Point Guard
Norris Cole (DK $5000, FD $5100, 21.6 USG), Toney Douglas (DK $3200, FD $3500, 17.5 USG)
This is the contest that offers the most fantasy goodness on the night. Â As of now, I have 4Â or 5 guys from this game in a majority of my lineups. Â The story to monitor closely is the availability of Norris Cole. Â He’s currently listed as a game-time decision. Â So here’s how to go about it: Â If he’s playing, he provides great value for this depleted Pelicans backcourt at only 5K against a Kings team that gives up the 3rd most fantasy points to opposing PG’s. Â If he’s out, just lock and load Toney Douglas for nearly the bare minimum, as he should draw the start. Â This game owns the the highest over/under on the night at 220 so as many pieces you can fit in, the better.
Shooting Guard
J.J. Redick (DK $4900, FD $4700, 22.3 USG)
This is simply a play based on salary relief. I don’t like any of the SG options under the 5K range tonight to be honest. Â I’d much rather spend up just a bit more for someone like Fournier in a much better position. Â The thing with Redick though is that his price has just really come down across the industry. Â He was just in the mid 5K range a couple weeks ago but a few so so performances in great matchups has soured people from rostering him lately, hence the price drop. Â He’s still playing minutes in the 30’s, continues to shoot a decent amount of shots and is playing in a game with a 210 over/under. Â The thing to watch closely though is the other side of the ball. Â Dallas is playing their second end of a back to back after a tough overtime loss to Denver. Â We’ve seen Rick Carlisle rest veterans in this spot before so Redick might be seeing Raymond Felton defense for all we know. Â Speaking of Felton defense, if he’s starting for a rested player tonight, he’d be someone to consider as well.
Small Forward
Jeff Green (DK $4700, FD $5100, 19.0 USG)
With Mbah a Moute out again tonight, Jeff Green should continue to draw the start and is still priced as a bench player. Â Green has had 3 starts with the Clippers this season. Â He scored 30.3 DKPTS against ATL, 31.3 DKPTS against SAC and only 5 DKPTS against OKC. Â The game he had against the Thunder was just brutal. Â He was 0-7 from the field and only had 2 rebounds, 2 assists. Â Wesley Johnson was the far superior player on the night so Doc Rivers rode the hot hand. Â Personally, I’d throw that game out the window and focus on the other 2 starts to get a better idea of what to expect. Â I don’t particularly like the matchup (Dallas is 10th in DvP) but this is a play based on price and opportunity and again, if Dallas rest some guys, this matchup might actually be one to exploit.
Power Forward
JaMychal Green (DK $3700, FD $3700, 18.1 USG)
I really don’t think Coach Joerger likes Green much. Â He’s had every opportunity to start him over the last month but still finds ways to keep him on the bench. Â Having said that, he’s running out of options because now the Grizzlies will likely be without Chris Anderson (shoulder). Â They’ll likely place newly signed Ryan Hollins as the starting center against the Cavs tonight but he’s barely playing. Â Green has seen 20 plus minutes in 3 straight now and 24 in their last game against the Suns. Â Indeed, the Suns are not the same matchup as the Cavs, but CLE plays big a lot. Â Green should see his fair share of minutes regardless and let’s be honest, this game should get ugly eventually giving Green some garbage time minutes to clean up. Â At his price, he won’t be able to kill you as much as when he was near $4500.
Center
Omer Asik (DK $3000, FD $3500, 10.6 USG)
Now that Omer Asik is back for NO and Ajinca is out indefinitely, Asik makes for a very fine punt at the minimum across the board. Â The Pelicans won’t have the luxury of playing Brow and Anderson together for long when Boogie is on the other side of the court. Â They’ll need Asik to play as long as possible, whether he gets into foul trouble or not and for his price, you could do a lot worse. Â To back that up, Asik has averaged 27.25 DKPTS in 2 games against this Kings this season and about 28 minutes (which is a lot for him). Â There’s actually a chance we might see 30 min of Asik tonight against a Kings team that gives up that 12th most fantasy points to centers. Â He’s burned me a couple times this season but even that won’t stop me from considering him in this spot.
Featured Image Credit: By Chris Green (Chrisg21090 at en.wikipedia) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons