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)
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Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 47.59 DK - 49.26
Kemba is one of the feel good stories of the season, even if the MVP discussions are a little overstated. Walker has improved by every conceivable metric this season. He's shooting more often, and has a career high field goal percentage thanks to his ability to get to the rim. He has career highs in assists (thanks to a huge jump in time of possession) and rebounds (for no good reason whatsoever). Simply put, he's peaking. His prices have climbed, but you can still easily afford him in what amounts to the league's best possible match-up in the Hawks. Atlanta has played the league's fastest pace with a bottom 5 defensive efficiency, and Kemba should cut through them like a hot knife through butter.
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 24.49 DK - 25.25
Mudiay is coming off an insane game against the Pelicans where he shot 10/20 from the field and played 29 minutes. Mudiay's points per minute performance has been kind of nuts in a Knicks uniform, and if he's named the starter you have a fairly classic opportunity and price mismatch.
Strongly considered: Ben Simmons, but it's just not clear you can afford him. It's a phenomenal match-up with Brooklyn in terms of their defense, but they've gotten slower compared to the rest of the league just because the rest of the league is playing so much faster. Simmons has been solid but unspectacular on these prices since Butler arrived, but he still might be a chance worth taking.
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 33.55 DK - 34.48
After two utterly bizarre games for the Trail Blazers, CJ McCollum's price has once against dipped below where it ought to be. In the two games prior he played 39 in each of them, and he averaged 19.5 shots. It's clear that CJ is a huge part of the Blazers' plan, and the Clippers represent an excellent match-up here. They have a top 8 pace on the season, and a middle of the road defensive efficiency. Perhaps more importantly, Vegas sees this as a 4 point game. Crossing our fingers here and all, but we're projecting a close game where McCollum and company see their true minutes. On 38+ minutes, CJ is a $7,500 player, and I'm sticking to it.
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 23.45 DK - 25
We were a part of the 9% of people that played Ellington on Friday, and we were rewarded with a GPP winning performance. Now I don't think you can count on him for 6 defensive stats a game going forward, but at these prices you don't really need him to go off. With Dragic and Johnson already ruled out, there is a lot of time of possession and minutes to go around. I love Ellington as a high floor play, and while this is far from a good match-up, at these prices he's quite simply a price and opportunity mismatch.
Keep an eye on the Donovan Mitchell situation. He left the Lakers game early with a rib contusion and his status for Sunday's game is as yet unknown.
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 19.52 DK - 19.8
Chandler has now played 30+ minutes a game in three straight, and he's still priced like a guy playing 20 minutes. Yes, he's officially the 5th option in this offense, but you almost don't even need him to score for him to pay these prices. They're still moving the ball through him (8 assists in those 3 games), and 5-7 shots, a few boards, and a couple of defensive stats are really all you need here. It's a great match-up with an up-tempo Brooklyn team, and he's a great way to get some more expensive options elsewhere.
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 29.31 DK - 30.57
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 28.97 DK - 27.22
This position is essentially just terrible on the main slate today, but let's give you a few plays anyway. Kyle Anderson is playable here for a couple of reasons. The Knicks have the third worst defensive efficiency in the league, and while the Grizzlies are 8 point favorites, they don't really play a style that leads to a lot of blowouts. Anderson has snuck in high 30s minutes in each of his last two games, and while he hasn't been gangbusters on these prices you have to assume he's got a reasonable floor. As for Ingles, he's got a great match-up with the Kings, who pair the 2nd fastest pace in the league with below average defense. The Jazz are somewhat unpredcitable with minutes, but he's played 37 in each of his last two games and should be in a slightly above average spot here.
Opponent - MEM
Proj Pts FD - 29.99 DK - 30.08
Lazy pricing. Vonleh has been a 75% owned guy in cash for a couple of nights, and his price climbed by $400. The match-up doesn't matter. Everyone is going to play him here at a position that sucks once again.
The rest of the position
Are we really doing this on a main slate? I guess we are.
PHI-BKN: Neither team fields the position for DFS purposes.
MIA-TOR: James Johnson played 27 minutes in a start and was absolute trash. Ibaka and Siakam are splitting time and not especially cheap.
NY-MEM: We gave you Vonleh, and you can also consider Jaren Jackson here. You just have to trust the minutes. Still, if you give him 34-36 minutes he's a phenomenal play in a good match-up.
CHA-ATL: What do you do about John Collins? On a per minute basis he's been excellent, but the only game where he actually played minutes was a blowout. He is a great value at 28-30 minutes, but it's unclear if you can trust it at this point. I'll take a pass on Marvin Williams.
SAC-UTA: Favors is a nope, and Bagley is reasonable but seems very risky. He's a points per minute animal, but the minutes seem up in the air to me.
LAC-POR: Both Harrell and Harris are out of my price range here. I don't want any part of Portland's time share.
Opponent - BKN
Proj Pts FD - 62.54 DK - 64.57
With a good pile of low-mid tier value, Embiid looks like an excellent payoff. While Butler's arrival has caused a little bit of a log-jam on the wing, the big man has been putting up 23 shots a game with regularity. Brooklyn is still the very worst team in the league at defending opposing centers, and given that Embiid is basically affordably priced in a neutral match-up you'll happily play him in one of the league's best spots.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 26.42 DK - 25.38
It's a little off-brand, but I feel like Zeller is actually in a great spot here. He's been essentially paying these prices as is, and only 2 weird game scripts in a row have kept him from playing what looks to be his normal 32-35 minute rotation. If he happens to get that against this hapless Atlanta team he could really pop off. Atlanta doesn't know what they want to do at center, and it's absolutely a point where a good interior scorer like Zeller could thrive. If you can't pay up for Embiid, or you want an interesting tournament punt, Zeller might very well be your guy.
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