We have a massive 11-game slate and a ton of injury news. It’s going to be a crazy DFS day to say the least!
Point Guard
Stephen Curry’s price has climbed up to $10,000 and without the injury to Klay Thompson, he’d be an easy fade. However, with Thompson out Curry needs to be a staple in your cash lineups against the injured Denver backcourt.
Jrue Holiday should be very low owned because he’s on the second half of a back-to-back set and his price is at $8,800. You can’t touch him in cash games but Holiday makes for a fine GPP play.
Damian Lillard has an excellent matchup against the Hawks and he sees an 8 percent bump in usage rate with Mason Plumlee and Evan Turner off the floor. Play Lillard in both formats.
Jameer Nelson will play 35-plus minutes once again as the Nuggets are extremely shorthanded. This game has some blowout potential, but it’s nothing to shy away from. Nelson has limited upside, but the unlimited opportunity raises his ceiling.
| FD | DK | Yahoo | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Jrue Holiday | NOP | A | PHX | 40 | 32.2 | 71% | 1.6 | 16.2 | 4 | 7.5 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 3.1 | 46% | 24.62% | 33.5 | 36 | 34.3 | $8300 | $8800 | $33 |
| Jameer Nelson | DEN | H | GSW | 54 | 26 | 73% | 1.3 | 8.7 | 2.3 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 43% | 16.18% | 18.6 | 20.2 | 19.2 | $5000 | $5400 | $13 |
| Damian Lillard | POR | H | ATL | 49 | 35.8 | 90% | 2.6 | 26.1 | 4.9 | 5.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 44% | 30.73% | 40.1 | 42.9 | 41.4 | $8600 | $8600 | $43 |
| Stephen Curry | GSW | A | DEN | 53 | 33.6 | 92% | 4.1 | 25.2 | 4.3 | 6.4 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 2.9 | 48% | 28.94% | 40.8 | 44.5 | 42.8 | $9400 | $10000 | $48 |
Shooting Guard
SG is a wasteland as per usual, but there is one needle in the haystack. Will Barton is in line for some major run with Wilson Chandler questionable and Darrell Arthur out. Barton should see 30-plus minutes in an up-tempo, high-scoring game.
Ian Clark is on the radar as a desperation punt play. He’s unlikely to draw the start, but with Shaun Livingston and Klay Thompson out, he should see heavy run off the bench. He’s likely looking at 20-25 minutes, and he can get hot in a hurry.
And that’s really it. SG is by far my least favorite position on this slate and Will Barton will likely be locked into all of my lineups. Don’t sleep on Clark, either.
| FD | DK | Yahoo | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Will Barton | DEN | H | GSW | 40 | 28.6 | 75% | 1.4 | 13.5 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 44% | 20.6% | 24.9 | 26.7 | 25.6 | $5800 | $6400 | $20 |
| Ian Clark | GSW | A | DEN | 49 | 13.9 | 75% | 0.8 | 6.2 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 47% | 18.58% | 10.5 | 11.3 | 10.9 | $3500 | $3000 | $10 |
Small Forward
The Nuggets and Warriors game is by far the most stackable game of the night and I’ll have a few players from this game on every lineup. The total is insanely high and I believe the Nuggets will be able to keep it relatively close. Andre Iguodala is a safe, low-upside play at the SF position. He should handle a lot of the backup PG minutes tonight.
Robert Covington should have a huge usage rate with Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor out of the lineup. He’s relatively cheap and carries significant upside, so give him a long look today.
Kawhi Leonard is coming off the back end of a back-to-back set where the Knicks somehow beat the Spurs. There’s a small chance Pop rests some of the starters for two reasons. 1. It’s a back-to-back set 2. Pop likes to light fires under his players, and there’s no way he can be pleased with how the Spurs played last night. If Leonard is confirmed as the starter, expect a big night from him.
| FD | DK | Yahoo | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Robert Covington | PHI | A | CHA | 48 | 31.1 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 11.5 | 6.1 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 0.38 | 0.1845 | 24.8 | 27 | 25.7 | 6400 | 6200 | 23 |
| Kawhi Leonard | SAS | A | IND | 49 | 33.6 | 0.9 | 2 | 25.8 | 5.9 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 0.49 | 0.3095 | 40.9 | 43.2 | 41.9 | 9600 | 8900 | 43 |
| Andre Iguodala | GSW | A | DEN | 52 | 25.8 | 0.68 | 0.8 | 6.3 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.49 | 0.1006 | 18 | 18.9 | 18.4 | 4400 | 3900 | 10 |
Power Forward
Nerlens Noel is a decent play as a mid-priced big man tonight and he should be low-owned. Noel should see the bulk of minutes at the five and he’s under $5,500. Noel can stuff the stat sheet and he’s my second favorite Sixer player to target.
