Point Guard
Top Tier: Ben Simmons- With Kyrie out and Kemba/Conley squaring off with each other in a 208.5 O/U, Simmons is the clear top point guard play tonight should he be in. The Spurs have been dismal against opposing point guards this season, and if he is on the floor we know Simmons always has triple-double upside, giving us the clear highest ceiling at the position in GPPs.
Mid Tier: Kyle Lowry- What do to at point guard outside of our low tier option is a bit of a mess on Wednesday, and I’m sure a lot of the field will be focused on Kyle Lowry with Kawhi Leonard still out for the Raptors. Even without Leonard, I’m not sure how high the upside is for Lowry, he put up 36 fantasy points in 34 minutes without Leonard in their last game, and he’s topped 40 just once in his last 9 games. He profiles as a cash only play for me tonight, and I could also see a double-punt strategy with Jeremy Lin or Fred VanVleet and our next guest…
Low Tier: Terry Rozier- With Kyrie Irving out, Scary Terry becomes probably the highest-owned player on the slate at his price. He has put up over 30 FanDuel points in four of the five games without Kyrie Irving this season, and he is so cheap that it’s pretty hard for me to envision him hurting you at his price. If you are worried about the blowout concerns, Brad Wanamaker becomes a fantastic GPP pivot.
Shooting Guard
Top Tier: James Harden- Given the Celtics injuries, and the wasteland of small forward, we should have no issues getting James Harden into our lineups again on Wednesday night. He “only” hit 50 fantasy points on Monday, and that came in a blowout against the 76ers where he didn’t play in the fourth quarter at all. His floor cannot be faded in cash games, and he will be the first person in for me again today.
Mid Tier: D’Angelo Russell– It’s hard to argue with the form that D’Angelo Russell has been in, he’s gone for 50+ FanDuel points in three of his last four games and his minutes have been much more consistent as of late. He provides nearly $1,000 in savings by going with him over Jrue Holiday, and he just dropped 55 fantasy points in this exact matchup with the Orlando Magic two games ago. The tier after Harden is stacked on Wednesday night, but Russell comes in as my top overall option in GPPs, mainly because I think Harden + Jaylen Brown is a cash game lock pairing.
Low Tier: Jaylen Brown- Brown is the other Celtic I will be locking in with Irving out, even with him probably remaining on the bench. With Al Horford and Kyrie Irving off the floor this season, Brown is right at 1.0 fantasy points per minute, and provides us $1,000 savings off of Marcus Smart.
Small Forward
Top Tier: Tobias Harris (cash only)- Small forward is an absolute mess on Wednesday, there’s no LeBron/Giannis/KD etc, and Harris comes in as the top priced option on FanDuel at $8,000. Harris will continue to be an even better play than normal given the absence of Danilo Gallinari, and it seems like all he does is consistently hit value. That being said, he has topped 50 fantasy points in just two of his last 18 games, and I’m not sure how high the upside is outside of beating value when he is priced at $8K. I wouldn’t blame anyone for locking him into cash, but I want more of a ceiling in GPPs.
Mid Tier: Nikola Mirotic- Mirotic is going to be a stone lock at SF for cash games, and it comes down to if you want to pair him with Tobias or a punt on FanDuel. Miro put up 36 points in 32 minutes on Monday, which is right in line with his 1.2 fantasy points per minute with AD off the floor. He remains under $7,000 and is an elite play in all formats.
Low Tier: FanDuel Punt- Like I said, this is a wasteland tonight, so locking in a punt alongside Mirotic makes a lot of sense to me, and even just double-punting. Options I’m considering are Gordon Hayward, Darius Miller and CJ Miles.
Power Forward
Top Tier: Julius Randle- I’m so excited that Randle was moved to PF on FanDuel after Monday’s game, and he immediately checks in as one of my favorite plays on the slate. He was sub-20% owned on Monday despite AD being out, which I was surprised about, and he wound up dropping in 40 fantasy points in just 27 minutes in a blowout against the Grizzlies. He has produced pretty much all season as a starter, and I see nothing that would limit him in this matchup with the Pistons. At $8,900 on FanDuel, he is a cash game staple for me.
Mid Tier: John Collins- Collins is priced close enough to Randle that I don’t see him garnering much attention tonight, and he lines up in a fantastic matchup with the Chicago Bulls. He’s slowed down a bit after a big stretch of games, and he hasn’t recorded a block in seven games. This is the perfect matchup defensively for Collins to thrive, and the Bulls allow a ton of blocked shots as well, so we could see some positive regression come his way in this matchup as well.
Low Tier: Jayson Tatum- Tatum is who I expect to be the popular choice alongside Randle in FanDuel cash games with Horford and Irving both out. Despite the blowout concerns, the Celtics still carry a 114.5 implied team total and locking in 3-2 of their players will be a popular strategy overall.
Center
Top Tier: Joel Embiid- Embiid is the top center play overall for me tonight, and he has the potential to be bumped up to a must-play if one of or both of Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons are ruled out — both are listed as game-time decisions currently. Basically, we just have to monitor this news up until lock, and even if they are in he is still a great tournament play against a lackluster Spurs defense.
Mid Tier: Enes Kanter- Kanter is where I will be looking for cash games should both 76ers not be out, he is under-priced given his recent role but is slated to move back into the starting lineup tonight with Luke Kornet injured. The Rockets have been bullied by opposing centers since Clint Capela went down, and Kanter is even cheaper on DraftKings where he is just $5,000.
Low Tier: Ante Zizic- Unless we get some slate-altering Philly news, locking in Zizic alongside Kanter on DraftKings makes a ton of sense to me. Zizic has posted 30+ fantasy points in five of his last six games, and is in line for the same run tonight with Larry Nance and Tristan Thompson still out for the Cavs.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
