Guard
Bradley Beal- Beal is a stone lock for me on DraftKings at only $9,000 in a matchup with the Chicago Bulls. We have picked on the Bulls with ball dominant guards for weeks now, and Beal will fit that mold with Russell Westbrook out tonight for rest. His usage rate jumps from 36.7% with Russ on the floor to almost 40% with him off. He also averages almost 40 real points per 36 minutes with Westbrook off the floor. These teams both rank inside the top-five in pace and are horrible defensively. While that can lead to sloppy play, the matchup couldn’t get better for Beal or Zach LaVine.
Forward
David Nwaba/Sterling Brown- These guys are not listed as building blocks because I expect them to smash, but because they will be thrust into larger roles due to the Rockets injuries. All of Eric Gordon, John Wall and Christian Wood are out tonight which opens up big minutes for these two and Jae’Sean Tate. Note that they did all three play alongside each other off the bench in the Rockets last game. Nwaba and Brown both sit right under 0.9 DK points per minute this season and can be used as punts to afford Beal and our Center play in optimal builds.
Center
Boogie Cousins- Cousins is the second best play on the slate in my opinion, behind only Brad Beal. He’s averaging an above-average 1.35 DK points per minute this season, and has routinely logged 30+ minutes in games Christian Wood has missed. This has resulted in over 40 DK points per game when Wood has been out, and he still is only slightly above $7,000 in salary. The matchup isn’t awful either against Cody Zeller, but Cousins is much closer to an $8K+ player so we can comfortably take him as a strong value play on Monday night.
Note: We have a some situations to monitor with Chris Paul and Jamal Murray both listed as questionable. We also have other value with the Rockets, and potentially someone like Talen Horton-Tucker from the Lakers with Anthony Davis out. This should be a high scoring slate and I am looking at jamming in Beal, Cousins and maybe one other $8-9K player, unless Paul is out in which I would prioritize Devin Booker.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
