Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo drives against Charlotte Hornets' Jeremy Lamb during an NBA basketball game Saturday, March 26, 2016, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
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Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 32.32 DK - 32.86
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 25.89 DK - 25.49
Welcome to another Tuesday edition of NBA daily fantasy action! The association has given us a quaint little five game slate of hoops entertainment. We're going to begin at point guard with two plays from the same game, and two guys benefitting from injury which leads to plenty of value to be had. First up we have the sure thing. John Wall underwent a procedure to reduce the inflammation in his knee which will set him firmly on the Washington Bench for at least two weeks. This opens up a ton of value for us, with Tim Frazier stepping into the starting rotation for the Wiz. Wall has missed three games already this season and in those games Frazier has run the boards an average of 31.3 minutes. He'll take on a Minnesota team tonight that may or may not have Jeff Teague. Teague missed two games already with an achilles injury and is a game-time decision for tonight's contest. Tyus Jones got the starting nod the last two games and saw 32 and 38 minutes respectively stuffing the stat sheet each time out. The sites were quick to correct pricing on both of these players but there is still plenty of room to the ceiling, particularly with Jones. This game tips off an hour after lock, so we may not have definitive word on Teague's status at 7:00, which sucks because I think Jones holds much more upside, so we will have to pay close attention and hope for early word, but Frazier will be in all of my cash games guaranteed. The Wolves are heading into the first game of a back to back so they could err on the side of caution and hold Teague back until the tail end, if so I'll have Jones everywhere.
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 32.24 DK - 31.56
Kris Dunn snaked the starting job in Chicago from Jerian Grant and then went cold. So cold that Grant outperformed him off of the bench in two straight, but coach Hoiberg is sticking with Dunn as a starter and he comes into a great matchup opportunity tonight to bounce back to form. The Bulls host the Suns who not only play the fastest game in basketball, but also one of the most poorly defended ones, particularly at the point where they allow the fourth most fantasy points. Tyler Ulis is a poor defender and Dunn will have a great chance to shake off the 2/4/3 line he posted against the Heat on Sunday. Since his first start against the Thunder two weeks ago, Dunn has paid value at these prices more often than not, and while there isn't much in the way of upside, and there is some risk, Dunn still looks to be one of the safer ways to pay up at a position that is lacking in any big name plays, at least on FanDuel where there is no multi-position eligibility.
Consider: Eric Bledsoe
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 42.05 DK - 43.35
Another beneficiary of John Wall's knee, Bradley Beal will lead the Washington offense for the next few weeks while Wall is out of commission. Beal sees his usage shoot to an elite 36.7% rate when Wall is off the court, and will put up close to John Wall numbers at Bradley Beal pricing. Sunday with no Wall, Beal posted 26 points and a season high seven assists while also picking up two blocks, two steals, and a rebound. The Wizards are in Minnesota tonight to take on the Timberwolves who are an average defense at the shooting guard position, but the appeal here is in the situation, if the Wizards want to keep pace in the east without Wall, they will need Beal to take control and bring his best game to the boards. Beal has a solid floor, and a very high ceiling tonight and is in consideration in all formats.
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 27.87 DK - 28.13
Like Kris Dunn above, Justin Holiday has shown he can shoot but has struggled to keep up to his potential in some tougher match ups. Also like Dunn, he gets prime chance for redemption tonight as the Suns come to Chicago. Phoenix is equally as bad at defending the two as they are the one, and Devin Booker, as good as he is offensively, just doesn't do it defensively as he has one of the worst defensive ratings at the position. He is also a GTD, which if he sits puts Holiday in an even better position, but it seems as if he'll play. Holidays minutes have been somewhat erratic, but when he gets over the 30 minute mark he does tend to pay value. There is little upside here as all Holiday tends to do is shoot, but tonight that is all we ask for against a Suns team allowing opposing shooting guards to score a league best 31.5 points per game. Holiday is a fine cash play at a position that after Beal doesn't present a lot of high cost value.
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 33.72 DK - 34.57
Nestled in between Beal and Holiday we find Khris Middleton. Middleton is seeing ridiculous minutes for the Bucks backcourt and has put up some monster fantasy performances in the past couple of weeks, against the Pistons, and most recently the Suns. Granted, Giannis was out for the game in Phoenix, but even when sharing the court with the freak, Middleton has proven to be a steady source of boards and dimes, and has even picked up the scoring when Giannis finds himself in double coverage. The Bucks are in Sacramento tonight and though these two teams tend to crawl along the court, combined pace factor for this one is 97.6, with only five games on the docket we only need to consider the amount of time Middleton stands to be on the court which should negate the pace of play and give him ample time to pay value.
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 56.51 DK - 57.23
Finally!! We get to some big name studs. Small forward is the only position on the night with a play above $10K and we get two of the best. First up, the Greek freak. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks as we just established are in Sacramento. The Kings have been surprisingly tough on opposing small forwards this season, allowing just 36 FP to the position, but they don't scare me against Alphabet. Giannis looked just fine on Saturday in Utah, so there's no concern about his knee that kept him out of the game against Phoenix earlier last week. He ended the night in Utah with a double double, scoring 27 points paired with 13 boards, and five assists mixed in. We only have projections on three of tonight's five games from Vegas as I write this, but none look to get out of hand, this game has the highest spread at seven. The only concern here, again is the pace of play, but With minimal ways to spend up tonight, the system feels you're best way to do so is to do so with ABC.
