Before going through the picks, I can’t emphasize how important it is to review the news up until lineups lock. At the end of the season, players are being rested left and right and you can’t miss any of it. This article is written earlier in the day so some of the players may be out or may even get a huge boost due to the injury news so keep an eye on the news!
Point Guard
Kyle Lowry is arguably the top PG stud of the night. Coach Casey already stated that he wants his team to mesh well and the starters will play in the last game. DeMar DeRozan is currently questionable and if he misses this game, Lowry is a much better play.
John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Markieff Morris have all been ruled out for tonight’s game. Brandon Jennings will earn the start at the point guard. While he does have a difficult matchup against the Heat -- who are vying for a playoff spot -- he should get a ton of run. Jennings is a near-lock for me.
Malcolm Brogdon may be slightly restricted due to his recent back injury but with the Greek freak, Matthew Dellavedova, Khris Middleton, and Tony Snell on the shelf, the Bucks may have to play him 30 minutes or more. His usage will obviously increase with the aforementioned absences and he’s a fine value play. Brogdon is a fine pivot off of the chalky Jamal Murray, but Murray is also a solid option.
Chris Paul and the Clippers are one of the four teams actually fighting for something. They’re trying to earn the fourth seed in the West and CP3 should see 30 minutes or more as long as the game stays close. The Kings are in full rebuild mode so the blowout potential is certainly there.
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | FDPts/G | DKPts/G | YPts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y!DFS |
| Kyle Lowry | TOR | A | CLE | 59 | 37.7 | 82% | 3.3 | 22.6 | 4.8 | 7 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 46% | 24.8% | 39.6 | 42.9 | 41.2 | $8500 | $8100 | $38 |
| Brandon Jennings | WAS | A | MIA | 58 | 24.6 | 76% | 1.2 | 8.6 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 38% | 18.2% | 19.3 | 21 | 19.9 | $4200 | $4500 | $10 |
| Chris Paul | LAC | H | SAC | 60 | 31.4 | 89% | 2 | 18.1 | 5 | 9.2 | 2 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 48% | 24.5% | 39.7 | 42.1 | 40.7 | $9400 | $8800 | $44 |
Shooting Guard
Jeremy Lin, Brook Lopez, and Trevor Booker have all been ruled out in advance for tonight’s game and Spencer Dinwiddie will be one of the main beneficiaries. He’s not a great per-minute producer and with all of the value plays available tonight, Dinwiddie is in the mid-tier range. At $4,000, he’s still a great option considering he could easily hit 7-8x value.
As I stated before, Jamal Murray is a great play, but he’ll be high-owned. There’s a good chance Emmanuel Mudiay and Will Barton miss tonight’s game which would give Murray all the run he can handle. If both are confirmed as out, Murray can be locked in as your shooting guard in cash games.
Justin Holiday just played 41 minutes and the Knicks have finally turned this season over to the young players. His stat set isn’t the greatest for DFS but if a guy under $4,000 is playing 41 minutes, he needs to firmly be on your radar. Give him a long look in both formats.
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | FDPts/G | DKPts/G | YPts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y!DFS |
| Jamal Murray | DEN | A | OKC | 81 | 21.3 | 88% | 1.4 | 9.7 | 2.6 | 2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 40% | 21.6% | 16.4 | 17.8 | 17 | $4600 | $5500 | $13 |
| Malcolm Brogdon | MIL | A | BOS | 74 | 26.5 | 87% | 1 | 10.2 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 46% | 18.5% | 21 | 22.4 | 21.5 | $5600 | $4900 | $17 |
| Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | BKN | A | CHI | 77 | 22.5 | 75% | 0.2 | 8.7 | 5.8 | 2 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 44% | 18.8% | 20.4 | 21.5 | 20.5 | $5400 | $5500 | $15 |
| Justin Holiday | NYK | H | PHI | 81 | 20 | 82% | 1.2 | 7.5 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 43% | 16.7% | 14.2 | 15.3 | 14.7 | $3700 | $3900 | $10 |
| Caris LeVert | BKN | A | CHI | 56 | 21.6 | 72% | 1.1 | 8.2 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1 | 45% | 16.4% | 16 | 17.2 | 16.5 | $4200 | $4200 | $10 |
Small Forward
Paul George is the clear-cut stud on the slate as he should play his normal allotment of minutes. He’s nearly $10,000 so he loses some appeal for that reason but with all of the value on the slate, it’s easy to fit him in. He’s one of the few studs that should see 30-plus minutes so try to get him into a few of your lineups.
Kevin Durant is an interesting tournament option tonight but that’s about it. He’s just $8,200 and has a cupcake matchup with the Lakers. Aside from the obvious blowout concerns, Durant should still see near 30 minutes as the Warriors will want Durant to knock off all the rust from the injury. Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green are also out, which makes Durant a bit more appealing.
