It is usually the case toward the end of the season that DFS slates are tricky. There are so many injuries being nursed more than usual, youngsters being given playing time and all kinds of other various oddities to look out for. It can be a nightmare to navigate unless you are paying close attention to what is going on. Tonight’s slate is no different, and we have just six games to work with. The lineup may look odd, but believe it or not, all of these players should see big minutes and most will have increased usage rates compared to usual.
As always, please make sure to monitor the lineups rolling in right before game time, as that often will be the difference between cashing or not. My lineup today is for a GPP contest, as I didn’t believe it was a responsible use of money to play in cash games considering all of the movement.
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Point Guard
Terry Rozier (BOS): $8,200 @ ORL
This price probably looks absurd with Rozier’s name, but consider that everyone in Boston and their moms are out for tonight’s game and it starts to make a little more sense. Rozier has started four games this season and is averaging 20.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.5 assists in those contests for 45.1 FanDuel points. That is more than 5x value and he is a good bet to reach that mark again this evening against the Magic who have struggled against point guards this season.
It is usually the case toward the end of the season that DFS slates are tricky. There are so many injuries being nursed more than usual, youngsters being given playing time and all kinds of other various oddities to look out for. It can be a nightmare to navigate unless you are paying close attention to what is going on. Tonight’s slate is no different, and we have just six games to work with. The lineup may look odd, but believe it or not, all of these players should see big minutes and most will have increased usage rates compared to usual.
As always, please make sure to monitor the lineups rolling in right before game time, as that often will be the difference between cashing or not. My lineup today is for a GPP contest, as I didn’t believe it was a responsible use of money to play in cash games considering all of the movement.
Create FanDuel lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Point Guard
Terry Rozier (BOS): $8,200 @ ORL
This price probably looks absurd with Rozier’s name, but consider that everyone in Boston and their moms are out for tonight’s game and it starts to make a little more sense. Rozier has started four games this season and is averaging 20.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.5 assists in those contests for 45.1 FanDuel points. That is more than 5x value and he is a good bet to reach that mark again this evening against the Magic who have struggled against point guards this season.
Sindarius Thornwell (LAC): $3,800 @ OKC
Thornwell isn’t all that impressive offensively, but he draws another start tonight and should see 30+ minutes in a close-fought game with a lofty over/under of 221.5. When Thornwell has 27+ minutes so far this season, he is averaging 18.9 FanDuel points per game. All he needs to do is reach 19 to hit value tonight. While he isn’t a sexy pick, the pace of this evenings contest warrants a spot in my lineup.
Shooting Guard
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (LAL): $6,100 vs MIA
Almost unbelievably, KCP has reached 30 or more FanDuel points in 12 of his last 15 contests. Miami does play top-notch defense against shooting guards, but that run of consistency, plus the 45 point upside he has displayed three times during that stretch, has me drooling when you take his price into consideration.
Buddy Hield (SAC): $5,800 @ GS
I’m trying to win a GPP contest here, folks. If he goes for 9.1 FanDuel points or 10.2 like we have seen in two of his last four games, then it serves me right. There is just as much of a chance, however, that Hield catches fire and repeats Wednesday’s big 44.7 point performance. If he were to do that, he’d set my lineup apart with the other 5% who picked him in the contest. That’s a calculated risk I am willing to take.
Small Forward
Jonathon Simmons (ORL): $7,000 @ SAC
Just last Friday, Simmons’ price was a full $2,500 lower than we are looking at right now. You would think that would be worthy of an automatic fade against Boston, but the Celtics are essentially using people from the crowd in their starting lineup tonight. Plus, Simmons has given FanDuel owners 41.3, 37.9 and 34.5 points over three of his past four games. Aaron Gordon should be out this evening, leaving Simmons with plenty of usage once again but price jump 2,500 since last week, aaron gordon should be out
Corey Brewer (OKC): $4,900 vs LAC
I mentioned the over/under on this up-tempo game earlier, but what’s more is that Paul George and/or Steven Adams could sit. Brewer is already slated to start, but his usage would go through the roof if either or both of those things happened. For someone who has already provided 30+ FanDuel points in each of the past two games, I’d say he is a must-start.
Power Forward
Draymond Green (GS): $7,800 vs SAC
We haven’t heard yet whether Kevin Durant will miss the game, but even if he plays, the other three starters are expected to be Zaza Pachulia, Quinn Cook and Nick Young. I’m not joking. You can bank of Green having extreme usage, and if Durant is out, I’d bank on a triple-double from Draymond. Somehow, Vegas is still implying 111.25 points for the Warriors with Draymond potentially as their only reliable player.
Julius Randle (LAL): $7,400 vs MIA
You may have noticed that this lineup seems to be missing stars. With the way Randle is playing of late, that just isn’t the case. The Lakers’ big man has been going nuts on the league, averaging 28 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game over his last three. He needs just 37 FanDuel points to hit value this evening, yet is averaging 48 over the past week. I’d play him even if he were $2,000 more expensive tonight.
Center
Nikola Vucevic (ORL): $9,000 vs BOS
Did I mention that Boston is missing the majority of their team? This is welcome news for Nikola, who is coming off a huge 22 point, 9 rebound, 9 assist, 4 steal game. He has some rough ones sprinkled into his game log, but again, this is GPP, and Vucevic posts 50+ FanDuel points every few games. If we hit on both him and Buddy tonight, this could be a magical lineup.
Others I love this evening
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