Juan Hernangomez is looking at some serious run if Wilson Chandler ends up sitting tonight’s game out. Even if he plays, Hernangomez should still 25-plus minutes. He doesn’t have much upside, but he’s only $3,000 and he can help you pay up for the studs.
Frank Kaminsky is one of the safer cash options on the slate. The Sixers have given up a league-high 62 fantasy points per game to opposing centers and he’ll look to dominate this weak frontcourt. Kaminsky doesn’t have a ton of upside, but give him a look in cash games.
Blake Griffin is in a tough spot against the Jazz, but plenty of DFS players will avoid him tonight. He’s only $9,000 and has been absolutely dominating. The matchup is obviously less than ideal, but Griffin has as much upside as anyone and he comes at a discount. GPP only.
Donatas Motiejunas is firmly on the radar as a value play. If Terrence Jones sits, he’ll sit alongside Dante Cunningham and Donuts will likely draw the start. He’s just $3,000 and he’d likely log 25-plus minutes.
| FD | DK | Yahoo | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Donatas Motiejunas | NOP | A | PHX | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | $3500 | $3000 | $10 |
| Blake Griffin | LAC | A | UTA | 34 | 33.4 | 75% | 0.3 | 21.9 | 8.9 | 4.9 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 49% | 29.53% | 40.5 | 42.3 | 40.6 | $9700 | $9000 | $45 |
| Nerlens Noel | PHI | A | CHA | 27 | 18.7 | 67% | 0.0 | 8.5 | 4.8 | 1 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 60% | 18.03% | 19.3 | 19.9 | 19.3 | $5400 | $5300 | $13 |
Center
Yup, another Nuggets player. Perhaps the best of them all. Nikola Jokic. He’s taken the NBA by storm this season and DFS players have found their Valentine. He’s a monster and will need to play a ton of minutes if the Nuggets hope to keep this one close. Foul trouble is a real possibility in this one, but it’s too hard to predict so don’t take him out of your lineups for that alone.
Marcin Gortat is one of my top cash game plays of the night. He’ll need to be matchup against Steven Adams, so his minutes are safe. Adams has done an admirable job against opposing centers, but Gortat should notch another dub-dub.
The Clippers have been surprisingly vulnerable at the center position over the last four weeks. They are in the top-10 in points allowed to centers and Rudy Gobert is going to get another double-double. He’s a monster and he’s rolling right now. Gobert is a fine cash play.
| FD | DK | Yahoo | |||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Tm | H/A | Opp | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM/G | PTS/G | REB/G | AST/G | STL/G | BLK/G | TO/G | FG% | Usage | Pts/G | Pts/G | Pts/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Frank Kaminsky | CHA | H | PHI | 52 | 24.6 | 76% | 1.3 | 10.5 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 39% | 21.17% | 20.2 | 21.5 | 20.8 | $4800 | $5700 | $15 |
| Rudy Gobert | UTA | H | LAC | 55 | 33.7 | 66% | 0.0 | 13 | 12.6 | 1 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 65% | 15.98% | 34.3 | 35.9 | 34.3 | $7800 | $7000 | $30 |
| Marcin Gortat | WAS | H | OKC | 53 | 34.7 | 68% | 0.0 | 11.9 | 11.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1 | 1.6 | 59% | 14.37% | 29.9 | 31.2 | 29.9 | $7100 | $6100 | $23 |
| Nikola Jokic | DEN | H | GSW | 47 | 26.6 | 82% | 0.6 | 16.3 | 8.6 | 4.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 2 | 59% | 22.99% | 33.9 | 35.7 | 34.3 | $10100 | $9200 | $41 |