Welcome to another edition of Bales’ Top GPP plays. In this article, I will outline my favorite NBA GPP plays for today’s games. If you want all of my core plays along with our staff’s Final Thoughts article with access to our Discord, click here.
Guards
Torrey Craig
Craig has struggled a bit in the bubble, especially in recent games. He’s averaging 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds (14.3 fantasy points) in 20.5 minutes per game over the last 10 days. Craig has scored fewer than 20 fantasy points in each of his last 4 games, playing 24 or fewer minutes in each game. With that being said, he recently posted 27.25 fantasy points in 34 minutes against the Utah Jazz.
Craig gets a matchup against Utah today. The Jazz rank 19th in the bubble in pace and 15th in defensive rating. On the season, Craig is averaging 10.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.0 block (26.1 fantasy points) in 31.6 minutes per game against Utah. He only saw 21 minutes in the first matchup because of foul troubles. He’s a player that has found success guarding Donovan Mitchell. His limited minutes resulted in a 57 point performance from Mitchell in their opening game. I expect Craig to see 30+ minutes today for his defense, but he can knock down threes, as well, and comes with solid upside.
Garrett Temple
Temple has been locked into big minutes in recent games. He’s averaging 15.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists (30.3 fantasy points) in 36.0 minutes per game over the last 10 days. Temple has posted 33+ fantasy points in 2 of his last 3 games, although he saw 34+ minutes in each game. He’s coming off of a 21 fantasy point performance but shot only 5/15 from the field and 1/10 from beyond the arc in those games.
Temple gets a matchup against the Toronto Raptors, who rank sixth in the bubble in pace and first in defensive rating. Temple is averaging 11.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists (20.6 fantasy points) in 28.5 minutes per game against them this season. He has seen his minutes increase with Brooklyn’s shortened rotation, though. He boasts a reasonable price tag, although he’ll likely go overlooked with it raising after a poor performance. Still, Temple is a large part of the offense, locked into 30+ minutes, and comes with tremendous upside for a sub-$5K player.
Bigs
Josh Richardson
Richardson is an interesting option for the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s averaging 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists (27.1 fantasy points) in 30.4 minutes per game over the last 10 days. He saw limited minutes in two of those games, though. Richardson is coming off of a 28.5 fantasy point performance in 37 minutes. He also recently flashed elite upside, posting 50.75 fantasy points in 38 minutes against the Portland Blazers.
Richardson gets a matchup against the Boston Celtics tonight. They rank 16th in the bubble in pace and 17th in defensive rating. Richardson has found plenty of success against them this season, averaging 19.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.0 block (32.9 fantasy points) in 32.3 minutes per game. It’s clear he’s locked into major minutes for Philadelphia, and he could find minutes in the high-30s once again tonight. Richardson is also playing a larger role in the offense, seeing 17 shot attempts and 9 three-point attempts in their first game. He’s still far too cheap for his new role, and Richardson comes with undeniable upside in this matchup.
Ivica Zubac
Zubac has found plenty of success in the NBA bubble. He’s averaging 9.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 block (27.1 fantasy points) in only 19.4 minutes per game. He played between 20 and 25 minutes in each game that the starters saw a full workload, though, excluding the first game in the bubble. Zubac has flashed elite upside in limited time, as well, showing 45 fantasy point upside. He has also scored 27+ fantasy points in 7 of his last 8 games.
Zubac gets a great matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. They rank 18th in the bubble in pace and 21st in defensive rating. Zubac has found plenty of success against them this season, averaging 12.8 points and 10.3 rebounds (29.4 fantasy points) in only 20.5 minutes per game through 4 matchups. He has played them twice in the bubble, scoring 29.5 and 44.75 fantasy points in those games. Zubac also ranked third on the team going +17 in only 22 minutes on the court. He isn’t a player that can stretch the floor, but he has consistently found success against Dallas. It would be wise for Los Angeles to give him a few extra minutes, although he likely won’t need them to exceed value at his current price tag.
SuperDraft
Seth Curry (1.7x)
Curry has seen inconsistent minutes in recent games. Over the last 10 days, he’s averaging 11.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in only 25.5 minutes per game. Curry has performed well when given the minutes, though, flashing 30+ fantasy point upside. He also boasts significantly more than he has displayed before the suspension of the season.
Curry gets a matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, who rank 21st in the bubble in pace and eighth in defensive rating. He saw 33 minutes in their first matchup, going +13 off the bench. His minutes are always a bit of a concern if his shot isn’t falling, but he’s expected to see 30+ minutes once again tonight. He gets a 1.7x multiplier on SuperDraft and comes with tremendous upside as an elite shooter in the NBA.
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