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Most of my position coaches this season have been on days featuring relatively small slates, so I am sometimes surprised when I write for a small slate and find I still struggle to identify more than three or four players worth using at every position. While there are cheaper players I like across the board, I think you will find the best strategy is to pick cheap plays at shooting guard and small forward and save your money for the other positions.
Point Guard
Every time George Hill has scored in single digits this season, he has scored at least 17 points in his next game. Only three teams in Wednesday’s slate have allowed more fantasy points to point guards this season, making Hill the safest point guard you don’t have to break the bank to play.
The Lakers have allowed the fourth-most points in the NBA this season, and if you want to take advantage you pretty much have to play either Eric Bledsoe or Devin Booker. Bledsoe is averaging 14.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals against the Lakers this season.
Russell Westbrook was pretty terrible Monday after he presumably suffered a letdown following Kevin Durant’s return to Oklahoma City. It has been pretty rare this season for Russell Westbrook to go three consecutive games without a triple double, so I big game out of Russ Wednesday. Westbrook had 27 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists on the road against the Knicks back in November.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| George Hill | UTA | H | POR | 31 | 31.6 | 79% | 2 | 17.5 | 3.4 | 4 | 1 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 48% | 23.89% | 28.7 | 30.6 | 29.7 | $5,900 | $5,800 | $25 |
| Eric Bledsoe | PHX | H | LAL | 55 | 33.2 | 85% | 1.5 | 21.5 | 4.9 | 6.1 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 3.3 | 44% | 28.31% | 36.8 | 39.5 | 37.6 | $8,800 | $8,600 | $39 |
| Russell Westbrook | OKC | H | NYK | 56 | 34.6 | 83% | 2.2 | 30.9 | 10.4 | 10.1 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 5.5 | 42% | 41.90% | 57 | 61.3 | 58.1 | $12,400 | $12,500 | $62 |
Shooting Guard
In two games against the Timberwolves this season, Gary Harris is averaging 19.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He is quite safe for his price, especially if Wilson Chandler is out.
Will Barton has started at small forward twice this season, and is averaging 27.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in those games. Barton should get plenty of run at small forward even if Wilson Chandler returns, but he is an excellent play if he remains the starting small forward.
Only the Nets have allowed more points than the Suns this season, and the only Laker playing with any modicum of consistency right now is Lou Williams. Williams has scored at least 15 points in 13 consecutive games, and it is hard to envision that streak coming to an end Wednesday.
Devin Booker is averaging 27.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists against the Lakers this season. If he gets close to those numbers Wednesday he will be a nice value.
Patrick McCaw scored 19 points in 35 minutes Monday, and while Klay Thompson is expected to return, McCaw could see significant minutes again if Shaun Livingston is out, especially if the starters sit out the fourth quarter.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Will Barton | DEN | H | MIN | 41 | 28.9 | 76% | 1.4 | 13.8 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 45% | 20.70% | 25.4 | 27.2 | 26.1 | $6,400 | $7,300 | $21 |
| Gary Harris | DEN | H | MIN | 31 | 28.4 | 74% | 1.6 | 13.2 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 48% | 18.87% | 22 | 23.6 | 22.8 | $5,100 | $4,900 | $17 |
| Lou Williams | LAL | A | PHX | 57 | 24.2 | 89% | 2.1 | 18.5 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 44% | 30.62% | 26.5 | 28.7 | 27.6 | $6,100 | $5,800 | $21 |
| Devin Booker | PHX | H | LAL | 55 | 34.6 | 83% | 1.8 | 21.1 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 42% | 27.99% | 28.7 | 31.2 | 29.6 | $6,600 | $7,200 | $28 |
| Patrick McCaw | GSW | H | SAC | 45 | 12.3 | 56% | 0.6 | 3.3 | 1 | 1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 42% | 12.51% | 6.5 | 7.1 | 6.8 | $3,600 | $3,300 | $10 |
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Small Forward
Aaron Gordon is expected to start at power forward now that Serge Ibaka is gone, which should be good for Gordon’s long-term fantasy prospects. I don’t necessarily expect the move to pay immediate dividends, but the risk is pretty minimal and the reward could be great. In the only game Serge Ibaka missed this season, Aaron Gordon started at power forward and scored 28 points in 39 minutes against the Clippers.
Moe Harkless played 32 minutes Monday, and he will almost certainly play similar minutes Wednesday now that Al-Farouq Aminu is out. Harkless may not have Aaron Gordon’s upside, but he should be pretty safe.
