Point Guard
J.J. Barea ($3400, 23.8 USG) – Man, I really was hoping Jrue Holiday was priced under 5K again but just barely missed the threshold. Heads up, I’m gonna be stacking the living hell outta that Suns/Pelicans game.
Quite honestly, not many choices stand out here at all. All the attractive cheaper guys are all priced above 5K (LaVine, MCW, Payton), Jameer Nelson isn’t nearly as enticing at $4900 and the Sixers PG situation is still a mess we’re trying to sort out. With Devin Harris and Chandler Parsons both being doubtful for tonight’s game against Memphis, J.J. Barea looks to be in line for some solid minutes off the bench. In the 4 games Barea has logged 20 min or more this season, he’s averaged 23.65 DK points. I could see a similar work load against a Grizzlies team that gives up the 10th most fantasy points to point guards and 21st overall in defensive efficiency.
Shooting Guard
Rodney Stuckey ($4500, 20.8 USG) – Remember a couple weeks back when everyone and their mothers were about Rodney Stuckey? He was coming off a 3 game stretch where he was averaging 32 minutes and 32.8 DK points. Then 3 duds later, everyone was completely off him. Those 3 duds just so happened to be against GS, MIA and DET . . . 3 of the top 9 defenses in basketball. Stuckey is kind of a bum slayer, shows up against the bad teams and disappears against the the good. Well today, he gets the bad again. The Nets are a bottom 10 defense and worst in the league against shooting guards. This would also make Monta Ellis a great play too, but he’s questionable tonight with a sore right knee making Stuckey even more appealing than he already is. If Ellis were to sit, Stuckey would be amongst the best values of the night.
Small Forward
Luol Deng ($4600, 16.1 USG) – Don’t worry about Lu, he’s used to playing this much from his days back in Chicago. Since returning from injury, Deng has now logged back to back to back 36 minute games. And since we always preach minutes, we gotta preach Deng. It also makes his projections a bit easier to project because if he’s gonna play 36 minutes, all we gotta do is look as his PER 36 and you’ll have a decent idea of what kind of production to expect: 12 points (1-3 3PM), 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal (25 DKPT). The Raptors, having played an overtime game yesterday should have heavier legs and Deng will be matched up against Terrance Ross . . . not the scariest defender. Both of these teams play at a slower pace and the over/under reflects that (187.5) so I wouldn’t want too much exposure to this game at all but on a night where we’re struggling for decent value plays, Deng makes for a fine one.
Power Forward
John Henson ($4200, 20.3 USG) – We wrote him up a couple days ago and we’ll do it again today. In that game against the Clippers, Jason Kidd did the unexpected (but yet, also expected) and pulled Henson from the starting lineup, replacing him with Plumlee. That didn’t stop Henson from producing in only 21 minutes. He nearly double-doubled and had 3 blocks. Oh, we knew the blocks would be there. In what should be the funnest game of the night to watch, Henson should continue to flourish in the absence of Greg Monroe (knee). This game won’t be fun because of it’s competitiveness. We’re all gonna be watching this to see how much Golden State wins by after suffering their only loss of the season to this Bucks team last Saturday. The Warriors weren’t happy with how the Bucks handled that victory and will look to make quite the statement tonight (Warriors are 19 point favorites). This one could get out of hand quickly but the pace and matchup of this game favors Henson’s style so if he gets anywhere near 25 min, look for him to fill up the stat sheet.
Center
Ian Mahinmi ($4800, 14.6 USG) – Mahinmi has been disappointing as of late, a lot of that due to playing time (22 minutes or less in 3 straight). If you dig a bit deeper, you’ll notice that they were likely matchup based decisions against smaller lineups like Toronto and Dallas. Tonight should work into Mahinmi’s advantage. Going up against a front line of Lopez and Young, they’ll need him to play a bit more and we love targeting centers against Brooklyn. Big reason has to do with Lopez’ inability to grab rebounds and a soft interior defense. The Nets give up the 4th most fantasy points to opposing centers and are dead last in DvP over the last 7 games. It’s a great chance for a bounce back game and likely low ownership should make him a fine GPP play.
Featured Image Credit: By Chris Green (Chrisg21090 at en.wikipedia) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
