Daily Fantasy Sports
Sharp App
Season Long Fantasy
Free Month
Wall of Champions
Discord

Mr. Bears NBA Slate breakdown for 1-22-2018

Hello my NBA DFS cubs! Here is today’s write up for 1/22/2018

 

Uta/Atl Total O/U 205 Jazz favored by 2.5. GOBERT GOBERT GOBERT. That should be pretty clear, yeah? He’s my top C tonight and is in position to go OFF. He will likely be uber chalk. With Rodney Hood off the court, Donovan Mitchell actually only gets a modest usage increase (.4%) so don’t be deceived by that. The Hawks also have one of the league’s best perimeter defenders that will be on him in Kent Bazemore. My favorite low price player here gets to play his former team in Joe Johnson AKA Iso-Joe. Joe’s usage rate without Hood goes from 18.3% to 20.8% and I can see him getting more playing time at the SF. This takes me off of Joe Ingles completely and makes Joe a great GPP play.

For the Hawks, I like just a few plays. They will need Dedmon to put a body on Gobert and he is a GPP play here. Taurean Prince might get the most open looks and I’m fine with him in either format. You can also take a shot at Ilyasova at PF.

Mia/Hou Total O/U 213 Rockets favored by 11. The Heat will be without the services of Goran Dragic and Tyler Johnson tonight. Kelly Olynyk in this scenario gets a huge usage increase from 21.1% to 26.1% topped off with the Rockets SUCK at guarding the PF. Whiteside also gets a big increase, however, we have seen him not bode very well in super up-tempo games so proceed with caution. Josh Richardson (our boy here at DFSA) is a solid option at SF and will have the ball in his hands a ton. Wayne Ellington will also see his minutes increased and in a game where 3 pointers will go up at a rate that we can’t even keep track of he is a good GPP play. James Johnson should see upwards of 35+ minutes and will run backup PG duties with the second unit.

Rockets, I am planting my flag here and saying this is where we see the James Harden from before his injury. He’s a GREAT GPP play and I will let our VIP members know if he’s cash viable in our slack chat. The Heat have also struggled to guard opposing PFs and you can certainly take a look at Ryan Anderson for GPP. A guy that is back from suspension and is likely to let out his built up anger (towards the Clippers) on the court is Gerald Green. As mentioned above, this pace will be faster for the Heat and this is a great spot for Clint Capela to crush it.

Phi/Mem Total O/U 205 Sixers favored by 3.5. With Jerryd Bayless being announced out TJ McConnel is too tough to pass on. He still priced down at $5,400 on FD and should be able to get 28+ minutes against a team missing most of its players. Count me in. My favorite play here (that nobody seems to be talking about) is Ben Simmons. He’s priced as low as he’s been all year $8,100 and gets a great matchup. I’m going right back to the well here with Robert Covington. He’s in a great spot (especially without Reddick) and his priced way down. Ill be rostering him a ton.

The Grizzlies have a ton of injury news that we are waiting for. If Dillon Brooks ends up playing he will be viable in both formats and in a great spot. I also LOVE the spot Tyreke Evans is in. He’s been disappointing us lately, but, we don’t play with bias here so fire him up.

Pho/Mil Total O/U 213.5 Bucks favored by 5. We got word that Jay Triano will make a change to his starting lineup. This means one of two things A. He’s starting Greg Monroe against his former team (which if is the case I’m all in) or B. He’s starting Isaiah Canaan over Tyler Ulis. I was planning on playing Canaan in GPPs regardless and if he’s announced the starter even more so. The Bucks play good defense against the PG, but, at close min price and with all the attention on Booker I will play Canaan in all formats (if he starts). Speaking of Booker, yes, please. IN GPPs he’s a GREAT pivot of a chalky Middleton and has higher upside. If this game is to stay close as Vegas predicted then Booker will be the reason why. If you look at the game log on last time the Suns played the bucks, Booker didn’t score all that much. BUT, take a look at his FG% and you’ll see he just shot poorly. If he gets hot (which he does often) then he could take off and break the slate. ALL THE BOOKER. TJ Warren is also a guy I will be playing a lot of. He will also need to score to keep this game close and makes for a good play in all formats.

For the Bucks, give me all the Eric Bledsoe I can handle. And then some more. Bledsoe is playing his old team and it didn’t end well when they traded him. He’s my locked and loaded player here for the Bucks. With Malcolm Brogdon back, I am not as high on Middleton as I was the last Bucks game. Khris is still a great play and has tremendous upside, but I will go contrarian here in GPPs as I don’t think he has the same upside as last game. My GPP punt play here is Thon Maker. He should see decent minutes and frankly, the Suns just suck at defense.

