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POINT GUARDS:
* ALL FORMATS *
Kyrie Irving (BOS @ DEN)
Kyrie has been on his best scoring tear of the season, dropping at least 33 (real) points in three of the last four games. He could also get a huge dose of minutes if Terry Rozier misses tonight’s game, and Marcus Smart is already out as well.
Darren Collison (IND vs CHA) – on FanDuel
I’m not in love with the matchup for Collison, but that $5500 price tag on FD is certainly appealing. He recently dropped 50 FDP, largely boosted on the strength of six steals, but I can certainly see him reaching 5-6x value. You know my adoration for cheap points – they’re generally involved in a good portion of the game and don’t need to do much to pay off on their salary.
* GPP *
Jamal Murray (DEN vs BOS)
BOS: Best aDvP matchup for PGs on tonight’s slate (3rd-best this season) – I’d love to label Murray playable in all formats in this matchup, but we know this guy all too well. It’s all or nothing with him. There is some optimism attached to the Nuggets tonight, and you just hope it resonates with Murray – they were favored by three when the line opened in Vegas, and over 80% of tickets (casual bettors) are on the Celtics. I’ve talked about this a few times, but whenever you see 80% or more of the public betting on a team, that is usually a disastrous occurrence for said team.
Jeff Teague (MIN @ ATL)
There’s no doubt that Teague wants to play well against his former team (props to Keith for reminding me on today’s pod), but he is apparently dealing with some ankle soreness. I say pop three Aleve and be a man about it. However, I’m not the one playing, and we’ll have to see if any news pops up before lineups lock.
Isaiah Canaan (PHX @ MEM)
If we get word that Devin Booker is out tonight, Canaan should see a good chunk of run at the point guard position. Canaan has performed well at times when given the opportunity, but we haven’t seen it too often playing third-fiddle to Booker and TJ Warren.
SHOOTING GUARDS:
* ALL FORMATS *
Will Barton (DEN vs BOS)
When Paul Millsap and Wilson Chandler are off the court, Barton sees BY FAR the most minutes of any Nuggets player. Chandler is questionable for tonight’s game, so we’ll need to see how that all plays out. If Chandler is out, I’m in on Barton.
* GPP *
Victor Oladipo (IND vs CHA)
This guy has pissed me off like no other over the last few games, but I do have some interest as his price has come down slightly to $9300 on both sites. I doubt most people will consider Oladipo tonight in a tough matchup, and because he has failed to reach 50 DKP/FDP in 10 of the last 11 games.
Khris Middleton (MIL vs PHI)
Nicolas Batum (CHA @ IND)
Wesley Matthews (DAL vs MIA)
Wayne Ellington (MIA @ DAL)
SMALL FORWARDS:
* ALL FORMATS *
Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL vs PHI)
Back-end B2B games have not slowed down The Greek Freak this season, and the Sixers will be without their best rim-protector tonight. Also an interesting note – Giannis has taken at least 16 shot attempts in all of the games in this scenario… including 19 in five of the eight.
Jimmy Butler (MIN @ ATL)
Small forwards have done a fantastic job against the Hawks this season, and this game should be a little more comfortable for Butler as this will be his second game back from injury.
* GPP *
Josh Jackson (PHX @ MEM)
I know, I knowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…. he decimated my lineup yesterday too. However, if Devin Booker is out then I’ll have lots of interest.
POWER FORWARDS:
* ALL FORMATS *
Dario Saric (PHI @ MIL)
Saric’s numbers have always been great without Joel Embiid in the lineup, and he should be well-rested after playing only 21 minutes last night because of foul trouble. In fact, with all of tonight’s Sixers inactives/questionables off the court, Saric sees a 5.3% boost in usage up to 25.3%.
Amir Johnson (PHI @ MIL)
MINUTES UP!!! With Joel Embiid inactive, we have seen this scenario plenty of times. Further boosting Johnson’s outlook is the fact that Milwaukee can’t rebound to save their life. He should have a few put-back opportunities and truly capitalize on this great spot while barely costing you any salary cap.
* CASH GAMES *
Ben Simmons (PHI @ MIL)
I don’t think Simmons is necessary in GPPs tonight, but you can certainly plug him into your cash games. Reason being, Simmons has worked very well with Joel Embiid and now that he’s out it’ll be easier for the Bucks to key in on the Sixers best available player tonight. I do think Simmons will be highly-owned, mainly because he has the Sixers’ highest usage rate (27.8%) with tonight’s Sixers inactives/questionables off the court.
John Henson (MIL vs PHI)
Usually not a cash-game option, I’ll place Henson in this space since the Sixers are missing Joel Embiid. Henson has played very well of late, posting at least 26 DKP/FDP in three-straight games. He has also posted at least 36 DKP/FDP in two of his last three back-end B2B games.
* GPP *
Frank Kaminsky (CHA @ IND)
This was the guy I didn’t want to mention on the podcast. Backup bigs have been feasting on Al Jefferson all month, and even though Kaminsky hasn’t necessarily crushed it lately, it’s not a terrible shot to take in GPPs.
CENTERS:
* ALL FORMATS *
Dwight Howard (CHA @ IND)
IND: Best aDvP matchup for centers on tonight’s slate (2nd-best this season) – Howard has looked like a god amongst insects in the year 2018, more specifically over the last seven games. Look at all that damage, my gudness!
Hassan Whiteside (MIA @ DAL)
This should be a big night for Whiteside, who has already done some damage against the Mavs in the past. The Mavs are currently the NBA’s worst rebounding team, and Whiteside has at least 19 boards in three of his last five meetings against them.
Greg Monroe (PHX @ MEM)
I love guys in their next game after getting ejected. Monroe has a lot to be pissed at anyways, sitting on the bench for one of the league’s worst teams for most of the season. I’m sure Tyson Chandler or Alex Len will be inactive tonight so that immediately makes Monroe viable… add in all that anger, and it’s a recipe for success.
* GPP *
Nikola Jokic (DEN vs BOS)
The Celtics have been getting torched down low lately, and you can see that similar players to Jokic have especially fared well in that span. Jokic only gets GPP consideration, though, as his production can always be at either end of the spectrum.
