Point Guard
Patrick Beverley (DK $5000, FD $4600, 15.6 USG) – While this slate looks much better than last night as a whole, PG is still a a struggle to find value. You could try out the Raul Neto thing again since the matchup against NO is perfect but after last night, he’ll be very hard to trust (only 19 minutes, 13 DKPTS). The strategy here is likely going to be spending up a bit at the position. Lots of the middle tier guys are in amazing spots as well a couple of studs. Beverley is probably as cheap as I’d go. The thing with Beverley though is that these teams just played on Saturday and he had a horrendous game (4 points, 1 rebound and a block in 28 minutes). I really don’t know how you can play 28 minutes and only score 6.3 DKPTS. A lot of people will be off him because they’ll see that production but he’s still going to get minutes. We’ve mentioned before how he tends to get a bit more playing time when going up against elite point guards. He’s going to see close to 30 minutes of action against a POR team that ranks 18th in DvP. This over/under is also very attractive at 216.5 so Bev gives you a cheap way to get some exposure to it. He’s an interesting tournament play but for cash, I’d spend up a bit more.
Shooting Guard
Marco Belinelli (DK $4500, FD $3900, 19.6 USG) – How in the world is E’Twaun Moore priced $5600 on DK? The pricing on DK this year has really bummed me out. They’re taking away the joy of riding out some value plays with these overnight hikes in pricing. So when you see a guy like Belinelli still reasonably priced and going up against the Sixers, it sticks out. On FD, it’s not even a question that Marco is a fine play priced near the minimum but even on DK, he’s a great source of salary relief compared to the guys priced right above him. With Ben McLemore doubtful, Belinelli should continue to start and see 30+ minutes in a very fantasy friendly game between 2 of the worst defenses in the league. With the exception of the Kings last game against the Cavs, Marco had been averaging 26.58 DKPTS over his previous 4 games in 36.13 minutes. In a game with a 216.5 over/under and only a 4 point spread, Marco is an elite value play across the board.
Small Forward
Shabazz Muhammad (DK $4000, FD $3900, 21.8 USG) – Whenever I get news this early, it brightens up my whole day. I got an alert about an hour ago that Tayshaun Prince would be sitting out tonight’s game against TOR for personal reasons. The first name that popped into my head was Shabazz. Having written that, there’s still a very good chance they just move LaVine into the starting lineup rather than Muhammad but either way, he’s definitely in play without Prince taking up his usual 21 minutes a game. If starting, he’ll be a lock into all my cash games. I can’t stress enough what this news does for my lineups. As I started playing around with rosters last night, Paul Pierce (homecoming narrative) was the guy that I had penciled in at SF, with very little confidence. With Shabazz, usually it’s the minutes that are the main concern because he usually produces when given the time. Toronto is actually decent against SF’s (5th in DvP) but in this case, considering how cheap Muhammad is, playing time trumps the matchup.
Power Forward
Anthony Tolliver (DK $3200, FD $3600, 11.6 USG) – Ersan Ilyasova is doubtful tonight with an illness meaning Tolliver should draw the start in his place against the Denver Nuggets. Now a lot of people are going to remember the last game Tolliver started this year and not even consider rostering him (Against TOR in 35 minutes, only 7.5 DKPTS) again. I think that’s a mistake today. He’s pretty much the minimum across the board and in a very favorable spot against the Nuggets, who give up the second most fantasy points to PF’s. If last year has shown us anything, it’s that Tolliver can in fact be productive when given the starting gig. He averaged over 20 DKPTS in 11 starts at the end of last season. Point being, I’ve seen him do it before to trust him doing it again, especially in favorable conditions. In those 11 starts, he had games of 27.25, 29.50 and 28 DKPTS. If I could get even 23 fantasy points from a guy priced this low, I’d be happy with it.
Center
Willie Cauley-Stein (DK $4800, FD $4400, 12.2 USG) – I really want to believe in WCS tonight. These are the kind of games he should excel in. Lots of rebounding (against the team that gives up the 5th most defensive rebounds) and block opportunities (against the team that gives up the most blocks). As a whole, it’s just an ideal situation for him as Philly is 30th in the league in DvP. You just hope he can see closer to 30 minutes as opposed to the games where he sees minutes in the teens. He’s averaged 27.33 min over his last 3 games so if you could promise me somewhere near there against this PHI team and priced under 5 K, I’m interested. It’s not the kind of night to spend down on center to be honest but WCS is someone to consider if the rest of your lineup forces you to look cheap. On FD, WCS is PF eligible so you’re options are even more limited and over there, the pickings are slim. If forced to choose, maybe I’d take a flier on Ian Mahinmi if I found out he was playing with no minutes limit or Tyson Chandler in an uptempo game against the Warriors.
Featured Image Credit: By Amin Eshaiker (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons
