Point Guard
Jose Calderon ($4200, 12.2 USG) – Calderon comes into this 4 game slate as the best and maybe safest point guard value under 5K. The Knicks have played the Hawks twice over the last 5 games so we have ourselves a nice reference point as to what to expect from the 10 year veteran. In the two games before, he’s averaged 26.4 DKPTS in 25 minutes. If you throw out the dud against the Celtics on December 27th, he’s had a quality run over the last two weeks averaging 26.92 DKPTS in 5 out of his last 6 so it’s a nice time to take advantage of the depressed price tag considering the little value that comes along with shorter slates like these.
Worth noting: Rajon Rondo is out tonight, Darren Collison becomes close to a must play for only $5300.
Shooting Guard
Marco Belinelli ($3900, 19.7 USG) – As of now, the Kings have listed Rajon Rondo as out & Ben McLemore/Omri Casspi as questionable for tonight’s game against the Mavericks. Lots of playing time could open up for Belinelli if 2 or even 1 of the aforementioned players were to sit. Marco has been playing really well over his last 3 games averaging about 28.6 DKPTS in 30 min. You’re going to want some exposure to this game being the highest over/under (214) and reasonable spread (Dallas -5.5). He played 34 minutes last night due to the injuries the Kings are dealing with so I actually feel kind of safe tossing him into my rosters for under 4K.
Small Forward
Thabo Sefolosha ($4000, 13.0 USG) – I never feel comfortable rostering Thabo to be honest with you. This recommendation is a reflection of the watered down value at SF. When it comes to roster construction tonight, I’ll likely be looking to the middle tier with options like Bazemore, Chandler or even a higher priced Antetokounmpo. Sefolosha does have the ability to put up a nice line here and there. He just dropped 30 DKPTS on the Pacers last week but most of the time, you know what you’re getting yourself into. He’s likely to play about 24 minutes or so and put up around 18 DKPTS. But once again, to be clear . . . you’re much better off paying a couple thousand more for more enticing options.
Power Forward
Bobby Portis ($4500, 25.8 USG) – You may not know this about me but I’m usually a bit biased when it comes to the Bulls. I’ve never been more of a fan of anything in my entire life. The Chicago Bulls have a hold of my heart much like heroin to a drug addict. I’ve done my best to withhold this biased approach when writing this column and especially when constructing my daily lineups (you’d be a fool to let your love of a team impact your decisions in daily fantasy). So now I’ve written up Portis twice in one week. Hey, it’s a 4 game slate, cut me some slack. ‘Crazy Eyes’ continues to put up ridiculous numbers despite barely playing this season. I constantly stare at his PER 36 stats (39.80 DKPTS) and imagine the possibilities if the Bulls were to trade some of their front court depth to force more playing time for him. Well for now and tonight, Noah is still injured meaning there’s time for Portis to shine once again against a Bucks team that’s putrid against opposing power forwards (4th worst). I’ll be rostering him across the board praying for a blowout because if this dude gets garbage time against MIL, a 50 burger is within reach.
Ok, maybe I am being bit biased after re-reading that last sentence.
Also worth mentioning: Larry Nance Jr.has been producing as of late while Julius Randle continues to fall out of favor with Byron Scott.
Center
Robin Lopez ($4600, 16.3 USG) – As mentioned above regarding Calderon, we have ourselves some reference points when looking at this Hawks/Knicks game. One that stands out is the performance of RoLo. The game on Dec 26 was meh as he was only able to score 19 DKPTS in 20 minutes but Sunday was a different story. Dude racked up a monster double double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. You can’t ignore that kind of production just 2 days ago against the same team (also one of the reasons I’m considering Afflalo). Lopez has been a bit more consistent as of late compared to where he was earlier this season. An off day for him nowadays seems to be around 19 DKPTS which is a pretty nice floor considering his price tag.
Make sure to check the latest NBA odds on XN
Featured Image Credit: By photo taken by flickr user ReneS (flickr) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