Opponent - MIA
Proj Pts FD - 55.23 DK - 56.57
Orrrrr....you can go with the King. The system prefers Giannis for the savings, but the projections are near identical here. Giannis may be the safer play, as the Cavs are on the tail end of a back to back after easily crushing the Sixers last night in Philly though I wouldn't put too much stock in the B2B. Cleveland has gone back to back twice already this season and LeBron has had full run in both games of each. Plus he only saw 31 minutes in Philly. South beach bring their talents to Cleveland tonight as the Cavs host the Heat in a game with just a three point spread, and the highest total of the three games we have projections on tonight at 209.5. I don't know that you can afford to fade either the alphabet or the king, so if you can fit both of them into your lineup then by all means, but if forced to choose, I would take Giannis in cash and use James in tournaments as he has proven time and again, his ceiling knows no limits, and he truly is the king.
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 36.77 DK - 35.95
I noted earlier that Devin Booker is likely to play tonight in Chicago, but if he does not play, then T.J. Warren becomes an elite option. Even if Booker does in fact play, he's the best way to go if you can't squeeze those other two guys together into your lineup. Warren has been solid for the Phoenix front court, scoring double digit points in 12 straight contests with some solid peripherals mixed in as well. This is the result of ample running time of which Warren has received plenty. In his last five contests Warren is averaging 36.2 minutes and averaging 19.2 points in that same stretch. If Booker is in fact ruled out, I'll mix Warren in plenty with the top two guys, but even if Booker plays, I'll still add him into the mix when I need the savings.
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 33.71 DK - 32.73
You know power forward is going to be rough when we're leading off with Derrick Favors. Favors has been the big man in Utah as they have been without Rudy Gobert for several games, and will continue to be for a few more weeks. While he's not posting Gobert's numbers, he has produced well enough to be a top consideration in a weak position, as he has averaged 15.9 points, 8.8 boards, and 1.5 blocks since stepping into Gobert's spot while averaging 29 minutes per game. The Jazz host the Nuggets tonight in a game with just a 1.5 point spread. Denver is allowing 18.7 points and 11.2 rebounds to opposing big men, so Favors could be looking at his fifth double double in nine games, and is a solid cash game play at the worst position on this slate.
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 29.77 DK - 29.24
I give Taj Gibson a lot of grief, and sometimes rightfully so, but he has proven to be a nice fit in his new surroundings along the likes of Towns, Butler and Wiggins, and has proven to be a sneaky good fantasy play. He picked up his seventh double double of the season against the Suns on Sunday, and has managed to score 48 points in just his last three contests. Gibson isn't a stuff the stat sheet, explosive type of play, but what he is, is a reliable cash game option that won't break your bank taking on a Wizards team allowing 20 points and 12 rebounds to the position.
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 32.55 DK - 33.28
While we don't have an early line from Vegas on this game, we know we can keep going back to Chicago, as they take one of the worst defenses in the game to task tonight. Lauri Markkanen posted his sixth double double of the season on Sunday against the Heat with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and gets the good fortune tonight of facing a Phoenix team that is allowing 25 points and 13 boards to the position. The Suns play fast and bad and that adds up to a lot of DFS opportunity. Markkanen and Favors, are both priced the same on FanDuel and project the same, so you can pair them of just pick one, on DraftKings however stick with Favors who is much cheaper, though Markkanen could make for a nice tournament play as he has flashed plenty of upside.
Opponent - CLE
Proj Pts FD - 38.77 DK - 38.94
There are a few different ways to pay up at center tonight, and all have their pros, and cons, but the system feels paying up while not paying all the way up is the way to go with Hassan Whiteside. Jokic and Towns, are in good matchups, but both project similarly to Whiteside at a higher cost. Whiteside's minutes have been down this season, as he has been dealing with that sore knee, but he hasn't let that slow him down any, coming just a board shy of his second straight double double on just 21 minutes against the Bulls on Sunday. Whitesides averaging 15.2 points and 12.6 rebounds in just 27 minutes per game this year, and will spend most of the night on Kevin Love who has one of the worst defensive ratings among centers in the league. Whiteside will be my top cash play of the night.
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 30.78 DK - 32.29
Value is a little tough to come by at center tonight, and this play doesn't fill me with the greatest of confidence, but here we are. Marcin Gortat is streaky at times, but when he's on he has potential 7-8X PPD upside, and tonight he will be taking on a Minnesota team that is the most generous of all the teams going tonight to the position allowing 16.2 points and 12 rebounds per game. Gortat has posted double doubles in three of his last five games and has also seen his minutes increase significantly in that stretch. It's a risky proposition, and for that reason I'll do my bst to pay up at the position for my cash games, but in tournaments Gortat is priced nicely with a high enough ceiling that he could easily lift your GPP line up to the top.
Consider: KAT or Nikola Jokic if you have the funds.
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