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
Mike Conley
Conley continues to be underpriced and I’ll continue to go back to the well with him. He flashed against the Los Angeles Lakers, scoring 24 points with 2 rebounds and 8 assists (38.5 fantasy points) in 34 minutes. Conley has dealt with injuries throughout the season, limiting his consistency on the court. Now that he’s healthy, he posted 30+ fantasy points in 2 of his last 3 games in the bubble but he has yet to flash his true upside.
Conley gets a great matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, who rank sixth in the NBA in pace and 15th in defensive rating. They also recently lost Jaren Jackson Jr., a game-changing shot-blocker, to injury. Coney is expected to see 30+ minutes once again tonight. He saw his role in the offense increase in his last game, and he could see similar opportunities on this slate. Conley struggled against Memphis throughout the season, but he makes an outstanding tournament option tonight.
Derrick White
White has looked dominant since the NBA restart. He’s averaging 20.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists (37.3 fantasy points) in 32.0 minutes per game in those 3 games. He scored 30+ fantasy points in each of his games, including a 47 fantasy point performance against the Sacramento Kings. White has found plenty of success on a per-minute basis in 2019, averaging 0.95 fantasy points per minute. He also looks locked into big minutes in the bubble while the San Antonio Spurs struggle with injuries.
White gets a matchup against the Denver Nuggets today. They rank 29th in the NBA in pace and 13th in defensive rating but are without a few of their key contributors. White is expected to see minutes in the low-30s once again tonight. His price tag is entirely too low for his recent production, but ownership currently projects towards his teammate, Dejounte Murray who is only $100 more expensive. White is a safe option, who comes with a tremendous ceiling and is easy to fit in lineups on this slate.
Bigs
Kyle Anderson
Anderson has been solid if unspectacular in the bubble. He’s averaging 5.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists (18.1 fantasy points) in only 23.5 minutes per game. Anderson is a versatile option, though, averaging a 10.5/7.9/4.3/1.4/1.0 line on a per-36 minute basis this season. He’s also averaging 0.87 fantasy points per minute while occasionally flashing when given extended run on the court.
Anderson gets a tough matchup against the Utah Jazz. They rank 25th in the NBA in pace and 10th in defensive rating. Anderson will be forced into bigger minutes tonight after Jaren Jackson Jr. suffered an injury in his last game. Most of the ownership will likely gravitate toward Brandon Clarke, who boasts elite upside even in limited minutes. That may cause Anderson to go overlooked tonight but he’s expected to find minutes in the high-20s and he comes with an extremely low price tag. He’s a player that can be used with Clarke or makes a fine pivot from his teammate in the same way Derrick White does.
Michael Porter Jr.
Porter took over in his last game, scoring 37 points with 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and 1 steal (59.5 fantasy points) in 44 minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a career day after scoring only 18.25 fantasy points in 25 minutes in his first game in the bubble. Porter is no stranger to success, though, as he’s averaging 1.14 fantasy points per minute this season. It’s no surprise that he found success in big minutes, as he owns a 19.8/10.3/1.9/1.0/1.0 line on a per-36 minute basis this season.
Porter gets a plus matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, who rank 15th in the NBA in pace and 24th in defensive rating. Porter is expected to see 25-30 minutes tonight, but if he catches fire again, Denver could continue to play him major minutes. It’s tough to believe Porter doesn’t garner more ownership than he’s projected at the moment by game-time, but weirder things have happened on NBA DFS slates. If Jamal Murray returns to the lineup, Porter could certainly see low ownership because of his newly inflated price tag. He isn’t a player that comes without risk, but his ability to take over a game makes him an elite option in tournaments on this slate.
SuperDraft
Jarrett Allen (1.65x)
Allen was unleashed in his last game, scoring 22 points with 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal in 38 minutes against the Washington Wizards. He was then rested against the Milwaukee Bucks and should be ready to go tonight. Allen has been a dominant per-minute player on the season, averaging 15.1 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.8 blocks on a per-36 minute basis. His biggest obstacle was consistent minutes.
Allen gets a tough matchup on paper against the Boston Celtics, who rank 18th in the NBA in pace and fifth in defensive rating. Allen has dominated them in 3 matchups this season, though, averaging 13.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in only 24.1 minutes per game. Allen is expected to return to 30+ minutes tonight, giving him elite upside. I don’t expect him to garner much ownership on SuperDraft, where you can only play one center. Joel Embiid will likely steal most of the ownership in an elite matchup against the Washington Wizards, but Allen gets an elite 1.65x multiple to fall back on.
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