NBA DFS Position Coach: November 14, 2016

Point Guard

There’s no real debate here, the top play of the day is Russell Westbrook. Sure, James Harden has a great matchup with the Sixers but the Rockets are currently favored by 11.5. The blowout potential is real here and with a $1,200 price difference, I’d much rather go for Westbrook here.

Though I just pointed out Westy as the better play, he’ll likely be the chalk because of his price. It’ll be near impossible to fit both Harden and Westbrook unless a ton of value options open up later in the day. Harden is worth a look in GPPs and he has a pretty high chance of notching his third triple-double of the season against a weak Philly defense.  

Chris Paul is another stud tonight but the Clippers are currently favored by 14.5 points. That’s typically a game to avoid but CP3 offers significant upside in GPPs. He could very well sit out most or the entire fourth quarter so tread carefully here. To be clear, Paul still has a floor around 30 so you could roll him out in cash games, I personally won’t be because of some other options tonight. 

My value PG of the night is Ish Smith. He’s really struggled with his shot and he has yet to score over 40 fantasy points this season. But he’s a very safe option. Smith will have the impossible task of slowing down Russell Westbrook but he’s not the greatest defender as he puts all of his work on the offensive end. Elfrid Payton scored 53 DK points last night against Westy. Smith should hover around 30 fantasy points tonight.

 Shooting Guard

Evan Fournier has been a big ball of inconsistency to start the year but I expect that to change sooner rather than later. With Aaron Gordon moving to the bench, Fournier should get some better looks as Jeff Green is more of a passive offensive player. The Magic and Pacers total is not available yet but it should be one of the higher scoring games, Fournier makes for a solid play tonight. 

I hate the matchup but love the situation. Josh Richardson is the new interim point guard for the Heat as Goran Dragic nurses his ankle injury. Richardson scored 27 DK points in 32 minutes last game and his minutes could rise a bit more as he slowly comes back from his knee injury. Richardson is fairly cheap and should hit value with ease despite the matchup with the Spurs. 

He’s averaging eight boards a game currently and is scoring 19 points per game, who is it? Avery Bradley. With Jae Crowder and Al Horford on the shelf, Bradley has been forced to step up on the offensive end and he’s truly been remarkable. His price has climbed up to $7k but he has a very high floor against a terrible Pelicans team. 

C.J. Miles is an interesting case here. He gets a ton of usage off the bench but he’s now a starter. If Paul George remains out, I like him tonight. Otherwise, I may look elsewhere because it’ll be tough to hit value with the amount of high usage guys around him. Keep an eye on the PG-13 injury news.

 Small Forward

One of the best cash games option on a daily basis is Carmelo Anthony. On any given slate, I find it near impossible to fade Melo in cash. If he plays 30 plus minutes, you can almost guarantee 30-35 fantasy points even on an off night. He’s a great cash game option tonight against the Mavs and he should have a big game.

After returning from a finger injury, Gordon Hayward has been scorching. He’s averaging 41.7 fantasy points per game and he’s shown no signs of slowing down. With Derrick Favors and George Hill questionable tonight, he could be in for another huge performance. If the two are out, I’ll load him up everywhere. The Jazz and Memphis game is the ugliest of the night so Hayward is my only player of interest in this game as of right now. 

Houston has been awful against SFs this season and are currently giving up the second-most fantasy points to opposing SFs. Robert Covington is merely a GPP play until his shot starts falling but he’s capable of blowing up if he can get hot. He’s been much better lately and he should get plenty of run in this high-scoring affair. 

Trevor Ariza makes for a solid play as well. I know the Rockets and Sixers game could be a blowout but all of these players are great GPP plays. As for Ariza, he can be considered a cash game option. The Sixers are poor against every position and Ariza should rack up 2-4 steals tonight as well. He’s a safe bet for 25-28 DK points and even more if the game can remain close heading into the fourth quarter.

 Power Forward

Anthony Davis is the clear-cut top PF option of the night. He’s more expensive than Russell Westbrook at $11,300 so he’s a GPP option for tonight. Boston will not be able to guard AD if Horford sits unless they plan on double-teaming in the post. He could explode tonight but it’ll be tough to deploy Davis in cash games.

If you missed on the Kelly Olynyk train the last two games, there’s still one more chance before his price jumps even more. He’s played 28 MPG over the last two contests and will be looking at similar minutes if Horford remains out. If Horford plays, Olynyk loses most of his appeal so keep an eye on that news. 

The revenge game was real last night for Serge Ibaka. He’s been very quiet since joining the Magic and had just one game over 30 fantasy points. Last night, he scored 50. I’m not expecting anywhere near that but he’s still just $5,300 and he could easily hit 30 fantasy points tonight. Throw him in some GPPs but don’t go crazy with exposure here. 

If only Trevor Booker could play 30 minutes every game. He’s been a beast this year but he rarely eclipses 30 minutes because of his age and tendency to get into some foul trouble. Regardless, he has 40 point upside despite the limited minutes. Booker has been a solid play most nights and he should be a fine play against Blake Griffin tonight.

 Centers 

I absolutely hate rostering players against the Spurs because it usually won’t end well. As for Hassan Whiteside, I give him some leeway. In his first game against the Spurs this season, he dropped 58 DK points. I highly doubt that’ll happen again but at least we know he’s capable of doing so. He makes for a very intriguing GPP play.

Joel Embiid still has a minutes restriction but his gaudy 38 percent usage rate basically negates the restriction. He’s still averaging 18 points per game despite only playing 24-25 minutes a night. It’s one of the craziest rookie seasons the basketball world has ever seen and a matchup with the incapable Houston bigs should prove to be a great matchup for Embiid. Capela and Ryan Anderson are fine basketball players but defensively, they stand no chance against Embiid. 

Steven Adams hasn’t been the most consistent big man to date but I like him tonight against Andre Drummond. Drummond is a pretty poor defender so that bodes well for Adams. Also, Adams will need to play some heavy minutes in order to matchup with the Detroit bigs. Adams has a decent chance of getting a double-double tonight. 

Boris Diaw and Derrick Favors are questionable tonight and if both miss tonight, I’ll be targeting Trey Lyles a bit. He always seems to let fantasy owner down but if both PFs end up missing tonight, he’s a solid value play. He’s a PF on fanduel but has C eligibility on DK.