Point Guard
Jose Calderon (DK $4100, FD $4400, 12.6 USG)
Never the sexiest play but with PG being so meh tonight, Calderon is definitely someone to consider, given the matchup against the Mavs. Over the last 3 weeks, the Mavs have given up the 3rd most fantasy points to opposing PG’s. Usually, that kinda stuff doesn’t really matter when rostering Calderon, with how mediocre he is as a player but his play as of late has to make you think otherwise. He’s now scored at least 31 DKPTS in 3 out of his last 4 games. In the one previous matchup against this Mavs team earlier this year, he played 35 minutes and scored 33.3 DKPTS, with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. He’s going to be defended by the likes of Raymond Felton, J.J. Barea and Devin Harris. Granted, he’s not going to be as involved in the offense as much as we’d like but he’s getting his fantasy points off rebounds, assists and threes. And with Porzingis likely out tonight, there maybe a few extra shots to go around in this offense.
Shooting Guard
Raymond Felton (DK $4600, FD $5000, 17.7 USG)
With Deron Williams being ruled out already, guys like Barea, Harris and Felton are all automatically in play. While I have no problems with either Barea or Harris at PG, you’re able to roster Felton at SG (while actually playing PG) on DK. On FD, he’s listed at PG so you can scroll through some other options there but for me personally, I mainly play on DK. I always love targeting guys listed as SG’s whenever they’re playing PG in the offense. You have opportunities for more peripherals (mainly assists) and are more involved in the offense as a whole. Over the last 3 games without Williams, Felton is averaging 35 minutes and 30.2 DKPTS. He’s averaging 5 assists, 4.6 rebounds to go along with 14.3 points, so he’s producing for us in multiple kinds of ways. NY against PG’s is a very friendly matchup, as they’ve given up the 10th most fantasy points to PG’s over the last 3 weeks (3rd most steals and 5th most three pointers made).
Small Forward
Justin Anderson (DK $3000, FD $3700, 17.7 USG)
Yes, another guy from this game and he’s not the last one (see below). This is what happens when a team loses 2 of their most productive players on offense (Parsons and Williams). There’s more USG to go around and value pops up everywhere. He’s now been inserted into the starting lineup, allowing Barea to continue coming off the bench. Still priced at the bare min on DK and near the bottom on FD, he’s seeing close to 25 minutes, averaging 21.86 DKPTS over his last 3 games. Yeah, the upside is lacking here and the matchup isn’t great (NY allowing 3rd fewest DKPTS to SF’s over their last 3 weeks) but if you’re getting over 20 fantasy points from someone that cheap, it’s a win regardless and allows you to spend up at other positions. I still don’t know if I’m going this route with so much value elsewhere but he’s someone that’s on my radar in case of a fill in needed. Onto the last guy from this game . . .
Power Forward
Dwight Powell (DK $3400, FD $4100 18.4 USG)
The Mavs have been trying all sorts of new things with their big man rotation, which brings us to Powell. The Mavs were losing crucial games on this 4 game trip that they needed to win badly. Zaza is clearly an afterthought at this point and Salah looks to be benched for good, as Powell looked great in his first start at Center on Monday. He played 30 minutes and scored a career high 16 points to go along with 7 rebounds for 30.8 DKPTS. And it’s not just the stats that stood out. It was when they needed him most. In the 4th quarter, he was 5-5 from the field and showed Coach Carlisle that he can be trusted in critical parts of the game. With PF being a really weird position tonight, it looks to be a slate where I pair Boogie with Powell in all formats.
This quote for Carlisle sums up why I love Anderson and Powell so much . . .
“Well, if you’re having an energy problem and you’re having a problem defending, then you need to get more energetic and better defenders in the game,” Carlisle said of the decision to start Anderson and Powell following the victory. “You’ve got to make the point, and I felt right now we’ve got to make the point that anything other than your best effort and your best energy is unacceptable. These two guys are going to go hard unconditionally, and they delivered tonight. … You know, you’re going to see some of these guys going forward. There’s no question about it.”
Center
Alexis Ajinca (DK $3500, FD $3900, 18.8 USG)
There’s not as much value at Center tonight as their has been in recent days but Ajinca is worth a look, even in a terrible matchup against SA. With Jrue Holiday being ruled out for the season, this team has no one left to create offense for them. Ajinca has made the most of his opportunity, as he’s averaging a hefty 28.5 USG% ever since being named a starter 3 games ago. We never love targeting players against the Spurs defense but sometimes you have to overlook the matchup when someone is priced this cheaply and taking on a huge part of the offense. I think he makes for an excellent GPP play considering not many people will be on him with KAT, Jordan and Whiteside being in great spots. Even if the Pelicans get blown out (and they will), he should continue to play some garbage minutes because they have nobody else to throw out there besides Perkins and Asik.
Featured Image Credit: By Chris Green (Chrisg21090 at en.wikipedia) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
