Happy Friday everyone! HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!! We have a nice big slate ahead of us, TON of news, a bunch of chalk, and a lot of health protocols. This is a great time to get those low-owned punts into your lineup for tournaments. Let’s dive into some of my favorite GPP plays for tonight!
Point Guard
Similar to all positions, I want players with the highest upside and the highest floor. We want generally a low risk/high reward player that won’t kill the entire line if he busts. Starting off, I’m looking at Pat Beverley and for good reason. He only played 29 minutes last game, down from his last few games that he had around 31-34 minutes. He shot 0-8 from the floor, still ended with 23.25 DKP. Anthony Edwards comes back which helps the team and helps Beverley as well because there is one more shooter to pass to, one more threat so the pressure is relieved around the line-up. This was his first game back from COVID, so we should see his minutes ramp up a little as the games go by. This is a HUGE stretch but he could garner a double-double tonight.
Shooting Guard
I am looking at a guy who will probably be owned but for good reason as well. Aaron Wiggins is the SG I’m looking at. Wiggins has been starting the past couple of games and definitely producing in those games he has played over 25-30 minutes. Without Shai, he put up 19 shots!!! Obviously Shai is Q today and will affect this play, but at 3.8k he is very cheap and has a high floor with a high ceiling, at a cheap price that won’t kill you if he does put up his floor. He is a threat on the perimeter which helps in DK scoring and can put up stonks as well as rebound the ball at a decent rate.
Small Forward
Caleb Martin is the man I’m looking at here. With news that Duncan Robinson and Gabe Vincent coming down w COVID, the Heat are thin at the guard spot which should thrust Caleb into the starting line-up. We can see Herro get inserted as well but usually they like him off the bench, as well as there are two spots to fill in for the starting line-up. He’s very cheap and will be needed for at least 30 minutes tonight with Jimmy Butler still being questionable. He has a ton of upside because of his ability to shoot as well as put up defensive stats.
Power Forward
So for this position, I am looking at a player who will garner interest ownership wise but again for good reason. He has huge upside if he starts, but is still good off the bench. Obi Toppin will see good minutes tonight with Julius Randle in COVID protocols. Julius has not missed a game this year, playing over 33-37 minutes a game with a 27.5% usage rate. That will now have to be spread out throughout the roster but I am predicting Obi will be seeing a bulk of the minutes in his place. The usage rate will definitely trinkle into Obi’s current 17.9% usage rate off the bench, and he should see a bunch of time to garner defensive stats as well. At such a cheap price tag, it’ll be hard for him to completely tank your lines in a very nice match-up against the Thunder, who currently get killed by athletic bigs.
Center
There are two players I’m looking at here that present high upside because of the injuries to their current roster. Naz Reid will be playing a UTA team that he dropped 37 DKP against a couple of games ago (in his schedule… he missed a game due to COVID I believe) but in that game he matched up against Rudy Gobert and completely smashed his price tag. I will ONLY be on him if he starts tonight, which he should. He played 36 minutes against a UTA team that is supposed to be elite, keeping it super competitive IN Utah. This bodes well for him because tonight, Anthony Edwards comes back which further more keeps it competitive, while Karl Anthony Towns continues to be out. I am only concerned of his foul trouble here. I am also looking at Serge Ibaka here with Ivica Zubac in COVID protocols. He has not seen a full allotment of minutes since he has come back from his injuries because Ivica has been healthy every game. Now that Ivica is missing a game finally, we can see Serge play 25+ minutes here in a “revenge” match-up. He will definitely be needed as well, so I do think his minutes are secure. He is very cheap at 3.2k and will be fairly popular tonight. Can’t go wrong rostering a starter at 3.2k, especially at C where there is a ton of upside rebounding wise, defensive wise, and scoring wise (since PG is still out)
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