Point Guard
Ish Smith ($4700, 22.66 USG) – Jrue Holiday doesn’t play both games in back to back sets so it’ll be interesting to see if the Pelicans will be sitting him tonight or tomorrow against the Hawks. If he’s out tonight, Ish becomes a must start. Just 3 days ago versus this same New Orleans team, Smith scored 31.8 DK points in 33 minutes. With an attractive over/under of 211 and close game line (1.5), this is a game that could develop some solid fantasy numbers across the board.
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Shooting Guard
Wesley Matthews ($4100, 16.39 USG) – The SG position is so ugly tonight, I’m gonna be going with a gut call here. Matthews had his best game of the season against New Orleans this past Saturday and that’s not saying much. It only amounted to 19.5 DK points, but news broke yesterday that his minutes restriction has been upgraded to about 30 min per night which should be his final hurdle in overcoming the torn left Achilles he suffered last March. If his continued trend of playing time goes up, so will his confidence. He’s cheap enough to take a flier on.
Small Forward
James Johnson ($3100, 11.62 USG) – Let me start with this: please try to get Kevin Durant into all your lineups. He’s the star worth paying up for tonight. If you don’t wish to and would rather spend that money somewhere else, go to the bottom of the barrel. With DeMarre Carroll sidelined (plantar fasciitis) Sunday, Johnson had 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in a start against the Heat (19.8 DK points). I doubt Carroll plays tonight, making Johnson a viable punt play. Hell, you can slot KD in at SF and then James in at the forward spot. Whatever it’s gonna take to fit in KD, do it.
Power Forward
Dwight Powell ($4700, 22.00 USG) – This is my third time referring to the Mavericks/Pelicans game this past Saturday, but it can’t be overstated enough that you want to have reference points when playing DFS. You want to have some credential to your picks. He scored a career high 15 points to go along with 7 rebounds, an assist and a block (27.3 DK points). He has yet to play more than 26 minutes in a game this year but doesn’t need to. Powell has had at least 7 rebounds in 5 of the 6 games the Mavs have played this season. He’s the spark plug that comes off their bench and has become a huge part of the Mavs rotation.
Center
Robin Lopez ($4800, 19.90 USG) – Another position I’d like to pay up for tonight, so if you can avoid going this cheap, do it. There’s no one I like or trust under $5000 here. Honestly, I’d pay an extra $600 to get a guy like Zaza but if you’re really primed to save, I’d take Lopez. His matchup isn’t ideal (Valanciunas) but he just logged 31 min against the Lakers and had a hell of a night (14 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and a block). It’s a gamble but if he can get you 30 min (3 out of 7 games), he’ll provide you with a high floor/low ceiling.
Worth noting: I did’t list any players from the WAS/OKC game but it has a total of 218 points which is by far, the largest of the night. I’d use whatever value you feel most comfortable with to pay up for the the studs in this contest.
Featured Image Credit: By photo taken by flickr user ReneS (flickr) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
