The Locks
Giannis Antetokounmpo- I feel like I could just copy and paste what I have written about Giannis here for the past week and a half, but on another slate loaded with value we are going to have money to spend on whoever we would like on Friday night, and the Greek Freak takes the cake once again. He’s been playing like an MVP, and he probably would be the leading candidate right now had James Harden not did what he did when Chris Paul was out. I love to lock in his floor in cash games, and with us not knowing how many minutes Anthony Davis will really play tonight the decision becomes easy.
Andrew Wiggins- Last night I was dead set on Kawhi Leonard, and it just so happened that once he got ruled out I ultimately moved off of Wiggins on FanDuel as well and that completely changed by night and lineup. His price didn’t move at all after last night, the matchup is even better against the Pelicans, and there’s a very real chance that one or both of Jeff Teague and Jerryd Bayless don’t play tonight…lock him in on FanDuel.
Collin Sexton- It’s funny that this rookie class is so loaded that people have forgotten that guys like Collin Sexton and Wendell Carter Jr exist, but they are very much still there and Sexton is coming off of a near 30 real-point performance on the back of 40 minutes. With Hood and Burks gone, there will be no questions that it’s time to unleash Sexton and let him go through the growing pains that rookie point guards need to, at his price of $5,00, he is a strong play in all formats.
Secondary Options
Point Guard- You’re going to want two cheaper options at point guard on Friday night, Collin Sexton and then one of the trio of Eric Bledsoe, Dennis Smith Jr and Tyler Johnson. I would personally rank them in that order, but I would like some more clarity on Johnson to really peak my interest.
Blake Griffin- It’s tough to play Blake when Andre Drummond is active at his price, but I’m willing to consider it in this matchup with the Knicks. Drummond should be occupied with DeAndre Jordan, and the Knicks have been one of the worst defensive teams, especially against bigs, all season. He’s only at $9,000 on FanDuel, which is actually low compared to where he had been before, and I like him in all formats tonight.
Kevin Love- This one is a question mark, as Love is listed as questionable and a game-time decision for tonight’s game. It was reported he will start and have his minutes monitored should he play tonight, and the amount of minutes is crucial. If he’s going to be around 20-25 minutes I think you can definitely consider him a cash game play, this is an All-Star player coming back to a depleted team and he will dominate the usage while on the court.
Center- If we are playing Giannis and Blake, center becomes somewhere we want to spend down and it comes down to Robin Lopez against the Nets and Willie Cauley-Stein against the Heat for me. WCS is at home where he has excelled this season, and Lopez will benefit from the Bobby Portis trade in our favorite matchup for centers.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
