Point Guard
J.J. Barea (DK $3600, FD $3700, 22.8 USG)
With Chandler Parsons out for the season, the Mavs are going to be forced into playing a lot of 3 guard lineups moving forward, especially tonight. The Blazers will gladly matchup with them in that regard. Having said that, Barea should see close to 25 minutes of playing time, whether it’s playing alongside Felton and Williams, or relieving them. When Barea gets minutes, he produces. In the 14 games this season he’s played at least 25 minutes, he’s averaging 29.02 DKPTS. With an over/under of 215, there’s going to be lots of points to go around in this one. Barea’s averaging .92 FPPM (DK) with Parsons off the floor. He’s going to fly under the radar with such a huge slate, and with so much value opening up as I type this, I love him for GPP’s.
Shooting Guard
Tim Hardaway Jr. (DK $4000, FD $4100, 15.3 USG)
You don’t have to spend down at SG tonight but I’ll bring up Hardaway for the second time this week just because. That’s 3 straight quality games in a row now for him and no one will roster him because it’s hard to trust those minutes. Well, with Dennis Schroder questionable tonight, you might trust them a little more. Even with everyone healthy, he still played 26 minutes in their last game against this same Washington team. His shooting is keeping him on the floor, as he’s averaging 67.13% from 3 over his last three games (11-16). But yeah, I don’t blame you for not going this route tonight as there are some amazing middle tier plays at the position tonight, with the likes of Lou Williams, Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine all in great spots and reasonably priced.
Small Forward
Stanley Johnson (DK $3800, FD $3900, 19.6 USG)
With KCP already being ruled out for tonight’s game against ORL, it should return Stanley Johnson to the starting lineup. With how Van Gundy is treating his rotations lately, it should mean he sees somewhere north of 30 minutes and given his price tag, that makes him an elite value play on the night. Johnson has performed well in the starting lineup, averaging 27.68 DKPTS in 5 starts this season, highlighted by a 46.3 DKPT performance against the Knicks back on Feb 4. He’s attempted double-digit field goal attempts in 4 of the 5 starts and gets you peripherals (6.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1 steal in those games).
Power Forward
Jon Leuer (DK $3600, FD $4000, 19.9 USG)
Tyson Chandler will be out tonight with back spasms and whether Leuer starts for him (I think it’s likely) or not, Leuer is one of the main beneficiaries of Chandlers absence. He averages 1.11 DKPTS per minute without Chandler on the floor, which ranks ahead of guys like Len and Booker. If starting, he’s one of my favorite values of the night considering the matchup against the Lakers, who give up the 5th most fantasy points in the league to opposing PF’s. There is some risk involved though because there have been a few games this season he’s started in matchups just as great and severely underperformed. As a matter of fact, he’s started 2 games this year against this same Lakers team. He averaged close to 17 minutes and 8.9 DKPTS, but the Suns were a lot healthier in those games, as his usage percentage was below his average
Center
Salah Mejri (DK $3400, FD $4500, 14.5 USG)
Man, that price really jumped up on FD quick. On DK though, Salah is still near the bottom and was just announced as the starter over Zaza. He might be my favorite value play of the night. These two teams just met on Sunday and Mejri played a total of 33 minutes, while recording a ridiculous 46.5 DKPTS on 13 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks. That line doesn’t surprise me as he averages 1.14 DKPTS per minute and considering the matchup against POR is right up there near the top (26th in DvP, 3rd most fantasy points to opposing centers). If he gets minutes like that again, he’s going to be in line for another huge night.
Featured Image Credit: By Chris Green (Chrisg21090 at en.wikipedia) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
