Point Guard
Top Tier: Damian Lillard- Lillard sticks out as the clear top point guard play for cash games at under $9,000 on both sites. This is a nice pace-up spot against the Clippers, and he should be needed for big minutes with the Blazers listed as 1.5 point dogs tonight.
Mid Tier: De’Aaron Fox– Fox has been one of my go-to plays all season long, and he’s taken a massive step forward in his second NBA season. This Timberwolves/Kings game is going to be the focus of the night given the 232 O/U, and Fox could be a bit under-owned given his recent price increase. I love taking him in GPPs, but if Jeff Teague is ruled out you can easily move to Derrick Rose in this tier as well.
Low Tier: Pat Beverley- I don’t love any value at point guard tonight, but with Lou Williams still sidelined for the Clippers we can look at Pat Beverley for just over $4,000 on FanDuel. He provides a solid minute floor, and is eligible at SG as well on DraftKings.
Shooting Guard
Top Tier: Devin Booker- Booker comes in as one of the top tournament plays in the slate against the New York Knicks. This game is no MIN/SAC, but the O/U remains a solid 223.5 and the New York Knicks come in with the second-worst defensive efficiency in the NBA. Booker topped 35 minutes in his first game back, and with the Suns with an off-day tomorrow he should be good-to-go minutes wise once again tonight.
Mid Tier: Bogdan Bogdanovic- Bogdanovic topped 36 minutes last night, and we should expect some big run for him again tonight with no Iman Shumpert. I expect Bogdan to pretty heavily owned in FanDuel cash games, and you can look at his teammate Buddy Hield as well for almost the same price.
Low Tier: Malcom Brodgon- Brogdon should be back for the Bucks tonight, and prior to his one game absence he has hit 24+ FanDuel points in 11 of his last 12 games. The ceiling isn’t huge, but he is just over $5,000 and value is certainly in sight against the Pistons.
UPDATE: With Brogdon out, bump up Khris Middleton
Small Forward
Top Tier: Giannis Antetokounmpo- Giannis the cream of the crop on this slate, in a smash matchup with the Detroit Pistons. I’ve targeted Ben Simmons in this matchup recently, citing how bad the Pistons are in rim protection. For someone like Giannis who drives so much, this is huge and I’m expecting a big game out of the Greek Freak tonight.
Mid Tier: Nemanja Bjelica- With Marvin Bagley and Iman Shumpert out for the Kings, this is your chalk special of the day. Bjelica put up 29.5 FanDuel points last night in this situation, and now he matches up in a 232 O/U game against the Timberwolves…and don’t forget the revenge!
Low Tier: Mikal Bridges- I don’t love the ceiling on Bridges, but he played 40 minutes in the Suns last game, and the Suns will be without Trevor Ariza but with no Kelly Oubre or Austin Rivers yet again tonight. The minutes should be there for Bridges, who remains cheap, and this Knicks squad has been dreadful defensively over the last month.
Power Forward
Top Tier: Blake Griffin- I love this matchup for Griffin, and I think it’s a potential funnel spot for him with Drummond being preoccupied with Brook Lopez away from the basket. The price might be too high for cash games, but Blake has been one of the more consistent players in the NBA this season and I love him in GPPs tonight.
Mid Tier: Tobias Harris/Lauri Markkanen- PF is loaded with options tonight, and both Harris and Markkanen stick out in the $7,000 range on FanDuel. Harris is in the third-best overall matchup for power forwards this season according to defensive efficiency and the minutes should be there in what is expected to be a close game with the Blazers. Markkanen will continue to shoulder the Bulls offense without Zach LaVine, and he played over 35 minutes in the Bulls last game eliminating any workload concerns.
Low Tier: Al-Farouq Aminu- Aminu has played extremely well for the Blazers as of late, putting up 29+ fantasy points in give of his last eight games, reaching 30+ minutes in all but two of those contests. He should be needed tonight as well with the Clippers listed as 1.5 point favorites.
Center
Top Tier: Karl-Anthony Towns- KAT is the top center option for me on Monday night and it’s not really close. He provides a solid discount off of Joel Embiid, it’s a massive pace-up game, and he has basically a 50 point floor in this matchup over the last two seasons…and most of those are games with Jimmy Butler on the Wolves.
Mid Tier: Enes Kanter- If you aren’t spending up for Towns, Kanter is by far my favorite play especially with Mitch Robinson out. With no Robinson, we have no real threat of Fizdale screwing us over, and Kanter should be able to feast on Ayton’s defense. Booker is back, but I love Ayton on the other side of this as well as Kanter is not known for his defensive prowess either.
Low Tier: Kevon Looney- If you’re hunting for value, I love going with Looney who should see even more minutes than usual against a big Memphis frontcourt. He doesn’t have a massive ceiling, but 25+ minutes aren’t out of the question and he remains under $5,000.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
