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With a seven-game slate on our hands, one will expect a tonne of opportunities for bench players. Alas, that is not the case, as a lot of injuries around the league have created opportunities for the top bench players to move into starting lineups today. This affects the 6th Men in two distinct ways. First, there is a lot of value on this slate in starting lineups, reducing the need to go “shopping” off the bench. Secondly, the crop of players left on the bench from which we can go picking is not a great one. As a result, the only players I really love today are those under the CORE section of the article. For the other players, they are in good positions and could explode, but they’ll need some help. They are strictly GPP plays and do not use more that one in any lineup. With that said, pricing, as usual, is FD/DK. Let’s dive in!
CORE
Domantas Sabonis (6500/6300): Let’s begin with the obvious, Sabonis is expensive. With that out of the way, his upside against the Heat is tremendous. His projected ceiling in the DFS Army Research Station (RS) is 43.5 FDPs. His current form is something to pay for, especially given the recent bump in minutes. Sabonis is a solid all format play. He is a cash staple, and I think his ownership will be low in GPPs as people run away from his price.
Marcus Smart (5100/4100): With Kyrie Irving out, everyone is running to Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown. That’s all fine and good, but Marcus Smart is also in a good position here. He’s averaging 25 minutes a game over his last four, and with Kyrie out, this will only increase. It is possible he sees upwards of 30 minutes today. In such a scenario, I like the upside Smart brings to the table. His projected ceiling is 33 FDPs with a floor of 10.8 FDPs. This makes it a little scary playing him in cash games, but he is definitely in play in Hybrid and GPP lineups.
Willy Hernangomez (4600/3600): All Willy has done over the past four games is average 23.3 FDPs in 16 MPG. In the last two games, he put up 29.9 and 29.3 FDPs. This matchup against the 76ers is one Hernangomez can exploit. Centers have had success against the 76ers this year, and with Cody Zeller getting first shot at Embiid, this frees up Hernangomez to get a little easier matchup. If Zeller gets into foul trouble and Willy gets even more minutes, watch out. This is not a safe play by any means, but it is an excellent Hybrid and GPP play especially on DK.
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GPP
Kelly Olynyk (4600/4300): With no Goran Dragic, Justice Winslow moves into the starting lineup. Kelly Olynyk coming off the bench will get a shot at the Pacers poor power forward defense. He’ll also get some run at center in this game. The reason Olynyk isn’t an even bigger play has to do with his minutes’ situation. He hasn’t been getting minutes, but that’s not something I’m too worried about here. The Pacers play big, providing opportunities for Olynyk to get on the court. I love him in GPPs at low ownership.
Terrence Ross (4800/4700): Once again Jonathan Isaac is out of the lineup. This puts Terrence Ross in play. Over the past three games, Ross hasn’t been especially good at taking advantage of this situation, but in a matchup tonight against the Wizards, we can go back to him. This play is strictly GPP because Ross is capable of disappointing, but he has a high enough ceiling that if he comes to play we could get a tremendous boost at low ownership.
Jeremy Lin (4000/3700): Another day, another Jeremy Lin GPP call. Lin has been excellent when he gets a sniff of minutes this season. He has put up three good games in his last five. The issue with Lin is we will prefer if he was min priced. At his price, it is difficult to roster him given the value at guard we have on this slate. However, if you are willing to take a risk and want to be different, Lin is in an excellent spot at pretty much zero ownership.
Monte Morris (3800/3500): Monte Morris is near min-price on FD, in a good matchup against the Nets. On the season Morris is average 18.3 FDPs in 21.5 MPG. He got 26 minutes last game, and if he gets a similar amount today, he has the potential of far exceeding value. I especially love him on FD where you can use him as a punt. Especially in a position where everyone (me included) will be paying up at tonight. This is a deep GPP flyer play only.
Those are your Sixth men for today. Good luck out there today! Make sure to join the DFS Army and get access to our content, tools, coaches, and community that shortens your growth curve for NBA DFS.
