Point Guard
Top Tier: Kyrie Irving- Irving provides some solid savings off the Simmons/Lillard tier on FanDuel, and he still has hit 35+ FD points in 11 straight games. He provides a solid floor at this price, and he is where I would go if spending up in a matchup with a tired Pacers team on a back-to-back.
Mid Tier: Raul Neto (DraftKings)- Neto is over $5,000 on FanDuel, which puts him out of play for me, but on DraftKings he is only $4,300 and will have to play a boat load of minutes with Ricky Rubio and Dante Exum both sidelined. We can expect Mitchell and even Joe Ingles to scoop up more ball-handling, but Neto is pretty much the only point guard there and he will have to see heavy minutes.
Low Tier: De’Anthony Melton- I am not expecting four steals and two blocks from Melton again tonight, but he played 31 minutes without Devin Booker last night and it is looking like Booker will miss tonight’s game with the Mavericks as well. I never feel good about locking in Suns players on a back-to-back in cash games, but he is simply too cheap to ignore.
Shooting Guard
Top Tier: James Harden- Harden is the top overall play on the slate once again tonight with Chris Paul out, even in a tough matchup with the Bucks. He regularly posts 40+% usage and assist rates with Paul off the floor, and he remains a lock in cash games for me on all sites tonight.
Mid Tier: D’Angelo Russell- I fully think that spending up for two shooting guards is the move tonight in FanDuel cash games, and that makes Russell my top choice to pair with Harden. He has an elite matchup with the Hawks backcourt, and will benefit from the bump up in pace as well. Russell is not generally someone we can trust minutes wise, but he has seen four straight games excluding the blowout in their last contest.
Low Tier: Donovan Mitchell- If you want to pivot off of Russell, Donovan Mitchell sticks out as the clear third option with Ricky Rubio and Dante Exum both out tonight. Mitchell played nearly the whole game once Rubio got hurt in their last game, and he will take over even more of the ball-handling duties with him on the sideline.
Small Forward
Top Tier: Giannis Antetokounmpo- We have a plethora of value on this slate, particularly from the Suns, and that should enable us to jam in both Harden and one of Giannis or Anthony Davis for cash games. I originally was on AD, but the more I look at this 228 O/U and only a 1.5 point spread, I begin to think that Giannis is the top choice, especially since we already will be playing James Harden.
Mid Tier: Brandon Ingram (FanDuel)- If you can’t quite get up to Giannis, Brandon Ingram sticks out as the clear top option for me on FanDuel at $6,900. He has handled the ball way more that I initially thought he would without LeBron James, and he has been great attacking the basket, and area where the Pistons struggle mightily to defend. He is tougher for me to stomach on FanDuel, and I prefer TJ Warren there.
Low Tier: Kelly Oubre- As I noted with Ingles, I assume TJ Warren will draw heavy consideration tonight in all formats, but we aren’t going to get past Oubre’s price on either site. He exploded for over 40 FanDuel points last night after not topping 25 in six straight games, but at only $3,700 on FanDuel it’s hard to overlook him in cash games when you are protected from your low score being dropped regardless.
Power Forward
Top Tier: Anthony Davis- There are no questions to be had as to why Anthony Davis is an elite play every time he steps on the floor, and that is no different tonight in a smash matchup with the Cavs who are on the second night of a back-to-back. The only thing starting to concern me for cash games is the 14 point spread, when we have an expected close game between the Rockets and Bucks. Giannis makes more sense for correlation, but I won’t argue with anyone wanting to play AD on any slate.
Mid Tier: Kyle Kuzma- Kuz played 37 minutes in his return from injury on Monday, and that came with a “down” 13-5-3 line. I expect the rust to be knocked off for this home showdown with the Pistons and the Lakers will continue to need his scoring while LeBron is out with injury.
Low Tier: Josh Jackson- Jackson has topped 30 FanDuel points in three of his last four games, and is in line to start again tonight with Devin Booker looking unlikely. I really don’t feel comfortable with it yet, but it seems like three suns in cash games will be the move tonight.
Center
Top Tier: Andre Drummond- Joel Embiid is the obvious choice for top center on the slate, but with Harden/Giannis/AD all in consideration, I don’t see how it is likely we could get him in for cash games. That brings me to Drummond, who is in a fantastic matchup with the Lakers. Not only is this pace-up spot, but the Lakers allow the third-most rebounds in the NBA and that’s huge for someone with the rebounding ability of Drummond. He could easily post a classic 20-20 game here and I love him in all formats.
Mid Tier: Tristan Thompson- If you can’t fit in Drummond for your cash game roster, I love looking at Tristan Thompson who is only $6,200 on FanDuel. “Only” is funny to hear, but TT was playing like an All-Star before he got injured, and even though the Cavs are on a back-to-back, he topped 30+ minutes last night and I’m suspecting them to need him for big minutes tonight as well. He will benefit from the increased pace the Pelicans bring, and I think he is 100% cash game playable at that price.
Low Tier: Jarrett Allen- I don’t think that Allen has the minutes security that Thompson does, but he is in an even better matchup with the Hawks and is way too cheap at $5,800. He can really break a slate on FanDuel where you get +3 for a block, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him feature some pretty heavy ownership at that price.
Monkey Knife Fight
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
