My Core
Eric Bledsoe- DraftKings did a tremendous job pricing up Khris Middleton for tonight’s game, but it seems like they forgot about Eric Bledsoe. Bleddy comes in just $7,700 despite Giannis Antetokounmpo set to miss tonight’s game due to the recent birth of his child. Bledsoe sports a 33% usage rate with almost 1.5 fantasy points per minute with ABC off the floor this season. The matchup is not great against the Pacers, but I can’t ignore the numbers at his price point and he is the first person in my optimal build tonight.
Trae Young- There are tons of good spend-ups on this slate including Karl Anthony-Towns and Nikola Jokic, but the more I’ve researched the more I want to lock in Ice Trae tonight regardless of ownership. I think that playing alongside D’Angelo Russell will have at least somewhat of an affect on Towns fantasy-wise, and we never know what will happen when a big is going up against a front-court with Anthony Davis in it. What we do know is that Trae Young has been one of the best fantasy players in the NBA. He boasts a monster 36% usage rate alongside a 1.44 DraftKings point per minute total. Oh, yeah, and he gets the best matchup in then NBA for a Point Guard against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs still rank last in defensive efficiency to Young’s position — and he dropped a cool 63.5 DK points on them in December. He’s my favorite stud on tonight’s slate and I’m hoping the $10K price tag keeps the masses away.
Note: Serge Ibaka is currently listed as questionable against the Brooklyn Nets. If active and starting, he would join Bledsoe and Towns in my core. If out, you can add Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to the value tier.
Value Plays
Cheick Diallo- It was announced that DeAndre Ayton will likely miss tonight’s game. This is not good news for the Suns, who are already playing without Aron Baynes, Dario Saric and Frank Kaminsky. Diallo is the last real big on the team, and that resulted in him leading the team in minutes on Monday in the same situation. He’s not a massive per minute player, but a 0.9 rate in a projected 30 minute role is great.
Juancho Hernangomez- Hernangomez has long been a favorite of DFS players, and it’s good to see him finally getting some court time in Minnesota. Logging 27 and 26 minutes in his first two games for the Wolves, he could be one of the top value plays on the slate in this matchup with the Hornets. Charlotte is one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA against opposing front-courts, and are tied with the Hawks for the second-highest implied team total on the slate at 118.
De’Anthony Melton- People might wonder why I keep targeting Melton, so let me explain. Yes, he is coming off an 11 DK point game…but, that doesn’t tell the whole story. For starters, his minutes have remained solid with 28, 23 and 21 over his last three games, and due to how valuable he is on the defensive end, he should continue to log minutes with some of the trades the Grizzlies made. He’s also been over a point per minute player this season, but has been extremely cold shooting the ball. He has shot just 3-11, 1-9 and 3-12 over those three games. I’m going back to the well here tonight for cheap and hoping the ball falls in the basket for once.
Other Situations: On top of Ibaka, we can bump up Jordan Clarkson if Mike Conley misses and Larry Nance if Kevin Love is out.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
