Point Guard
Jason Terry ($3300, 14.3 USG) – Ty Lawson sat out on Monday against the same team the Rockets will be up against tonight (UTA). Filling in for Lawson, Jason Terry played 31 minutes. Today, Lawson was suspended by the NBA (DUI) for three games, meaning Terry should continue seeing minutes backing up an inconsistent Patrick Beverly. Now that’s not to say that Terry will be crushing value for the next 3 games or anything. He only averages 23.93 DKPTS per 36, primarily due to his ability to knock down a couple threes and steals. He won’t do much else, but he’s priced near minimum salary and on smaller slates like tonight, you’re going to have to dig a bit deeper than you’d like to.
Shooting Guard
Marco Belinelli ($4400, 19.6 USG) – If Omri Casspi (back) were to miss tonight’s game against the Lakers, I’ll have nearly 100% exposure to Belinelli. He’s currently questionable but even if he were to suit up, Belinelli is still an option to consider. Marco has been on a roll over this last 4 games. He’s averaged 30.77 DKPTS in 33 minutes over that span. To be honest, all the Sacramento Kings who will be getting minutes against the Lakers are in play. The Lakers rank dead last in DEF EFF and are near the bottom in DvP against every position. The best part is . . . so are the Kings. This is the dreamiest of matchups for DFS purposes. Two fast paced teams who play no defense in the highest expected scoring game of the night. Best way to start getting exposure to this game is from the bottom up. Marco is the cheapest I’m willing to consider on both sides.
UPDATE: Omri Casspi has been ruled out tonight. Fire up Marco!
I’d look at Nik Stauskas as well. He’s priced near min salary and has been re-inserted into the starting lineup
Small Forward
Jerami Grant ($4500, 16.9 USG) – I’m not much of a fan of any of the options at SF under 5K today but I’d take a took at Jerami Grant if you’re in dire need to save at the position. The consistency hasn’t been there but he still presents tons of upside in a matchup that’s not as intimidating as you might think. When the Hawks lost DeMarre Carroll this offseason to TOR, their ability to defend wings vanished as well (18th in DvP against SF). Grant has been playing close to 30 minutes a game over his last 4 thanks to a struggling Bob Covington, which still saddens me. I like Covington as a GPP target tonight because I still believe in his abilities despite his shooting slump but as long as he’s in it, Grant is getting those minutes which makes him the better cash game target. Also, despite ATL being 9.5 favorites on the road, I think Philadelphia keeps this game close throughout so I wouldn’t be too worried about blowout potential.
Power Forward
Carl Landry ($3300, 25.3 USG) – This one is a bit trickier to predict but I’m kinda loving Landry tonight. The forward position in general is lacking any sort of chalky value but if you dig a bit deeper, you get to Carl Landry. Remember that game a couple weeks back against Utah, where he was listed as the starting PF and played only 8 minutes with 0 DKPTS? If you do, try your best to forget it and move on and when I mean move on, skip over the next 2 games as well because of the DNPCD’s. I know I’m presenting a terrible take on why Landry makes sense but in 4 out of the last 5 games he’s gotten any minutes at all, he’s scored 20+ DKPTS (averaging 23.45 in games he hasn’t started). Landry just needs about 20 min to make his mark and that’s that thing, you can’t predict if he’s gonna get that time based on what I’ve mentioned. But he’s played them over the last 2 so maybe he’s out of the doghouse and if he is . . . look at that USG%. For only $3300, at least think about it.
Center
Kelly Olynyk ($5000, 20.9 USG) – I’ve made an exception. The only reason I settled on Olynyk here is because there’s now way in hell you could get me to roster any center priced below him. There’s just no reason to. The options are gross and you have guys like Kelly and Withey, who priced cheap enough to take advantage of. I’ll be on Withey personally but Olynyk is a fine pivot. He’s back starting for the Celtics and going against a Bulls team ranked 23rd in DvP. He’s played 34 and 29 min ever since starting and averages an attractive 35.63 DKPTS per 36. Sully has just been awful recently, you’d have to assume it has something to do with his back injury that kept him out a couple days. There’s really no reason Brad Stevens should be tempted to start him again in the near future considering how terrible he’s been so as long as Oly is starting and priced this low, it’s something to consider. But yeah, I’m rolling with Withey until I die . . . or until Gobert and Favors come back.
Featured Image Credit: By Chris Green (Chrisg21090 at en.wikipedia) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
