Boston Celtics' Kyrie Irving plays against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first quarter of an NBA basketball in Boston, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
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Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 45.42 DK - 46.22
Kyrie gets one of the best DFS matchups around, facing off against the Hawks. Atlanta plays at the league’s fastest pace (108.5) and rank 22nd in defensive efficiency. They are allowing more than league average scoring and assists to opposing point guards this season and Kyrie should be in for another big usage night with the Celtics still without some key cogs in their lineup. He got up 28 shots in 40 minutes (included OT) against he Wizards on Wednesday on his way to 38 points. There’s some blowout concern with the Celtics -12.5 home favorites against the lowly Hawks which would buzz of Irving’s minutes’ upside. But he’s still firmly in play for cash games. Additionally, Terry Rozier played a lot of minutes on Wednesday with the Celtics shorthanded. That could be the case again on Friday if Hayward, Jaylen Brown, etc are once again out of the lineup.
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 28.11 DK - 28.66
If you are ready to start trusting this Knicks, then Mudiay once again enters the cash game fray on Friday. He’s coming off a 31 minutes game on Wednesday in a loss to the Cavaliers and finished with a fantastic 16 point, seven assist, eight rebound game. Mudiay has these kinds of lines in him, but they are sporadic with inconsistent play combined with the volatility around the Knicks’ rotations.
If Kahwi Leonard is out again, then Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet would of course vault to the top of the value plays list. This is one of the many situations to monitor throughout the day on Friday.
There’s maybe a reason to consider Tyler Johnson at very cheap prices even against the Jazz. He drew the start last game with Goran Dragic out and the latter has already been ruled out again for Friday.
This position, at least at this point, is almost completely dependent on injury news. I'll outline that first, and then throw in another couple of plays.
If Jimmy Butler is out again, then fire up Furkan Korkmaz. Last game with Butler out, Korkmaz played 35 minutes and dropped 18 points and six assists. He’d be another easy cash play if in the starting lineup again, but we are likely going to need to wait until close to lineup lock to have that news.
Also, if Jaylen Brown was out again and Marcus Smart drew the start the latter could be in play as a high minutes floor option. He played 39 last games and finished with 18 points, three steals and three assists. He’ll never be a big part of the offense but he’s so versatile that he can stay on the court for long stretches and that is the best path to fantasy success.
I don't mind Buddy Hield if the Kings can keep the game close and Jordan Clarkson would also be a consideration if he sees enough minutes off the bench.
More than any other position, this is one you'll want to be in our Premium Chat discussing lineup construction and using the optimizer to round out lineups.
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 50.86 DK - 51.8
The Warriors are coming off a tough (and rather surprising) loss to the Kawhi-less Raptors on Wednesday night. They’ll have a chance to right the ship on Friday as 8-point road favorites against the Kings. Sacramento has been feisty with a record over .500 (15-12), but are playing one of the fastest paces in the league and are about league average on defense. With Curry back, Durant isn’t seeing anything close to the usage he was putting up over the second half of November, but that it mostly reflected in the price now. The Kings will have trouble guarding his length and this could be something of a volume game for the Warriors because of the pace.
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 29.45 DK - 30.23
With injuries to Gary Harris and Paul Millsap (plus Will Barton shelved) the Nuggets still find themselves spread incredibly thin on reliable NBA talent. It's meant greatly increased minutes for Hernangomez in the short term. He's played 37 or more minutes in each of the last four games and averaging 13 points and eight rebounds in that stretch with some blocks thrown in as well. He's a bit expensive on FanDuel, but if the injury news doesn't shake out correctly we might be looking at something of a thinner position. There's a high floor on his minutes in this matchup which rates to stay close.
The big news we’re waiting on here has to do with Otto Porter. If he were to sit again, then Jeff Green would once again be one of best values on the slate. That was the case on Wednesday when he was in all of our top lineups and played 40 minutes in regulation and finishing with a 22 point, 10 rebound line.
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 25.12 DK - 26.32
The Knicks switched up their lineup on Wednesday, moving Knox in with the starters and he was worth the price. Knox played 33 minutes and went for 19 points and seven rebounds with a couple of blocks thrown in. He doesn’t see much of a price increase on either site even with the newfound opportunity. He’ll get a fine enough matchup against the Hornets here who rank around league average in defensive efficiency. The key here though is Knox’s increased minutes and the short term ability to show a willingness to rebound. The Knicks are always a question mark with their rotations so tread lightly here, but I do think we see Knox as a popular play on both sites.
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 35.38 DK - 34.77
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 34.36 DK - 33.78
Again, with the Raptors if Kawhi Leonard is out then Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam would be in play on both sites. Honestly, even if Leonard is back the remaining Toronto big men are in the mix. Jonas Valanciunas is expected to miss a month or more. Sure, Greg Monroe could see a little tick up in run, but mostly I think the Raptors will elect to go extra small more often and play Ibaka at the five. So while not having Leonard does mean increased usage for the Toronto bigs, the minutes should be there regardless. The hilarious part about Toronto is that with or without Kawhi, they just seem to blow teams out on the regular (beating the Warriors by 20 on Wednesday) so sometimes it's tough to get a handle on their full minutes' outlook. But both of these guys still have high enough floors.
Consider Marvin Williams as a cheaper option on FanDuel at what could again be weaker position without more injury news.
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 31.35 DK - 29.69
The Nuggets moved Plumlee into the starting lineup against the Grizzlies on Wednesday and for the time being it looks like the right move. He played 35 minutes and finished with a 12 point, 10 rebound game. With Denver decimated by injuries in the short term, it looks like they are going to experiment with different lineups and we could see Plume in the starting lineup again on Friday. If that was the case then it’s an easy call to fire him up in cash games especially on DraftKings where he’s still coming very cheap. It’s a little closer on DraftKings but the mid-tier salary won’t kill you on a higher minutes floor if he’s running with the starters.
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 37.78 DK - 40.02
It’s something of a theme of these picks, whether we can trust the Knicks’ plan going into this game. That will be the question especially with a guy like Kanter who is one of the very best points-per-minute plays in the NBA who just can’t get consistent minutes. He played 33 minutes in their last game and finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds. This is the kind of stat line we can almost pencil Kanter in for on this kind of run. But the latter is the issue, just trusting how long the Knicks will keep him on the court.
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