Point Guard
Top Tier: Russell Westbrook/Chris Paul- This comes down to site for me, with Brodie sticking out as a great play on DraftKings and Chris Paul being the top reasonable spend-up on FanDuel. The Wizards are bottom-ten in defensive efficiency to opposing guards this season, and even though they are on a back-to-back the Thunder will need a big game from Russ as the Wizards are somehow installed as favorites in this contest. I know Paul has been horrid, but this matchup with the Nets is fantastic especially without Harden and the Rockets desperately need a win.
Mid Tier: John Wall- Wall is priced at just $8,100 on DraftKings despite averaging 41 DraftKings points this season. He’s played under 30 minutes just twice this season and with the Wizards favored in a 233.5 O/U game he should be back to his full allotment tonight. The Wizards have been terrible as a team, but Wall has been string fantasy-wise and it’s hard for me to get away from that price.
Low Tier: Ricky Rubio and Dante Exum- These are the two guys who will soak up the usage with Donovan Mitchell out, and I don’t really see anyone else being able to get their own shot for the Jazz. There is a another player I like for cheap from this team that I’ll get to, but for now I will have Rubio 100% on my main team and possibly Exum as well.
Shooting Guard
Top Tier: Bradley Beal- Much like in their last game, Beal is way too cheap on DraftKings at just $7,000. He survived an off shooting night, but with Andre Roberson still out and the Wizards expected to be in a close game, there should be nobody to contain Beal if his shot is falling. He has a ton of upside at this price and I think you can play him alongside Wall as well.
Mid Tier: Eric Gordon- Yes, he;s been bad but the minutes are there and much like with Paul, he’s going to have a big game at some point. This is a great matchup with the Nets and I do expect the Rockets to play well tonight and pick up a much-needed win.
Low Tier: Dennis Schroder (FanDuel)- This is just a price play, as Schroder showed last night what he can do even in a bench role for the Thunder. He put up 33.1 FanDuel points in 30 minutes for the Thunder, and even though the usage is zapped with Westy back he has played over 23 minutes in every game this season. There’s definite upside at this price, and he can be used in all formats.
Note: You can easily add Victor Oladipo in here as well, who is one of my favorite plays on the slate.
Small Forward
Top Tier: Kevin Durant- This game features a truly monster 243 O/U in Vegas and we are going to want some exposure here for our main teams with a game environment like that. The Warriors are 11 point favorites, but Durant is priced down below $10,000 on DraftKings. It’s hard to catch a ceiling game from him with Curry/Klay/Dray there but the floor remains solid and I’d love to get one or two pieces of this game in cash.
Mid Tier: Jabari Parker- He had a horrible game as chalk against the Nuggets, but that’s pretty much the player he is. He’s going to continue to have high-usage and if anything we can take advantage of the recency bias in GPPs.
Low Tier: Royce O’Neal- This is the other Jazz player I’m interested in, and it’s not because I think he is a great basketball player. He’s going to be forced into minutes with no Mitchell/Burks and he is near min-priced on all sites. It’s tough to beat this value, especially on FanDuel where your lowest score is dropped anyways.
Power Forward
Top Tier: Draymond Green- This is more of a DraftKings play, where Green is still just $6,900! Historically, he has smashed when priced under $7,000 and I already noted with Durant I want as many pieces of this game as possible.
Mid Tier: Noah Vonleh- Vonleh continues to be priced in the mid $5,000 range on FanDuel, and he has a great matchup with a terrible defensive Mavericks team. Vonleh has actually been closing games for the Knicks, and his minutes have been 28 and 32 in his last two games.
Low Tier: Bucket of Punts- There’s nothing that I love here, outside of some low-score punts on FanDuel with someone like Kevon Looney, or even our friend Josh Jackson.
Center
Top Tier: Clint Capela- Capela is averaging just north of one fantasy point per minute this season, and draws my favorite matchup on the board against the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets have been a sieve for fantasy points to opposing centers this season and he makes for a strong correlation play with Paul. Given the pricing, I prefer him on FanDuel tonight as opposed to DraftKings.
Mid Tier: Myles Turner- The Bulls are bottom-three in defensive efficiency as a team this season and while Turner has been underwhelming, he has the ability to smash in this matchup. At only $6,000, this is where I’m going at Center on FanDuel if I can’t get to Capela.
Low Tier: Wendell Carter (DraftKings)- Carter FINALLY erupted in his last game, you know, the one game this season I haven’t played him, but he’s in an equally good matchup against a soft defensive frontcourt. He’s priced out of play on FanDuel, but remains just $5,000 on DraftKings providing strong value in all formats.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
