Point Guard
J.J. Barea (DK $4800, FD $3900, 23.1 USG) – With Deron Williams and Devin Harris being ruled out tonight, Barea should start and see 30+ minutes against the Heat. While the matchup is not optimal, the price is. In the 8 games the Mavs have played without Deron Williams this year, Barea has averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 assists and 2 rebounds (32.13 DKPTS). As mentioned, teams playing the Heat are not something we usually like to target, as they slow the pace down and play some elite defense. For that reason, I wouldn’t call him a must play but I do think he provides solid value at the position. My hope is that Whiteside sits again to make this defense less intimidating. The one name to keep an eye out for is Rajon Rondo. Currently questionable with turf toe, if Rondo sits, Collison is the one that becomes a must play playing in the second highest total on the night with the smallest spread against a Chicago team that struggles to defend PG’s. Only problem is that’s the late game, meaning we may not get word on his status till after lineups lock.
Shooting Guard
Garrett Temple (DK $4700, $4600, 15.3 USG) – If you want some cheap exposure to the highest over/under (225!) on the night, this is one way to go. Temple has averaged over 35 minutes a game over his last 4 (21.85 PKPTS) with Beal seeing his minutes capped. Now be warned, his floor is pretty low. In back to back games against the Raptors and Celtics last week, he only averaged 9.15 DKPTS. His ceiling game immediately followed against Denver, scoring 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists for 35.3 DKPTS. In all reality, besides those two duds, he’s been pretty consistent but just felt the need to warn you in case it happens again. Against Klay’s overrated defense and in this high scoring game, I’d expect a game closer to his ceiling.
On FD, I’d take a look at Jeremy Lin’s SG eligibility at $5000, filling in for an injured Kemba Walker tonight
Small Forward
Harrison Barnes (DK $4700, FD $4300, 17.3 USG) – Underpriced on both DK and FD, Barnes is another way to get some cheap exposure to this game. We’ve targeted wings against the Wizards throughout the year, really no reason to stop now. Wizards give up the most fantasy points in the league to SF’s and Barnes should see around 30 minutes. The thing I love about Barnes is that he plays in blowouts. So many times this year when I’ve rostered Dray or Steph, I’ve yelled at my phone seeing Barnes still playing the 4th quarter whilst the rest of the starters sit. It’s just not fair . . . unless you’ve rostered Barnes.
Power Forward
Amar’e Stoudamire (DK $4600, FD $4200, 19.6 USG) – You know how Russian Roulette works, right? This would be the DFS version. At this point, we keep pulling the trigger on Amar’e and surviving but you know death is looming. We wrote him up yesterday and everything I wrote then, still works for today except one big difference. It’s the second leg of a back-to-back. How comfortable are you going to feel rostering those knees with no rest in between? That’s my only worry here because they’re going to need him if Whiteside is out again. Dallas plays big and you’ll have Zaza down there wreaking havoc in the paint. Heat can’t afford to play as small as they’d prefer to but yeah, those knees.
Center
Kosta Koufos (DK $4000, FD $3600 15.2 USG) – Obviously, this pick hinges on the status of Boogie. If Boogie is ruled out against the Bulls, Koufos becomes a must play for me at his price. There’s soooo many great center options tonight but none would possess the value that Koufos holds if starting. The Kings prefer to play small but going up against Pau and Taj, Kings likely would have to play Koufos more minutes than they’d like to. Starting for Cousins on Monday against MIL, he played 30 minutes and scored 23.8 DKPTS. We know the Bulls are one of the worst teams (7th worst in terms of FP’s to be exact) in the league at defending big men so the matchup and price work perfectly together. Man, this night would be a whole lot easier if Boogie and Rondo decided to sit this one out.
On FD, I think the safer play is Jordan Hill at only $4700 (Mahinmi already ruled out)
Featured Image Credit: By photo taken by flickr user ReneS (flickr) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
