Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15) grabs a rebound against the Utah Jazz during the second half in an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016, in Salt Lake City. The Jazz won 102-73. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
We've only got three games on this Tuesday slate, making for some close calls on cash game values. But we've got you covered for FanDuel and DraftKings.
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Opponent - CLE
Proj Pts FD - 42.62 DK - 43.97
Cleveland isn’t currently the worst defensive team in the league (Phoenix and Minnesota rank worse) but it stands to reason that by the end of the season, the Cavs are firmly in the basement. This is easily the worst team in the league and there’s really not much hope it will get better until I suppose Kevin Love comes back into the fold. But their demise is our gain and Kemba ranks as a fantastic play for Tuesday’s smaller slate of action. Colin Sexton looks totally lost on the defensive end. Dennis Schroder shredded him two games ago and even Ryan Arcidiacono had a career game on Saturday. Walker is still crushing it in terms of usage and over the last five games is averaging more than 19 shots per game. His 28 points per game rank second in the league behind only Steph Curry and Walker’s time on ball has also led to an increase in the assist numbers. He’ll likely be a popular play on Tuesday because of the short slate and prime matchup.
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 42.07 DK - 42.36
I like that the Rockets are in “uh-oh” mode right now. After starting the season on the brink of disaster, they’ve pulled it together in the short term, winning their last two and have a chance for something of a leverage win here against Denver. It’s not the best matchup, but I’m bullish on CP3’s minutes because the Rockets have to keep their foot on the gas in the short term. He, of course, gets usage and assist downgrades when he shares the court with Harden, but that’s becoming baked into the price. He’ll likely see more Jamal Murray than Gary Harris which helps as well. Again, the key here is that Paul is playing major minutes in the short term and should see them again on Tuesday.
Strongly consider Quinn Cook
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 32.38 DK - 33.58
George Hill and Kyle Korver are already ruled out, the Cavs are a mess and it stands to reason we get at least mid-20’s minutes out of Clarkson on Tuesday. That might be all he needs considering his propensity to just chuck a ball up into the air every time he gets his hands on it. Since Hill went down two games ago, Clarkson put up 17 and 16 shots respectively and, if anything, ran bad from the field only shooting 33%. The guy can score and does have a higher floor on both the minutes and shot attempts with the Cavs struggling with injuries, scheme, talent, you name it. He isn’t cheap for a bench player, but again the minutes and usage should be there for Clarkson who is averaging 13 points, seven rebounds, and six assists over the last two.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 38.71 DK - 40.64
He can be a frustrating guy to roster for sure. But if you noticed anything about the Warriors OT unit from Monday night, it was that they were operating without a true point guard, even relying on Klay to bring it up in certain sets. He's long been thought of as a third-fiddle to Steph and KD's main act, but Thompson has found ways to get his own shot in this offense and he should be able to especially in this matchup. The OT game on the front end of the back-to-back could cause some concern about the playing time. We'll need to keep an ear out for news on the playing time front. But short of a full on sit, this is a great time to still buy in cash games.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 59.41 DK - 60.02
He's coming of an overtime triple-double performance that saw him go for 33 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. There's an obvious usage bump for Durant when Curry isn't on the court and he realized it on Monday night with 24 shots in 39 minutes. Look, I'm a bit concerned the Warriors play it easy on Tuesday in a cake matchup against the Hawks who they should shred rather easily. The issue is that Durant, with no Steph, in this matchup is easily the big money play of the night. I'm willing to risk the minutes being there even on the b2b and he should handle this Atlanta squad easily. But remember, he did go to OT last night there's at least some hangover risk.
Opponent - CLE
Proj Pts FD - 30.13 DK - 30.51
Batum has had some weirdness around his recent game logs but there’s reason to believe he sees at least low-30’s minutes in this matchup. It helps that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has already been ruled out which should at least help the minutes’ floor. Tatum has seen a rather drastic reduction in usage this season with Walker gobbling up so many of the shot opportunities, so we really can’t bank on double-digit scoring opportunities at this point. The assists are down as well with Walker dominating so much time on ball. But the rebounds are up and he’s been able to chip in defensive stats along the way. Against a sloppy team like the Cavs, that will help and I do think Batum rates as a cash play because of the minutes and opponent.
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 19.45 DK - 20.16
If you’re looking for just a punt play, Juancho could provide some salary relief if he’s in the starting lineup again. He drew the start over Torrey Craig against the Bucks and played 30 minutes in the loss. He didn’t do a whole lot (8 points, three rebounds) and we can’t expect a ton more because sharing time with these starters will have him all the way down the food chain in terms of fantasy production. But with some bigger names worth paying up for, we might need to save somewhere and if the minutes are there it’s hard to imagine Hernanomez killing you at these prices.
Strongly consider Rodney Hood
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 33.17 DK - 33.74
Nance drew the start on Saturday for the Cavaliers and did a bunch of Nance-y things. He grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked four shots. If he’s going to play major minutes we can count on the boards and defensive stats. The scoring wasn’t there at all though, going 1-8 from the field and only scoring two points. If anything, there’s a lot of room for growth there and I suspect we see him as a chalk play on both sites as long as he sticks in the starting lineup. He won’t have much to contend with on the defensive end against Marvin Williams and there’s big upside on Nance’s fantasy production in this game. He’s likely one of the highest-owned players on the slate.
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 26.93 DK - 26.61
After struggling for much of the season to find anything in the way of consistent minutes or opportunity, Millsap finally put together a complete game on Sunday against the Bucks. The Nuggets needed his length on defense and he looked comfortable on the offensive end, finishing with 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The 14 shot attempts were a season-high and he ran hot from three, going 5-8 from downtown. That scoring isn’t likely to repeat, but if the minutes can stick then we are getting him at something of a discount. I like his matchup against the Rockets’ interior D which lacks a lot of size after Capela.
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 23.6 DK - 24.13
Carmelo Anthony is gone, the Rockets are spread very thin right because of injuries and here we are considering a $5100 Gary Clark off the bench for the Rockets. What a time to be alive. He’s a much better deal on DraftKings, and the dude did play 33 minutes last game. Six points, eight rebounds, and some other stuff thrown in there has him sniffing at value on DK with the minutes helping things at a thin position on FanDuel.
Opponent - DEN
Proj Pts FD - 42.85 DK - 43.37
Capela remains ridiculously underpriced on DraftKings and he should mid-30’s minutes at least in this matchup against Jokic. He’s had double-doubles in seven of his last nine games and that should be in the cards for Tuesday as well. It should be mentioned that Denver has made it very tough on opposing centers from a fantasy perspective, but that has a lot to do with their overall pace and scheme. For a three-game slate, Capela’s price is a slam dunk on DraftKings with the FanDuel salary getting a little closer. It might be worth punting away the position over there.
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 24.72 DK - 24.69
The good news is that Dewayne Dedmon has already been ruled out of this game and last game in that situation, Len played 27 minutes with 17 points and 11 rebounds against the Lakers. The bad news is that the Hawks could get absolutely dumpstered by the Warriors on Tuesday, leaving minutes on the shelf for the Hawks’ starters. I think Len is worth the risk on both sites considering his propensity to perform well from a fantasy perspective when given the opportunity. It helps that the Hawks are thin on big men and even with a mid-20’s minutes projection Len should but up against value at least.
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