Follow up a great Super Bowl with jumping in to play some NBA DFS for Monday’s solid seven-game slate. The slate doesn’t have the most intriguing matchups or many high-priced studs but still offers a good group of value in the mid-range to build a balanced FanDuel lineup with a solid floor and some upside. It’s hoops time until the MLB season rolls around, so dig in and enjoy the daily grind!
Note that some of the stats referenced in this article are my custom DvP calculations that combine both season and last five games data along with blending similar positions production allowed together.
Create FanDuel lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Point Guard
Ricky Rubio (UTH): $7,000 @ NO
Ricky Rubio has lighting it up for the Jazz recently averaging 19.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game over his last five outings. His salary still remains a reasonable $7,000 and he gets an up-tempo matchup with the Pelicans who have given up increased production in points (+10.3%), assists (+5.9%) and steals (+1.7%) to opposing PGs.
Goran Dragic (MIA): $7,000 vs ORL
While I prefer Rubio at over Goran Dragic at the $7,000 price tag, using both is a viable option as they should both reach at least 5x their salary. Dragic dropped 33 points on Detroit on Saturday and gets an extremely favorable matchup against the Magic on Monday. The Magic have been torched by opposing PGs, allowing significant increase in points (+15.8%), rebounds (+15.4%), assists (+4.6%) and steals (+16.6%). Also, give strong consideration to spending the extra $1,100 to get up to Damian Lillard if some more value opens up on the slate at SG or PF.
Follow up a great Super Bowl with jumping in to play some NBA DFS for Monday’s solid seven-game slate. The slate doesn’t have the most intriguing matchups or many high-priced studs but still offers a good group of value in the mid-range to build a balanced FanDuel lineup with a solid floor and some upside. It’s hoops time until the MLB season rolls around, so dig in and enjoy the daily grind!
Note that some of the stats referenced in this article are my custom DvP calculations that combine both season and last five games data along with blending similar positions production allowed together.
Create FanDuel lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Point Guard
Ricky Rubio (UTH): $7,000 @ NO
Ricky Rubio has lighting it up for the Jazz recently averaging 19.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game over his last five outings. His salary still remains a reasonable $7,000 and he gets an up-tempo matchup with the Pelicans who have given up increased production in points (+10.3%), assists (+5.9%) and steals (+1.7%) to opposing PGs.
Goran Dragic (MIA): $7,000 vs ORL
While I prefer Rubio at over Goran Dragic at the $7,000 price tag, using both is a viable option as they should both reach at least 5x their salary. Dragic dropped 33 points on Detroit on Saturday and gets an extremely favorable matchup against the Magic on Monday. The Magic have been torched by opposing PGs, allowing significant increase in points (+15.8%), rebounds (+15.4%), assists (+4.6%) and steals (+16.6%). Also, give strong consideration to spending the extra $1,100 to get up to Damian Lillard if some more value opens up on the slate at SG or PF.
Shooting Guard
Bradley Beal (WAS): $8,400 @ IND
There is a nice mix of options at the SG position on Monday. Bradley Beal has benefited from John Wall‘s absence by topping 45 FanDuel points in each of his last three games. Beal sees an increase in usage by 4.1% with Wall off the court this season and will continue to be relied on for shot and points for the Wizards to win games. A tight Vegas line against the Pacers should allow Beal to play close to 40 productive minutes.
Nicolas Batum (CHA): $6,800 @ DEN
There are a lot of ways to go with your second SG slot. Nicolas Batum is my favorite if you can fit his salary into your lineup. With Marvin Williams still out for the Hornets, Batum sees a slight uptick in his usage and it has shown in his last three outings averaging 21.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. He offers a solid floor and triple-double upside. Other SGs to consider in this spot include Gary Harris, Wesley Matthews and Avery Bradley depending on your lineup construction.
Small Forward
Otto Porter (WAS): $7,000 @ IND
While SG has a variety of solid options, SF is a mess. Beyond the two players, I recommend here the only other options I’ll even consider are Josh Richardson and maybe one of the Magic wings (Jonathon Simmons or Mario Hezonja) if Aaron Gordon is ruled out. Much like Beal, Porter has stepped up his game with Wall out. He has exceeded 32 FanDuel points in each of his last four games and has 40+ FD point upside. He faces a Pacers’ defense that is good against SFs but without many good options, Porter is still one of the top plays.
Danilo Gallinari (LAC): $5,700 vs DAL
Danilo Gallinari’s recent return from injury hasn’t allowed his salary to catch up to his expected production yet. He played 25 and 29 minutes respectively in his first two games back and should continue to see that number climb along with his fantasy production. With Blake Griffin out of town, Gallinari becomes one of the primary scoring options and could benefit on Monday if Harrison Barnes is ruled out for the Mavericks. Regardless of if Barnes plays or not, Gallinari is still the top play at the position given his price and involvement in the offense.
Power Forward
Bobby Portis (CHI): $5,800 @ SAC
Bobby Portis should continue to benefit from the departure of Nikola Mirotic via trade and gets an extra boost on Monday with Lauri Markkanen out. Portis should play around 30 minutes and has about a double-double floor as he has shown in his last two games averaging 9.0 points and 11.5 rebounds. He draws an easier matchup on Monday against a Kings’ defense that has allowed the third most FD points per game to opposing PFs this season. Don’t throw any punches and lock him in your lineup.
Dwight Powell (DAL): $4,800 @ LAC
The second PF position offers some flexibility depending on the rest of your lineup construction. If you save a few bucks elsewhere you can look to roster guys like Markieff Morris, Derrick Favors, James Johnson or Kelly Olynyk. My sample lineup construction brings me to Dwight Powell who I do like and could fly under the radar. He has started each of the last two games and played 31 minutes on Saturday, responding with 17 points and nine rebounds against the Kings. The Clippers’ defense has been middle of the pack against PFs this season but that was with Griffin, his replacement Tobias Harris helped “lead” the Pistons to allowing the sixth most FD points to the position.
Center
Rudy Gobert (UTH): $7,300 @ NO
Center is actually one of the deepest positions on the slate, especially with Anthony Davis‘ position change on FanDuel. That said, I am still looking to save some salary at center and love the price and matchup for Rudy Gobert. Gobert is only the ninth most expensive option at the position but offers a very high-floor reaching at least 33 FD points in seven of his last eight games. He also has some upside in an up-tempo matchup with the Pelicans minus Boogie Cousins.
Create FanDuel lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Brad Richter is a correspondent at FantasyPros and a contributor at DailyOverlay and GoingFor2. For more from Brad, you can view his archive or follow him @RotoPilot.