NBA DFS Position Coach: March 25, 2016

A couple of trends jumped out as I looked at his slate. First of all, this is as good a time to do stars and scrubs as I have seen in a while. Not only is there a dearth of mid-priced options, especially at the forward positions, there are a ton of cheap guys who could get productive minutes Friday. What’s more, the forward positions are the best ones for going cheap, while you almost have to pay up at point guard and shooting guard.

Point Guard

Brandon Knight has scored more than 20 points in three of his last six games, including both meetings with the Lakers. The Kings are just as disinterested in defense as the Lakers, and it is easy to picture Knight scoring 20-plus points with six or more rebounds and a similar number of assists.

In fact, this could be a big game for both point guards. No team has allowed more fantasy points to point guards than the Suns this season, and Rajon Rondo is coming off a 25-point, 12-assist effort Wednesday. Rondo hasn’t pulled in double-digit rebounds in more than a month, which depresses his value a bit, but he had 15 points and 15 assists in his last game against the Suns, and I would be perfectly happy with a similar effort Friday.

The Orlando Magic have allowed the third-most opponent’s points and sixth-most opponent's assists since the All-Star break, and they are 28^th in fantasy points allowed to point guards this season. Goran Dragic had 22 points, six rebounds and four assists in his only meeting with Orlando this season. The Heat have a really nice matchup with Orlando, and Dragic is one of the few safe players on Miami’s roster.

Emmanuel Mudiay is averaging 17.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists in March, including 22, four and seven against the Lakers on March 2. The Lakers have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.

I don’t know that I expect a monster game out of him, but Kyle Lowry may be the safest fantasy play of the entire night. The Rockets are in the bottom five in the NBA in opponent’s threes, assists and steals since the All-Star break, and Lowry eads the NBA in steals per game, is 15^th in assists and fourth in made three-pointers.

Shooting Guard

DeMar DeRozan isn’t as versatile as Kyle Lowry, but he costs less, plays a weaker position and should be just as safe. DeRozan had 19 points, six rebounds and seven assists against Houston on March 6.

Speaking of that game, James Harden went off for 40 points and 14 assists. Harden has three double-doubles in his last four games, and he is probably my top target among the stud players Friday. The drop off from Harden to DeRozan and the rest of the shooting guard class is pretty dramatic, and Harden has really upped his game lately as Houston fights for a playoff spot.

If you can’t pay for one of the top two shooting guards, Zach LaVine should be safe. Only the Warriors have allowed more fantasy points to shooting guards than the Wizards, and LaVine had 21 points, three rebounds and two assists in his only meeting with Washington this season. LaVine has scored at least 15 points in five consecutive games.

Wesley Matthews had at least 15 points and five rebounds while playing more than 40 minutes in each of the last two games with Chandler Parsons out, and we already mentioned Golden State’s issues defending shooting guards. Matthews is one of the best cheap shooting guards on the slate, and would serve as a nice complement to James Harden. If you need a cheaper option, especially on DraftKings, Raymond Felton is worth a look. He should start with Parsons out, and he is averaging 11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists as a starter this season.

The other cheap shooting guard on my radar is Jonathon Simmons. I suspect he will start with Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard out, and that would make him an attractive DFS play. Kyle Anderson may be a bit safer, and play a more shallow position, but Simmons could easily outscore him Friday.

Small Forward

With Kawhi Leonard, Chandler Parsons and perhaps Luol Deng joining the long list of small forwards who are either injured or have Friday off, small forward is pretty ugly. I think your best bet may be to simply take Giannis Antetokounmpo and move on to the next position. You have to pay quite a bit considering he has gone nearly two whole weeks without a triple-double, but Atlanta is 27^th in fantasy points allowed to opposing small forwards, so that helps. Giannis is averaging 23.5 points and 14.0 rebounds in two games against Atlanta this season.

If you can’t afford Giannis, I suggest going the other way and spending the minimum on Kyle Anderson. He should see heavy minutes with Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard out, and he averaged 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the three games Leonard missed after the All-Star Break.

As I mentioned, the position is pretty ugly, but if you want a mid-priced option, go with Marcus Morris. Morris has been just as productive as Tobias Harris over the last couple of weeks, but he is cheaper across the board, especially on DraftKings.

Power Forward

The Milwaukee Bucks have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season, so it comes as no surprise Paul Millsap has averaged 25 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 3.0 blocks and 1.5 steals in two meetings against them. I’m not expecting those kinds of numbers, but I don’t see why he can’t put up a double-double while chipping in a handful of assists and blocks.

Josh McRoberts got a rare start with Luol Deng out Wednesday, putting up nine points, three rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes against the Spurs. He gets a more favorable matchup Friday against Orlando, and you almost have to start him if Deng sits again.

If Deng is active, Andrew Nicholson could be a nice alternative to Josh McRoberts. The Magic refuse to give consistent minutes to any of their bigs, so Nicholson is pretty risky, but he also has at least 13 points and six rebounds in three of his last five games. There should be more minutes to go around with Ersan Ilyasova out, and facing Josh McRoberts for much of the game wouldn’t hurt, either.

While we are on the subject of cheap power forwards, Luis Scola scored 21 points in 20 minutes against the Rockets three weeks ago. Scola played 24 minutes with Patrick Patterson out Wednesday, and Scola is an interesting DFS play if Patterson is out again Friday.

LaMarcus Aldridge is averaging 17.6 points and 9.8 rebounds with Kawhi Leonard out this season. I slightly prefer Paul Millsap, but Aldridge is much cheaper on DraftKings, and I could easily see playing both guys.

Center

Greg Monroe has two double-doubles in his last four games, and if he gets another one Friday he will be worth his price. The Hawks are 27^th in fantasy points allowed to opposing centers, and only two teams have allowed more opponent’s rebounds since the All-Star break.

Frank Kaminsky started Tuesday with Marvin Williams out, scoring 14 points with seven rebounds and two blocks in 28 minutes against the Nets. Williams is listed as questionable, and while Kaminsky probably isn’t as safe as somebody like Josh McRoberts, he is worth playing if he gets to start.

Salah Mejri’s price has jumped on FanDuel, and it is time to pounce before he costs more on the other sites as well. Mejri has double-doubles in two consecutive games while playing at least 30 minutes in each. He could lose playing time at some point, especially when Chandler Parsons returns, but he seems firmly entrenched in the starting lineup, and he will be a fantastic value if he posts another double-double.

If you get to the end and have more money to spend, which is entirely possible, I suggest spending it on Hassan Whiteside. He is the other safe Miami player I alluded to earlier. Whiteside has double-doubles in 10 of his last 12 games, with at least two blocks in nine of those 20 contests.