Chi/NOP Total O/U 227 Pelicans favored by 6.5. Ok that O/U is nuts. I want as much exposure here as possible. Let’s start with Jerian Grant. He’s priced low and will get tons of minutes sans Kris Dunn. He can put up a double-double here with all the assists I expect him to hand out. I also love Zach LaVine in GPPs but not for cash as we haven’t heard about his minutes limit being released yet. Other plays here are Lauri Markkanen, Nikola Morotic, Denzel Valentine and Bobby Portis (aka Punch Bob). I love Punch Bob the most for GPP as the Bulls will need his size and toughness to body the brow. Look for Cristiano Felicio to also get some run guarding Boogie.

For the Pelicans, my top play of the entire slate goes to Anthony Davis (if you can stomach the injury risk). There’s not a person in the entire state of Illinois that can guard this man and he’s a staple in my LUs in ALL formats. My second favorite play here is Jrue Holiday. First of all, he will be playing against his brother and sibling rivalry is real. Second, the Bulls struggle to defend the SG position and Jrue has been on a tear recently. He’s a great play in all formats. I also think E’Twaun Moore is a good GPP play as he will get tons of looks if the Bulls start double teaming the Pels bigs. Rondo is in a good matchup, but, is not in play for me.

Wash/Dal Total O/U 213.5 Wizards favored by 2. John Wall gets a killer matchup, but, is priced over $10k. If you can manage to fit him in, you won’t be disappointed. My favorite play from the Wiz is Otto Porter Jr. The Mavs aDVP at the SF is atrocious and he should be able to take advantage. Also look at Markieff Morris at PF if you need salary relief and is in a great spot. I can see the Wiz going small again and playing a lot more of Kelly Oubre Jr. That’s two Jr’s you can play from this game (winning!). The Mavs have struggled to defend big men all season long. This makes Gortat viable (at his price) in all formats for me.

For the Mavs, the only player I like here for cash is Harrison Barnes. I can also stomach taking a flyer on Dwight Powell in GPP as well as JJ Barea. My GPP punt play here is Maxi Kleber if he’s announced the starter.

Por/Den Total O/U 210.5 Nuggets favored by 3. Talk about narratives, this one is as juicy as they get. The Nuggets had Nurkic sitting at the end of their bench for half a season before they traded him to Portland. He has made many snarky comments towards the team since then and I think tonight he goes all out. I also think the Blazers will make it a point to get him the ball. Top that off with a god aDVP matchup and this is a great play in all formats. Damian Lillard is also in a GREAT spot and is viable in both formats. I am fading CJ as he will get Gary Harris on him and I don’t target Gary. If you need some salary relief in GPP you can take a look at Evan Turner (if you don’t get sick doing it). He’s in a good aDVP matchup in an uptempo(ish) game.

For the Nuggets that same narrative exists on the other end with Jokic who also gets a good matchup (Nurks is better aDVP wise). I think Wilson Chandler should be able to manhandle Evan Turner and can have a breakout game (GPP). I really love me some Gary Harris tonight. I might end up pairing him with Booker in several tournaments tonight for the win. Jama Murray is another play that I love from this game.

Min/LAC Total O/U 220.5 Clips favored by 2. We got news that both Jamal Crawford and Jimmy Butler are out. For me, Andrew Wiggins jumps out off the pager here. His usage sans Jimmy and Jamal is a whopping 33.7% (WOW) at a position the Clippers simply can’t guard. He’s a great play in all formats. If we get word that Bjelica is starting again then he’s a great salary relief player in all formats. Jeff Teague benefits some from those guys being out, but, I simply haven’t been able to trust him since he has returned from injury. KAT is a guy that without DJ, the Clippers have nobody to guard him. He should put up fantastic numbers in the late night hammer game. Taj Gibson is an LA native and has absolutely crushed the Clippers historically. He’s viable in all formats.

For the Clippers, I LOVE Blake Griffin. He has been playing some great basketball since his return from injury and the team will rely on his scoring and rebounding to win this game. Sweet Lou is a huge threat here, but, has gotten very pricey with his recent insane hot streak. Remember, he had 10 steals last game so please don’t expect another 70 FPT outing. If the Clippers expect to guard KAT they will need to use Willie Reed to do so. I understand he hasn’t been playing a lot lately (even with opposing teams with good big men) but I don’t see how he doesn’t get run here. He’s a solid GPP play. Montrezl Harrell will also see extended run with the second unit as he’s been playing fantastic, high energy basketball as of late.

 

That’s all for this slate. If you want access to more articles, the industries best DFS tools and a private slack chat with #the-Bear-Cave-NBA channel where you can access me anytime you want, sign up at www.DFSARMY.com/ref/35 and use the code “Bear” at checkout and receive 10% off.

GL Tonight Army!!!!!