Point Guard
Top Tier: Kyle Lowry- If Kawhi Leonard is out again tonight we can pretty much move Lowry into core play territory. His assist numbers have sky-rocketed without DeMar Derozan in town and they’re back up by potential assists as well. He has ripped off a huge string of double-doubles and we should see more of the same tonight against the Kings.
Mid Tier: Derrick Rose- Rose started and played 34 minutes in the Timberwolves last game, and I expect that to be the same situation tonight with Jeff Teague still out. Tyus Jones will back up Rose, but the minutes will be secure in a matchup with the Lakers who are bottom-ten in defensive efficiency to point guards this season.
Low Tier: George Hill- Hill is not going to shoot 10-12 like he did against the matchup, but he played 33 minutes in that contest and now that Larry Drew is under contract for the Cavs he said that he was “coaching to win”. If he’s going to run Hill that many minutes, he should smash value especially on DraftKings where he is $4,000.
Shooting Guard
Top Tier: DeMar Derozan- Some of the biggest injury news on this slate is that Rudy Gay and Pau Gasol are out, increasing Derozan’s value even more. He will see another up-tick in usage and rebounds with Gay off the floor and he’s already had a monster start to the season.
Mid Tier: Dennis Schroder- This is one of the easier plays to write up today, especially on FanDuel where he remains severely under-priced. In the games without Russell Westbrook this season, Schroder has seen a small rise in usage, but a 10+% rise in assists. He’s too cheap for the floor/ceiling combo he provides, especially in an elite matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers defense.
Low Tier: Terrence Ross- There’s a few interesting cheap shooting guards tonight, but Ross sticks out to me with Evan Fournier questionable. If he happens to miss, the minutes should increase even further for Ross and he is someone that can score when given the opportunity.
Small Forward
Top Tier: Paul George- This is one of the top overall plays on this slate with Russell Westrbook sidelined due to the nasty ankle injury he suffered on Monday night. Dating back to last season, George owns over a 35% usage rate without Westy on the floor along with a solid 1.25 fantasy points per minute.
Mid Tier: Nikola Mirotic- This actually might be where I go on FanDuel, they were very smart giving George a big price increase while he remains too cheap on DraftKings. Miro has been balling this season, averaging over 38 fantasy points with and without Anthony Davis on the floor and he has a fantastic matchup with the Bulls…and I should mention the #Revenge narrative as well.
Low Tier: Davis Bertans- This is probably my number one punt play on the slate, especially on FanDuel where you’re protected by the low-score being dropped. Bertans should see a 20-22 minute floor with Gasol ruled out and he has shown point per minute ability in the past.
Power Forward
Top Tier: Anthony Davis- I know, AD burned everyone and their mothers against the Thunder in their last game, but that’s fine, I hope they all don’t play him. This is a SMASH matchup at home against the Bulls who have been one of the most giving teams in terms of allowing rebounds this season. Who on this Bulls team has any shot of hindering AD tonight? I’ll hang up and listen…
Mid Tier: LaMarcus Aldridge- I love that Blake Griffin gave me a monster game in this spot last game, but given the big-time savings you get by dropping to Aldridge that’s the route I will choose. LMA has historically smashed when priced $8,000 or below (FanDuel) and for what it’s worth, this game owns just a two point spread.
Low Tier: Brandon Ingram- Why is Brandon Ingram $5,900 on FanDuel? Sure, he hasn’t been playing well but slapping him at sub-$6,000 seems like a bit of a stretch to me. This game owns a huge 238.5 O/U in Vegas and I love being able to get a cheap piece of that game environment.
Center
Top Tier: Karl-Anthony Towns- KAT is another guy who really hasn’t played that well this season, especially when Butler has played, but that has resulted in affordable pricing in a great matchup with the Lakers. He put up his best game of the season against this Lakers team earlier this season and I’m completely fine going back to the well tonight if spending up.
Mid Tier: Steven Adams- This is probably my favorite overall center for cash games, I love this matchup with an under-sized Cavs frontcourt and Adams has historically seen a big increase in rebounds without Westbrook on the floor.
Low Tier: Myles Turner- This matchup against Joel Embiid worries me a bit, in terms of foul issues, but he’s under $6,000 on FanDuel and they are going to need him on the floor to matchup with him. I don’t know if I would go there in cash games, but you can certainly use him to spend-down in GPPs.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
