Point Guard
Zach LaVine ($3900, 27.00 USG) – LaVine is only in play if Rubio (hamstring) sits again. It’s a situation worth monitoring because LaVine always starts and excels in Rubio’s place when given the opportunity.  LaVine had an off night on Thursday (13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assists) against the Warriors and still managed to reach value.  On Tuesday night against the Hornets, LaVine scored 38.8 DK points (20 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists) in the start, so you can see the upside here.  The Wolves have a low team total of 94.8 so most of their higher priced guys are risky options but on a night where Russell Westbrook is the chalk at $11,600, you just have to love players this cheap that have a chance to go off.
Honorable Mentions: Cory Joseph, Shabazz Napier
Shooting GuardÂ
Marco Belinelli ($4200, 18.8 USG) –Â Maybe my favorite value play of the day. Â Whenever one gets burned by a player, it’s so hard to trust him again . . yet alone the next game. Â Belinelli was popular cash saver on Wednesday night against the Pistons. Â He was coming off of back to back stellar games (30.3, 25.8 DK points) getting a huge boost in minutes (33.5) due to injuries to Darren Collison and Seth Curry (both likely out again). Â The following night, he put up a dud scoring only 9 points and not a single assist, rebound, steal or block in 28 minutes. Â Well tonight, he’s going up against a Nets team who are ranked 29th in the NBA against opposing shooting guards allowing 38.6 fantasy points per game. Â The Kings themselves have a healthy team total of 106.3 so you know the points are there to be had. Â Everyone will be off him making this a great GPP pick but also a fine cash play.
Honorable Mentions: Nik Stauskas, C.J. Miles
Small Forward
James Johnson ($3700, 11.6 USG) – Just slot him in and move on. Â Never a sexy pick but always a reliable one. Â As mentioned above, you’re gonna need so find a few of these low priced guys to play when rostering Westbrook and a couple other studs of your liking. Â I’d be completely shocked if DeMarre Carroll plays (plantar fasciitis). Â Terrance Ross (thumb/wrist) will likely be out another 2 weeks meaning James Johnson will continue get big minutes. Â I’ve mentioned him nearly every game since the Carroll news broke and there’s really no reason to stop when still being priced under $4000. Â A lock in all my cash games.
Honorable Mentions: Â Omri Casspi, Bojan Bogdanovic (if starting)
Power ForwardÂ
Ed Davis ($4100, 11.9 USG) – Ed Davis is listed as the starting PF with Myers Leonard (shoulder) already being ruled out for tonight’s contest against the Grizzlies. Â As encouraging as that looks on paper, Terry Slotts has already hinted he might use a committee approach to replace Leonard’s minutes. Â I could easily see a scenario where Al-Farouq Aminu is used as a stretch 4 at times but you still can’t deny the extra minutes to be had for everyone and most notably, the listed starter (going up against his former team). Â Averaging .90 fantasy points per minute, he’s a solid bet to reach and even exceed value.
Honorable Mentions: Channing Frye (starting), J.J. Hickson
Center
Roy Hibbert ($4800, 13.9 USG) – I’m not a fan of going this cheap at the center position tonight. Â I’d recommend trying to fit in guys who are a tad more expensive like Kanter, Pachulia or even M. Gasol (only $6700!). Â Hibbert gets the nod here mainly because of opponent and recent production. Â Having scored 31 and 39 DK points in 2 out of his last 3 games, he draws a matchup against a Dallas team that gives up an average of 42.19 fantasy points per game to opposing centers. Â It doesn’t hurt as well that this game has the second highest over/under on the night at 211.
Honorable Mentions: Ian Mahinmi, Steven AdamsÂ
Featured Image Credit: By photo taken by flickr user ReneS (flickr) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
