the league which means the fantasy points should be coming fast and furiously. The question you have to ask yourself is just how bad will it get for Brooklyn, and how early do the Golden State starters, including KD take a seat. Now, it bears mentioning that KD injured his finger against the Clippers the other night in the first quarter, but he did return to the game and ended the night near 60 fantasy points. He had a band on the finger during practice Friday, but is not currently on the injury report and all signs point to him being good to go. I'll have exposure to KD in all formats, the points should come so quickly, the safety shouldn't be a question, and this could potentially be one of his highest ceiling games of the year as well.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 24.82 DK - 26.7
Terrence Ross made his debut with the Magic on Thursday against the Blazers and saw 33 minutes of run time, which is about 9 minutes more than he was averaging with Toronto, and if this is an indication of things to come then now is the time to get in while he still comes in at bargain basement pricing. Especially if he continues to perform near the level he did Thursday, dropping 13 points and picking up 5 rebounds an assist and three steals. The Hawks are the sixth most generous team to opposing small forwards, so he very well could duplicate that performance, and makes for an excellent cash game play, and also provides some nice salary relief in a tournament. The price is most definitely set to rise here so get in now before the sites correct.
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 32.42 DK - 35.09
Dario Saric picked up his third straight double double on Friday night against the Wizards scoring 20 points and snagging 11 rebounds. He rounded out the night with 4 assists and a steal to the tune of nearly 7X points fantasy points per dollar. With Ersan Ilyasova and Nerlens Noel dealt at the deadline, Saric looks to see an increase in both minutes and usage at the four and is another example of the sites being slow to correct pricing compared to opportunity. With Joel Embiid still out indefinitely, it looks to be Saric and Jahlil Okafor in the Philly front court with Robert Covington, and Saric seems poised and ready to embrace the new role. We're getting Saric at a discount now, so take advantage. An excellent play in all formats against a Knicks team coming in among the bottom ten at the position defensively.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 23.81 DK - 25.3
The Raptors traded Serge Ibaka to Toronto, Terrence Ross, who they got in exchange will step in to the small forward spot and allow Arron Gordon to move back over to the power forward spot, a position he performed very nicely at last year. His first game back at the four wasn't anything phenomenal, 9 points and rebounds, 2 assists and steals in 29 minutes against the Blazers who admittedly aren't very good against opposing PFs, meanwhile Atlanta is a top ten team at the position. That said, there's little risk of this one getting out of hand, and this game also falls in to both the early and the main slate, so consider Gordon an excellent play in the early, and defintely worth your consideration in the main slate.
Opponent - CLE
Proj Pts FD - 23.18 DK - 24.57
Taj Gibson has moved on to OKC which leaves the Bulls with an opening at the four. The position seems to be there for the taking for Bobby Portis, but he's going to need to show more than the 9/7/1 he put up in 16 minutes against the atrocious Suns defense on Friday night. For what it's worth, he almost paid value, so just think what he could've done with 30 minutes. Now, I did not see the Chicago game last night, and haven't been able to find any news specifying why Portis was limited to only 16 minutes in his start Friday, but if you think the minutes are there he makes for a fine cash play against a Cavaliers defense that is still missing Kevin Love, otherwise, just limit him to tournaments.
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 33.37 DK - 35.42
Another pick for you early only junkies. Frank the tank drew the start on Thursday against the Pistons, and with Miles Plumlee out, and Cody Zeller still up in the air, Kaminsky could be looking at another heavy workload. He ran for almost 40 minutes Thursday. Sure, he did little other than score but that was against Andre Drummond and the Pistons, and tonight he draws the Kings, who while on paper are similarly ranked defensively, that was in the Boogie down era, and this is the Cauley-Stein Kings we're looking at now. If the Tank starts, lock him in.
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 29.47 DK - 30.69
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 32.86 DK - 34.54
With Joel Embiid out indefinitely and Nerlens Noel traded off to Dallas, Jahlil Okafor is the man at the five in Philly for the time being. That said, for the price he is going to have to show us more than he has shown in his last few starts. Okafor isn't known for his defense, so if his shot isn't falling he can kill a lineup quickly. He only managed 11 points against Marcin Gortat and the Wizards last night, though granted, the Knicks are a much more generous defense than Washington, especially over the past several games with Joakim Noah sidelined. In the time Guillermo Hernangomez has been drawing the start at the five for New York and he has been paying value rather easily over the duration. With Kristps Porzingis out as well even more of the workload should fall on Guillermos shoulders if the Knicks want to stay competitive. I'd lock Hernangomez for cash games and give Okafor some tournament love for seperation, he's due to break out of his funk sometime, and tonight just may be the night.
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 29.36 DK - 30.45
Boogie who? Willie Cauley-Stein looks to be the primary benefactor of the minutes and production DeMarcus Cousins left behind. In 35 minutes against Denver on Thursday, he let loose for 29 points, 14 of 22 from the field and 1-1 at the line, to go along with 10 rebounds and a block. Now, while that would clearly be an off night for Cousins, WCS is coming in at a fraction of the salary, and while it jumped a thousand dollars on FanDuel since Thursday (2K on DK) It's still got a long way to go before it's going to top off if this is what we can expect to see from him moving forward. Until it does peak, WCS will carry must play status for the immediate future.
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View Comments
Portis started last night and only played 16 minutes. Mirotic got the points and time he was supposed to. Any reason why (injury?), I want to Roster Portis or Mirotic tonight but I cannot decide whom.
I was wondering the same. I played him and saw he had 18 FD points early in the third and figured he was heading for 35. Then he just stops playing. Unreal.
That's what u get for listening to this garbage... They're talking Mirotic today so play Portis! I joined for 30$ a month hit 80$ the1st night been losing money ever since. Your better off taking a knife to a gunfight!!!
Ever since I started going completely opposite of what this article says...I been cashing out nightly! Minimal cash out but a whole lot better than losing every cent listening to these picks. I've noticed the trend on this fantasy play...It's always your unexpecting and bad matchup plays that go off. (Besides the sure fire, high priced guys like: Harden, Westbrook, LBJ, Durant...etc.) Now, I sway more to the guys in close games, average individual matchups and bad over team defense matchup. The guys you look at and say, "they're gonna kill that guy defending him"....STAY AWAY!!!
To the guys complaining about the picks everyday, stop coming to this site, not like they are holding a gun to your head and telling you to make the same picks, unless you don't have a mind of your own then i guess your SOL
Probably gonna stack Phi/NY and Hou/Min game
Thanks for the post again today, lots of good insight.