There are a solid number of value plays on Monday's slate, but most of them are shooting guards. Going cheap at shooting guard will allow you to spend up at point guard, small forward and center. You don't necessarily have to break the bank at any of those positions, but if you do, I recommend center. After the cheap plays at shooting guard I will probably fill most of my lineup with second or third-tier players, though it should be too difficult to fit one or even two studs into your lineup if that is how you wish to go.
Point Guard
Monday isn’t a bad day for point guards, just a boring one. There aren’t any particularly good values to be had, just solid players who should return roughly what you pay for them. John Wall is at the top of that list, mostly because you will probably have to pay up at some position outside of center. Wall has eight double-doubles in his last 10 games, and he scored at least 30 points each of the times he failed to reach 10 assists. You can plug him in your lineup with confidence.
Kemba Walker is averaging 27.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists against the Bulls this season. There is no reason to believe Rajon Rondo, Jerian Grant or Cameron Payne will slow him down.
Mike Conley is 1-for-11 from beyond the arc over his last two games, and it would be shocking for that poor shooting to continue for another game. I expect Conley to score at least 20 points with his usual complement of rebounds, assists and steals.
George Hill played just 18 minutes Saturday after missing the previous two games with a toe injury. If Hill is back to his normal playing time, which I believe he will be, he should be a nice value.
Dennis Schroder is actually cheaper than Hill on DraftKings, and he should be pretty safe. Schroder has at least 16 points in eight consecutive games, and he is averaging 5.9 assists per game in March.
| 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 |
| Kemba Walker | CHA | H | CHI | 65 | 34.6 | 85% | 2.9 | 23.2 | 4.1 | 5.4 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 45% | 28.85% | 36.9 | 39.7 | 38.4 | $8,400 | $8,100 | $43 |
| Mike Conley | MEM | H | MIL | 54 | 33.2 | 85% | 2.3 | 19.9 | 3.5 | 6.1 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 45% | 25.84% | 34.4 | 36.9 | 35.6 | $7,600 | $7,800 | $36 |
| Dennis Schroder | ATL | A | SAS | 65 | 31 | 84% | 1.2 | 17.8 | 3 | 6.2 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 3.1 | 46% | 27.53% | 29.7 | 32.1 | 30.3 | $7,100 | $6,100 | $29 |
| George Hill | UTA | H | LAC | 39 | 31.5 | 80% | 2 | 17.3 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 48% | 23.70% | 28.4 | 30.4 | 29.4 | $6,100 | $6,200 | $21 |
| John Wall | WAS | A | MIN | 63 | 36.8 | 81% | 1.1 | 23.1 | 4.5 | 10.8 | 2 | 0.6 | 4.2 | 45% | 30.51% | 45.7 | 48.5 | 46.2 | $10,700 | $10,200 | $52 |
Shooting Guard
I wouldn’t usually recommend Dwyane Wade on the second night of a back-to-back, but he doesn’t usually score eight points in a given night, either. Wade isn’t quite as safe a bounce-back candidate as Jimmy Butler—more on him in a bit—but Wade is cheaper and shooting guard is a far weaker position.
Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge have sat out two games in the last week, and Kyle Anderson is averaging 11.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in those games. Anderson’s price remains low enough to make him a solid value play.
Nicolas Batum is questionable for tonight with a migraine, and Jeremy Lamb is averaging 14.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists with Batum out this season. Lamb will probably be an extremely popular play if Batum sits, but I will roll with him anyway, at least in cash games.
The last time Jameer Nelson had to miss a game, Jamal Murray had 10 points (4-13 FGA, 2-9 3PT) and five assists in 30 minutes. Nelson is questionable, and if Murray starts, he would be nearly as attractive for DFS as Jeremy Lamb.
Wilson Chandler is questionable, and even if he doesn’t start, Will Barton would be a very nice DFS play if Chandler is out. Barton is averaging 19.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 34.8 minutes per game when Chandler sits.
| 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 |
| Dwyane Wade | CHI | A | CHA | 55 | 30.3 | 79% | 0.8 | 18.7 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 43% | 29.64% | 32.1 | 33.9 | 32.5 | $7,600 | $6,700 | $31 |
| Kyle Anderson | SAS | H | ATL | 56 | 13.4 | 80% | 0.2 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 45% | 11.86% | 9.9 | 10.3 | 10 | $4,000 | $3,600 | $10 |
| Jeremy Lamb | CHA | H | CHI | 46 | 18.3 | 84% | 0.7 | 9.4 | 4.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 45% | 22.75% | 17.1 | 17.9 | 17.4 | $4,000 | $3,500 | $10 |
| Jamal Murray | DEN | H | LAL | 66 | 20.1 | 88% | 1.3 | 9.1 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 40% | 21.57% | 15.2 | 16.6 | 15.8 | $3,800 | $4,100 | $10 |
| Will Barton | DEN | H | LAL | 52 | 28.4 | 75% | 1.3 | 13 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 44% | 20.70% | 24.4 | 26.1 | 25.1 | $5,100 | $4,900 | $20 |
Small Forward
Jimmy Butler was pretty terrible Sunday in Boston, but there is pretty much no scenario in which I could see him failing to score 20 points for a third consecutive game. Butler’s production is down since the All-Star break but so is his price, and Butler is especially attractive if Kawhi Leonard is out.
