With the Lakers favored by eight points, my biggest concern is that we have a repeat of last night. Yes, James did put up a triple-double with 22 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds, but Los Angeles only required his services for 30 minutes. While part of that was looking ahead to tonight’s game, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Lakers keep an eye on James’ workload once again. At the same time though, I’m still not sure there is a better option for your captain spot. James is averaging 51 DK points per game, and his floor seems to be around 40 points as he has had some issues with turnovers as of late.

Karl-Anthony Towns C MIN ($17,100)

While Towns is averaging 21.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and enters every night with 60 fantasy points upside, there have been too many games as of late where he fails to distinguish himself and ends up around 40 DK points. Aside from James, no else possesses the upside of Towns on tonight’s slate, and I’m going to find a way to fit him into as many lineups as possible (more on that later with some of the more cost-effective options available), but to me he is more of a multi-entry GPP option to get some differentiation from James.

Anthony Edwards SG/SF MIN ($13,400)

Edwards is an interesting option tonight as he is representing the majority of Minnesota’s perimeter scoring capabilities as both Russell and Beasley are out of the lineup. In his last three games, Edwards is averaging 27 points per game as the rookie’s offensive ability has been on full display. That is a good thing as it is where the majority of his fantasy production although I wouldn’t call the 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals he is averaging in his last three games insignificant.

MID-TIER

Dennis Schroder PG/SG LAL ($8,000)

To this point we have stayed formulaic as we continue to work down the salary list. The Lakers took things easy with Schroder last night as he played just 28 minutes after averaging 35 minutes in his previous three games. Aside from his price tonight, what gives me some pause on the Lakers point guard from a GPP perspective is the lack of true upside Schroder brings to the table despite the 28 points he scored a few games ago. Schroder does enough across all the categories that he is a reliable cash game option who is usually good for around 30 fantasy points.

Jaylen Nowell PG/SG MIN ($6,800)

As the first player off the bench for Minnesota, it has become evident over his last three games since the All-Star break that Nowell is worthy of our attention. We can’t expect the 28 points Nowell scored in the first game after the All-Star break, but the upside certainly is nice to see and it’s not like his offense fell off the table as it followed it up by scoring 17 and 14 points. As the Timberwolves are still missing multiple rotation pieces, playing time is not an issue and Nowell is usually good for a few assists and rebounds as well.

Montrezl Harrell C LAL ($7,800)

Harrell continues to take advantage of both the ongoing absence of Davis but also Gasol as well. Minnesota struggles to defend opposing centers and Harrell’s offensive ability has been on full display in last three games with 26, 17, and 27 points respectively while also being active on the boards.

DART THROWS

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope SG LAL ($3,800)

Caldwell-Pope isn’t exactly an exciting option but in a showdown slate, there is some value to what he brings to that table. That is a cheap price, a spot in the starting lineup, some offensive upside and 15-to-20-point floor.

Jarred Vanderbilt PF/C MIN ($5,000)

Vanderbilt’s price has risen a little more than I would like, but it is warranted based on his recent production in the starting lineup. We would have liked to see him play more than the 22 minutes he did in Minnesota’s last game but with nine rebounds in back-to-back games, it does make us less reliant upon his offensive which has proven to be a little more inconsistent.

Juancho Hernangomez PF MIN ($1,800)

Hernangomez is tonight’s option as the cheapest we are willing to go to get salary relief with the forward playing 24 and 23 minutes in his last two games. In the first game of that stretch Hernangomez showed us the high point of his potential as he scored 10 points while grabbing eight rebounds before dropping down to five points and four rebounds the next night. Get us somewhere in between the two performances tonight and all will be good.

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