Caris LeVert is certainly in play with the resting of numerous players for the Nets. Still, he’s unlikely to eclipse the 30-minute threshold and his upside will remain capped for that reason. LeVert isn’t an excellent play but in a favorable matchup he certainly could score 30 fantasy points which would be good for 7-8x value.
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | FDPts/G | DKPts/G | YPts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y!DFS |
| Paul George | IND | H | ATL | 74 | 35.8 | 90% | 2.6 | 23.6 | 6.5 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 46% | 28.9% | 37.4 | 40.4 | 38.6 | $9900 | $9700 | $45 |
| Kevin Durant | GSW | H | LAL | 61 | 33.5 | 88% | 1.8 | 25 | 8.3 | 4.8 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 54% | 27.8% | 45.3 | 47.8 | 46.3 | $9800 | $8200 | $50 |
Power Forward
With Miami needing a win to potentially earn a spot in the playoffs, James Johnson should earn another start. It’s not a guarantee though, as Luke Babbitt is expected to return from injury. If Johnson doesn’t earn the start, he loses some appeal but is still in play.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will likely make his way onto 75% of my lineups. Both Brook Lopez and Trevor Booker are out and he’s scored over 40 fantasy points in two straight games. RHJ’s biggest issue has been his 25-minute limit and it appears that is no longer there. Fire him up.
Jason Smith could see 30 minutes tonight with Markieff Morris out but he’s not a must-play. Smith has great numbers with .87 FP per minute. As long as he sees a decent workload, smith should pay off his salary with ease.
Dwight Powell is one of the top value options of the night. The Mavericks just ruled out their entire starting lineup along with J.J. Barea. Dwight Powell should see 25 minutes at the very least and he also averages .87 FP per minute so he and Smith are interesting plays.
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | FDPts/G | DKPts/G | YPts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y!DFS |
| Dwight Powell | DAL | A | MEM | 76 | 17.1 | 75% | 0.3 | 6.6 | 4 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 53% | 16.6% | 14.6 | 15.1 | 14.7 | $3800 | $4200 | $10 |
| James Johnson | MIA | H | WAS | 75 | 27.3 | 70% | 1.2 | 12.8 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 1 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 48% | 22.1% | 26.1 | 28.1 | 26.7 | $6500 | $6900 | $28 |
Center
Karl Anthony-Towns is one of the only top players still playing heavy minutes. He just played 40 minutes last night and he’ll likely play 35-plus minutes again. Thibodeau clearly has no plans in resting his star center so he’s about as safe as anyone on the last game of the season.
Hassan Whiteside is arguably the top center on the slate. He and the Heat will lay it all out there tonight as they attempt to secure their spot in the playoffs. Whiteside has scored 50-plus fantasy points in two straight games and he’ll look to make it three in a row in a very favorable matchup against the resting Wizards.
Guillermo Hernandez is certainly in play against the Sixers as the matchup is favorable and the Knicks should play him over 30 minutes. He is a rookie and has been understandably inconsistent, but he’s still firmly in play as a GPP option.
It’s unclear if Jason Kidd has any intention of resting Greg Monroe as he’s resting the majority of his big-time players. That uncertainty eliminates Monroe of cash-game playability but he’s a very interesting tournament option. He could easily drop 40-50 fantasy points tonight, while being just as likely to play six minutes.
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | FDPts/G | DKPts/G | YPts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y!DFS |
| Hassan Whiteside | MIA | H | WAS | 76 | 32.7 | 63% | 0.0 | 16.9 | 14.1 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 2 | 56% | 22.6% | 38.6 | 40.3 | 38.6 | $9000 | $8200 | $37 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | MIN | A | HOU | 81 | 37 | 83% | 1.2 | 25.1 | 12.2 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 54% | 27.6% | 45 | 47.6 | 45.6 | $10600 | $10300 | $49 |
| Jason Smith | WAS | A | MIA | 73 | 14.5 | 69% | 0.5 | 5.7 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 53% | 16.6% | 12 | 12.8 | 12.2 | $3800 | $3800 | $11 |
| Willy Hernangomez | NYK | H | PHI | 71 | 18.4 | 72% | 0.1 | 8.2 | 6.9 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 53% | 20.4% | 19.2 | 20.3 | 19.3 | $5100 | $5500 | $16 |
| Greg Monroe | MIL | A | BOS | 80 | 22.6 | 74% | 0.0 | 11.8 | 6.6 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 54% | 24.2% | 24.6 | 25.8 | 24.6 | $5600 | $4800 | $16 |