Andrew Wiggins is coming off an 11-point game Saturday. That is Wiggins’s lowest point total in nearly two months, and I have no doubt he will bounce back Monday.
I’m not necessarily looking to go cheap at small forward, but if you do, look to Brandon Ingram and Bojan Bogdanovic. Ingram has scored at least 12 points in four consecutive games, and he looks safe for cash games. In a GPP, I am still rolling with Bojan Bogdanovic. He hasn’t topped 17 points in any of his last three games, but he has scored at least 27 points three times this month. Bogdanovic has the highest ceiling by far among the small forwards in his price range.
| 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 |
| Jimmy Butler | CHI | A | CHA | 60 | 36.6 | 87% | 1.2 | 23.4 | 6.2 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 44% | 26.62% | 40.7 | 42.7 | 41.3 | $8,900 | $9,300 | $48 |
| Andrew Wiggins | MIN | H | WAS | 65 | 37.2 | 77% | 1.2 | 23 | 4.1 | 2.4 | 1 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 46% | 28.41% | 31.9 | 33.9 | 32.5 | $7,300 | $7,100 | $36 |
| Bojan Bogdanovic | WAS | A | MIN | 55 | 26.9 | 87% | 1.8 | 14.2 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 44% | 22.97% | 20.3 | 22.2 | 21.2 | $4,200 | $4,700 | $15 |
| Brandon Ingram | LAL | A | DEN | 66 | 28.8 | 63% | 0.7 | 8.5 | 4.1 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 38% | 15.67% | 16.9 | 18.2 | 17.3 | $4,000 | $5,100 | $11 |
Power Forward
David Lee averaged 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in the two games Leonard and Aldridge missed last week. Lee’s floor should be pretty high with Aldridge out, and I love his double-double potential at a modest price.
As good as the Spurs are defensively, it is hard to imagine David Lee and Pau Gasol are capable of slowing down Paul Millsap. Millsap has three double-doubles in his last five games, and he will be well worth his price if he gets another one.
Trey Lyles had 10 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes with Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert out Saturday. Lyles is risky, especially if Gobert plays, but out of Utah’s healthy power forward options, Lyles probably matches up best with Blake Griffin. Lyles is a solid punt play, but he is a bit risky and he probably doesn’t have a super-high ceiling.
| 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 |
| David Lee | SAS | H | ATL | 64 | 18.5 | 70% | 0 | 7.4 | 5.6 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1 | 61% | 16.93% | 17.3 | 18.1 | 17.3 | $4,700 | $5,000 | $12 |
| Paul Millsap | ATL | A | SAS | 63 | 34.3 | 77% | 1.1 | 18.2 | 7.9 | 3.7 | 1.3 | 1 | 2.2 | 44% | 24.33% | 35.7 | 37.7 | 36.2 | $7,800 | $6,900 | $36 |
| Trey Lyles | UTA | H | LAC | 62 | 17.9 | 71% | 1 | 6.9 | 3.6 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1 | 37% | 21.70% | 13.3 | 14.5 | 13.9 | $3,500 | $3,100 | $10 |
Center
Pau Gasol had 10 points (3-8 FG), seven rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes Saturday against the Warriors with Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge out. Gasol has an excellent chance at more minutes and shots against the Hawks Monday. David Lee may be safer, and a better value, but Gasol’s ceiling is likely higher.
Marc Gasol is another bounce-back candidate after he scored just eight points Saturday, his lowest total of 2017. Much like Pau, Marc Gasol no longer rebounds enough to be considered a top fantasy center, but he is a consistent scorer and he gets enough assists to make up for the lack of rebounds.
It might be impossible to overstate how good Nikola Jokic’s matchup is against the Lakers. No team on Monday’s slate has allowed as many fantasy points to centers as the Lakers, and the Lakers have allowed the most assists in the NBA, the third-most points and seventh-most rebounds. Jokic has scored at least 45.5 fantasy points on DraftKings in each of his last five games. Even Karl-AthonyAnthony can’t make that claim.
| 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 |
| Pau Gasol | SAS | H | ATL | 48 | 25.8 | 66% | 0.7 | 12.1 | 7.8 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 51% | 20.82% | 26.8 | 28.2 | 27.2 | $5,700 | $5,400 | $21 |
| Marc Gasol | MEM | H | MIL | 63 | 34.3 | 83% | 1.4 | 20.2 | 6.1 | 4.4 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 46% | 26.73% | 36.5 | 38.6 | 37.2 | $7,700 | $7,300 | $32 |
| Nikola Jokic | DEN | H | LAL | 57 | 27.1 | 81% | 0.6 | 16.1 | 9.4 | 4.6 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 59% | 22.97% | 35.2 | 37.1 | 35.5 | $10,000 | $10,400 | $48 |