The Nuggets have allowed the third-most points in the NBA this season, and Andrew Wiggins is coming off his third 40-point game of the season. Wiggins should be a safe play in what I expect to be a high-scoring affair.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Aaron Gordon | ORL | H | SAS | 55 | 27.5 | 64% | 1 | 11.2 | 4.6 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 43% | 19.62% | 20.8 | 22.1 | 21.3 | $4,500 | $4,600 | $19 |
| Moe Harkless | POR | A | UTA | 51 | 29 | 66% | 1.1 | 10.6 | 4.7 | 1 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 48% | 16.46% | 20.6 | 22 | 21.2 | $4,600 | $4,700 | $12 |
| Andrew Wiggins | MIN | A | DEN | 56 | 37.2 | 75% | 1.3 | 22.9 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 46% | 27.99% | 31.9 | 33.9 | 32.5 | $7,900 | $7,900 | $33 |
Power Forward
Juan Hernangomez had 27 points and 10 rebounds in 43 minutes Monday. He should see a similar workload Wednesday if Wilson Chandler is out, and he would be a strong play even though his price has gone up significantly.
Channing Frye is basically a slightly safer, slightly more expensive version of Juan Hernangomez. Frye will likely be an extremely popular DFS play Wednesday, but that probably won’t prevent me from putting him in a cash lineup or two.
Derrick Williams wouldn’t be the first guy to go from borderline NBA player to useful fantasy asset simply due to his proximity to Lebron James. I’m looking at you, Matthew Dellavedova. Williams had 13 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes Tuesday, and if he can put up similar numbers Wednesday he would be a steal on DraftKings, where he only costs $3,300.
Blake Griffin is averaging 25.4 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists over his last five games, and there is no particular reason to believe that is a fluke now that he is healthy and Chris Paul is out. Griffin’s price hasn’t yet caught up to his recent production.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Juan Hernangomez | DEN | H | MIN | 39 | 12.3 | 70% | 0.6 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 46% | 13.89% | 9.8 | 10.4 | 10.1 | $4,000 | $4,600 | $10 |
| Channing Frye | CLE | H | IND | 47 | 18.3 | 84% | 2 | 9.3 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 44% | 20.16% | 15.8 | 17.3 | 16.8 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $10 |
| Derrick Williams | CLE | H | IND | 25 | 15.1 | 62% | 0.4 | 5.9 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 39% | 20.09% | 10.8 | 11.4 | 11 | $4,100 | $3,300 | $10 |
| Blake Griffin | LAC | H | ATL | 35 | 33.4 | 75% | 0.3 | 22 | 8.9 | 4.9 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 49% | 29.47% | 40.8 | 42.6 | 40.9 | $9,800 | $9,500 | $45 |
Center
Tristan Thompson had 14 points and 11 rebounds with Kevin Love out Tuesday, his second consecutive double-double. At the very least, Thompson should have more opportunities for rebounds with Love out, and he has a pretty good chance at a double-double for a center who is pretty cheap, especially on DraftKings.
Kevin Seraphin had 12 points and four rebounds in 27 minutes Monday with Thaddeus Young and Lavoy Allen out. Seraphin’s ceiling isn’t much higher than that, but he is cheaper than Derrick Williams on FanDuel and he is probably safer, too.
DeMarcus Cousins is averaging 30.0 points, 12.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists since serving a one-game suspension last week. Cousins had 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists against the Warriors two games before that. So long as he can keep from getting tossed out of the game, Cousins should be in line for a big night.
| PLAYER | TM | H/A | OPP | GP | MPG | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | USAGE | FDPTS/G | DKPTS/G | YPTS/G | $FD | $DK | $Y |
| Tristan Thompson | CLE | H | IND | 54 | 29.9 | 52% | 0 | 8.1 | 9.6 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 59% | 11.25% | 23.6 | 24.5 | 23.6 | $6,400 | $5,500 | $14 |
| Kevin Seraphin | IND | A | CLE | 32 | 11.4 | 50% | 0 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 55% | 17.84% | 9.6 | 10.1 | 9.6 | $3,500 | $3,700 | $10 |
| Bismack Biyombo | ORL | H | SAS | 56 | 23.4 | 49% | 0 | 6.1 | 7.3 | 1 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 54% | 13.12% | 18.4 | 19.4 | 18.4 | $3,800 | $3,600 | $10 |
| DeMarcus Cousins | SAC | A | GSW | 54 | 34.6 | 77% | 1.7 | 28.1 | 10.8 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 3.8 | 45% | 37.51% | 49.9 | 53.2 | 50.8 | $11,100 | $11,300 | $57 |