POINT GUARDS:
* ALL FORMATS
Eric Bledsoe (MIL @ PHI)
The Greek is sidelined today and that’s fantastic news for the fantasy outlook of Bledsoe. In fact, Bledsoe’s usage rate climbs from 27.2% to 34.8% with The Greek off the floor.
Damian Lillard (POR vs DAL)
DAL: Best aDvP matchup for PGs on tonight’s slate (3rd-best this season) – Lillard has reached 43 DKP/44 FDP in four of the last five games. I’d rather go with him on DraftKings where he’s $1200 cheaper over there.
TJ McConnell (PHI vs MIL)
I’m always on Team McConnell no matter what: 1) because I have an infatuation with cheap point guards, and 2) he’s quite versatile for a little fella, plugging in those minutes at the two when needed. Well, he’ll be one of three healthy members in the Philly backcourt tonight… aka, needed.
* GPP
Milos Teodosic (LAC @ UTA)
I don’t expect Rudy Gobert to be in the Jazz lineup much (if at all) tonight and this does two things for the Jazz: 1) speeds up the tempo, and 2) worsens their defense. I’ve been a major Teodosic hater for quite some time, mainly because he wasn’t a consistent scorer upon arrival into the NBA. Well, he’s reached double-digits in four-straight games and only priced at $5000 FD/$5500 DK. Also, UTA is the 5th-best aDvP matchup for PGs this season.
SHOOTING GUARDS:
* ALL FORMATS
Khris Middleton (MIL @ PHI)
Much like I discussed for Bledsoe, Middleton sees a sizeable boost in usage rate with The Greek off the floor… 24.6% to 34%. He will face a much more difficult matchup than Bledsoe, but he’ll likely play 40 minutes for the third-consecutive game and that’s just fine at his $7400 FD/$7900 DK price tag.
Klay Thompson (GS @ HOU)
Houston has a lot of good defenders… aaaand none of them will likely end up on Thompson. This game will have a ridiculous pace with a ton of three-pointers being hoisted up.
* SITUATIONAL – If Rudy Gobert is inactive
Lou Williams (LAC @ UTA)
Donovan Mitchell (UTA vs LAC)
I talked about this situation is the Teodosic blurb, so you best believe that Gobert’s absence would help each team’s most dynamic scorer as well. I doubt we’ll get Gobert news prior to lock, but this information is probably best served for the late slate or even in MME scenarios where you can take some chances.
* GPP
Nicolas Batum / Jeremy Lamb (CHA vs MIA)
Batum’s production has been anything but solid over the last few games, but he’s still regularly playing over 30 minutes and MIA is the best aDvP for SGs on this slate… while also playing on a stretch that dates back to five games over the last seven days. Shouldn’t be too much resistance going on at The Hive tonight. If you think this game does in fact turn into a blowout, Lamb isn’t a horrible idea here either.
Sterling Brown (MIL @ PHI)
Brown will be starting at SG tonight, and that has been the best area to attack the Sixers this season. Even though JJ Redick is also out for the Sixers tonight, it’s not like Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is going to make his life more difficult. Brown has played some decent minutes over the last six games and does have potential as a scorer.
SMALL FORWARDS:
* ALL FORMATS
Josh Richardson (MIA @ CHA)
Sure, MIA finds themselves in one of those undesirable Cheri Mah games, but there have been more than a few small forwards to get bizaaaaay against the Hornets recently… including, you guessed it. Twice.
Robert Covington (PHI vs MIL)
Let’s not sugarcoat it, Covington has SUCKED for a while now… but it’s also allowed his price to come all the way down to $5000 DK/$5100 FD. Covington’s usage rate doesn’t spike up without Redick or Bayless in the lineup, we’re just trusting that the massive workload of minutes pushes him to the finish line/value.
Dillon Brooks (MEM vs NO)
Memphis has another cluttered mess on their injury report and Brooks would likely be glued to the court if they’re all out. Pay attention to the Grizzlies injury report prior to this game.
* GPP
Justise Winslow (MIA @ CHA)
I’m usually a day early on most of my bold calls, so I don’t mind going back to the well. Winslow had the opportunity to do a little more but missed some open threes and just missed a steal. In fact, going into last night he was 8-for-9 from the three-point line since coming back from his injury. If the Heat give Winslow more run (in what is supposed to be a throw-away game) this one could really pay off.
POWER FORWARDS:
* ALL FORMATS
Draymond Green (GS @ HOU)
✅ Up-tempo game
✅ Not much defense from the opposition
✅ This game log against tonight’s opponent from the last five meetings
Dario Saric (PHI vs MIL)
Without Redick and Bayless in the lineup, Saric will be called upon to do more scoring. Typically, we’re not supposed to like Saric while Embiid is in the lineup, but I will certainly make the exception when he’s only priced at $5500 on FanDuel… DraftKings is a little more debatable at $6200, yet still OK.
Taj Gibson (MIN vs TOR)
This could be a nice night on the boards for the T-Wolves as they’ll take on a Raptors team that is playing their second game in as many nights. PF is the only favorable aDvP matchup against the Raptors, so Taj can really plant his flag in this one.
Luc Mbah a Moute (HOU vs GS)
With Trevor Ariza inactive once again, look for Mbah a Moute to get another healthy dose of minutes… especially since he’ll be the one attached to Kevin Durant’s hip tonight. He did a fine job on Jimmy Butler the other night, and even pumped in 26 FDP in 32 minutes while doing so.
* GPP
Anthony Davis (NO @ MEM)
AD gets a crack at the Grizz, who are actually on the back-end of a B2B. The Grizz have been a favorable aDvP matchup for PFs this season, and that makes sense since Marc Gasol does a pretty good job of locking down his assignment. You can bet AD won’t garner much ownership on tonight’s slate.
CENTERS:
* MY GUY
Joel Embiid (PHI vs MIL)
MIL is already a terrible rebounding team… Now take their best rebounder (Giannis Antetokounmpo) out of the equation, and this should be a day of little resistance for the first-time All-Star. Ain’t no Bucks got time to be stopping Embiid.
* IF YOU DON’T WANT EMBIID TO BE “YOUR GUY”
Jusuf Nurkic (POR vs DAL)
If you take a look at our Depth Chart Hub (under the NBA tab) you’ll see that the Mavs are oh-so-horrendous at rebounding the basketball. Nurkic’s BFF Nikola Jokic just toasted this Mavs team earlier in the week, so I can see a similar performance coming back around.
