Welcome to Tristan’s NBA Game Theory (11/5)! In this article, I’ll outline my favorite cash game and GPP options at each of the positions. I’ll utilize our Projections Portal when making decisions about what types of leagues specific players are best suited for. You can get all of my Core Plays along with our Cheat Sheets, projections, and Premium Discord channels with our Premium NBA Package.
| Guards | Forwards |
Centers | Game Stacks |
| P. Beverley | P. George | I. Zubac | MEM/WAS |
| C.Cunningham | D. Bane | M. Plumlee | MIN/LAC |
| C. Levert | J. Jackson Jr | S. Adams | IND/POR |
| D. Vassell | T. Young | K. Anthony Towns | CHA/SAC |
| T. Rozier | N. Batum | D. Sabonis | NOP/GS |
*If you don’t already play 3 max entry contests daily, try using the teams provided in the stacks above to maximize upside and correlation in your NBA lineups.
Guards
Cash
Alright let’s get to it! For cash who I’m looking at for now will be Caris Levert who played 31 mins his last game — a good sign for someone coming back from an injury like his. It seems like Indiana isn’t looking to play him limited minutes and they put him straight in the fire after his first game being limited. He has a good amount of upside and though Malcolm Brogdon is questionable, I still think he can hit his salary with Brogdon potentially coming back. If he sits, even better, but still do like Levert if Brogdon is in.
Other players I’m looking at for cash for the guard spot would be Patrick Beverley who is in a great spot, as they just played this team the other night. His price barely went up and he’s most likely going to start again for tonight for the absent D’Angelo Russell. He looks hungry this season and is also playing against his former team in the Clippers. He had himself a nice game last time out, almost achieving a triple-double and this time will be a home in Minnesota
Cade Cunningham is also another player I’m looking to plug in just because of his high upside and his high floor. He’s really cheap at 4.6k on DK and has a huge upside if he could just start hitting shots. I believe he’s 1/21 on 3’s this year and he was a great shooter coming into the league from college, just taking a little time to get his feet wet and get comfortable in these game situations.
To be completely honest I probably will have the Beverley/Cunningham combo in most of my builds today
GPP
Terry Rozier had a rather poor showing last slate in a pretty primed position, and I still think he has upside at this price at 6.7k on DK. This will be a fast-paced match-up that allows so many possessions, meaning more opportunities to score for all players involved. His shot volume can get pretty high, and seeing that LaMelo Ball might be banged up a bit (he’s still probable), Rozier might look to be the main scorer today.
DeAaron Fox has had quite a poor showing since the beginning of the season, with his usage lower and his production lower as well. He hasn’t been able to put together a complete game but we know how much upside he has as a player especially in a fast paced match-up. Not saying he is a great play today by all means, but he is definitely worth a look in GPPs to try and get back to his original self. Somedays you can see him put up 20+ shots and some days you see him with less than 15. Granted he’s only hit over at his price one time this season, we could see some regression back toward the mean.
Forward
Cash
Paul George is matching up against the team he just played last game and put up 53.5 DK points putting together an almost complete game. The pace of this game cannot be ignored, and the Clippers should have the upper hand here again. Paul George’s role this season will not diminish this year, and he will continue being the focal point of this offense and viewed as the top dog for LAC. He has a great match-up because no one can defend this guy on the Timberwolves. They tried to put Josh Okogie on him last game and he got cooked. He’s sporting a 33% usage rate this season, super high for a stud like him.
Desmond Bane is still STILL a great cash play, with his salary still at 5.1k. He averages 29.4 DK pts on the season, and his role has not changed since the beginning of the season. Memphis is still missing Dillon Brooks, so Bane is filling that shooting guard role here. He puts up around 13+ shots a game and is actually a pretty great shooter. He has a nice shot form, is not scared to shoot the ball, and is perfect next to Ja Morant in this role. Pace up game here only helps him as well.
GPP
If Jaren Jackson Jr can stay out of foul trouble, I believe his price at 5.6k is way too cheap for his upside. Not only does JJJ shoot 3s (sometimes it feels like that) but he can rebound and play defense too. Staying out of foul trouble allows JJJ to potentially reach his ceiling in this fast paced match-up, especially with a cheap price tag like this. He’s averaging around 1 DK pt per min, so seeing 30 mins could put him at a 30 floor.
Devin Vassell looks like he might be Pop’s favorite off the bench in San Antonio. His minutes have steadily been going up, and even with Doug McDermott back, he saw good minutes. Now yes, Jakob Poetle being out might have a good bit to do with it, but even before that he was seeing good minutes. He’s cheap at 3.9k and has an upside of 25-30 here.
Center
Cash
I’m considering two centers for cash today, and might even run both for my core today. Those two are Mason Plumlee and Ivica Zubac. Mason Plumlee will be a very strong play with PJ Washington out tonight, averaging 32 minutes with him out. They will need someone to match-up with Richaun Holmes today and Mason is the one to do it. He accumulates a ton of peripheral stats and plays as the main roll man in the PnR. I’d say his floor today is around 25. Regarding Zubac, he finally was able to play 30+ minutes last game against Karl Anthony Towns. It seems like the Clippers like hm in there long enough to match-up with KAT, and he’s a cheap price of 4k on DK. Even if he doesn’t get the run identical to what he had last game vs them, I still believe Zu won’t hurt a ton if he ends up with 20 minutes. He should still have a floor around 15-18 with the 20 minutes, but with a ceiling of 25+ if he gets 30 minutes again.
GPP
Domantas Sabonis was in some foul trouble last game but still played 34 minutes. Now that’s not his usual 36-38 (even 40) in a close game, but his 9.3k tag definitely is intriguing to me today in a smash spot against a Portland defense that is lackluster. Not sure how Portland even plans to stop him. Jusuf Nurkic will most likely have to guard Sabonis because there is no way Robert Covington can guard him… which does scare me a little but Sabonis owns this matchup against him.
Follow Tristan on Twitter (@SrirachaDFS)
