Point Guard
Jeremy Lin (DK $4100, FD $4200, 22.3 USG)
How Lin was only 20% owned in cash last night is beyond me. He was listed as the starter well before the Hornets game started and delivered just as you’d expect. He scored 39 DKPTS in 40 minutes playing in a tough matchup against the Raptors (21 points, 7 assists, 4-6 3P). When Lin starts and is priced under 5K, you play him. It’s that simple. He’s averaging just over 27 DKPTS in 12 starts on the season and with Batum likely out again tonight, he’s going to continue to play major minutes. The matchup against the Knicks isn’t as enticing as it may seem on the surface with how bad they’ve been lately, as they’ve been bottom 10 in fantasy points allowed to SG’s on the season and over the last 3 weeks. What I like about this matchup though is that the Knicks have been playing small as of late and been starting Vujacic rather than Afflalo. It shows with them allowing the most rebounds to opposing SG’s over the last 3 weeks and Lin is a guy that can rack up fantasy points with his peripherals, not just scoring (he averages over 4 rebounds and 4 assists per 36 min). Also worth noting, I’m definitely still considering Tim Frazier even in the worst possible matchup against Boston. He’s still cheap across the industry and been playing out of his mind over the last week.
Shooting Guard
Bojan Bogdanovic (DK $4500, FD $4500, 19.0 USG)
Wings against the Wizards = $$. It’s been a formula for success all season and with Thad Young and Brook Lopez being shut down for the season, everyone in this offense gets a bump. Bojan returns to the starting lineup at SF tonight after being rested and no better time to jump on this play than now against WAS, who are allowing teams to shoot 37% from three this season (5th worst in the league). It was just 3 weeks ago when Bogdanovic had that 6 game stretch, where he averaged 34 DKPTS per game and was then priced in the upper 5K range. The Nets have nothing to play for and are determined to see how their young guys play for the remainder of the season and as bad as this team is, I honestly don’t think the Wizards are much better (even if they’re 14 point favorites). I can definitely see this Nets team keeping this one close for a majority of the game and someone on this team has to score. Bojan has attempted double-digit FGA’s in 7 out of his last 9 games and if his three point shot is falling like I’d expect it to, he should have no problems exceeding value. I will say though that if there’s one superstar you’ll want to play tonight, it should be Harden so I don’t know if I’m going to go this route.
Small Forward
Luke Babbitt (DK $4700, FD $5000, USG 17.0)
The Pelicans really screwed a lot of us over last night when they had announced that James Ennis would be starting over Babbitt and Hamilton. I had to make some late scrambles and once lock time came, they corrected their initial starting lineup and placed Babbitt in there all along. At this point, we just have to hope that their starters are listed well before tipoff because I’m scared to death of this team currently, as they’re changing their starters literally game by game. If starting again, just plug him in and move on. This dude’s USG% is at 28.2% over his last 3 games, while averaging just over 33 minutes. The one thing we do know about BOS is that the way to attack them is at the 3,4 and 5 positions (they’ve allowed the 6th most fantasy points to SF’s over their last 3 weeks, right behind PHI). It’s going to be an uptempo game for the Pelicans, as BOS plays at the 3rd fastest pace in the league so as long as he continues to see 30+ min, expect more of what we’ve seen over the last week.
Power Forward
Thomas Robinson (DK $4700, FD $6000, 19.2 USG)
There’s not much more I can tell ya about T-Rob. I’ve written about him every time the Nets have played over the last 4 games. From this point on, he’ll be starting at PF for the remainder of the season and I’m going to continue playing this dude until he’s priced over 7K. It’s pretty easy for me cause I’ve been in love with Robinson since he came out of college in 2012. He’s averaging 37.92 DKPTS per 36 minutes and is pretty much matchup proof so if you’re scared of that “red 8” by his name, be my guest and fade him at your own risk. Oh and if you are fading him, please send me some head to head invites.
Center
Enes Kanter (DK $4900, FD $5300, 23.5 USG)
Vegas has OKC listed as underdogs tonight, which likely means either Westbrook or Durant sit this one out (maybe even both). If that’s the case, I’m definitely going to be interested in Kanter because the Thunder don’t have much offense besides those two and if Kanter is called on to replace some of that production, he should deliver in a big way. Much like wings against the Wizards, big men against the Blazers also = $$. These teams met 3 weeks ago and Kanter scored 26 real life points in only 22 minutes (38.85 DKPTS). With Durant off the court, Kanter’s USG% jumps all the way up to 33.2 compared Westbrooks’ insane 40.4. With both Westbrook and Durant off the court, it jumps up to 37.5. So yeah, you see where I’m going with this. If the unexpected happens and everyone plays, he still makes for a decent play but I’d likely pivot to someone like Ajinca again against the BOS frontcourt.
Featured Image Credit: By photo taken by flickr user ReneS (flickr) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
