Seven games are on the FanDuel main slate tonight. The Minnesota-Sacramento has the highest projected total at 234. The Boston-Utah game has the lowest projected total at 206. Ten players are priced at $9,000 or higher with Joel Embiid leading the way at $11,000. Andre Drummond is the only other five-figure player at $10,200. According to the FantasyPros premium projections for tonight, Karl-Anthony Towns leads the way with 56.8 points. Joel Embiid, Andre Drummond, John Wall, and Jimmy Butler are the only other players projected for 50+ FD points.
There are a lot of ways to construct lineups. The example lineup that I give you today targets the two games that I like the most (Detroit-Atlanta and Minnesota-Sacramento). This is merely an example of how you could construct a lineup and the thought process that goes into it. In no way, should you blindly enter this lineup in a contest (especially since I left $600 on the table), nor plug and play these players automatically without examining all the information available to you. Remember that you roster nine players on FanDuel but only count your best eight scores as FD drops the worst scoring player from your lineup.
Seven games are on the FanDuel main slate tonight. The Minnesota-Sacramento has the highest projected total at 234. The Boston-Utah game has the lowest projected total at 206. Ten players are priced at $9,000 or higher with Joel Embiid leading the way at $11,000. Andre Drummond is the only other five-figure player at $10,200. According to the FantasyPros premium projections for tonight, Karl-Anthony Towns leads the way with 56.8 points. Joel Embiid, Andre Drummond, John Wall, and Jimmy Butler are the only other players projected for 50+ FD points.
There are a lot of ways to construct lineups. The example lineup that I give you today targets the two games that I like the most (Detroit-Atlanta and Minnesota-Sacramento). This is merely an example of how you could construct a lineup and the thought process that goes into it. In no way, should you blindly enter this lineup in a contest (especially since I left $600 on the table), nor plug and play these players automatically without examining all the information available to you. Remember that you roster nine players on FanDuel but only count your best eight scores as FD drops the worst scoring player from your lineup.
As always, more value will open up as the day goes by that may allow you to get even better plays into your lineup. All of the plays that we recommend are plays that we will be considering for our lineups, as well. That doesn’t mean that we will end up with all of these guys as updated news and constructing rosters might lead us to a different play. Remember to check the news and injury reports, especially in the 30 minutes prior to lock. Have a solid process, using all the information available to you to make the best decision possible for your lineup. Good luck and have fun!
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POINT GUARD
Derrick Rose (MIN): $6,000 at SAC
Rose has returned at least 4.8X value in nine of his last 10 games (including two at 12X). He should be highly owned tonight so there is some merit to fading him in tournaments if you are only playing one lineup. However, I like this high-scoring matchup against a poor Kings defense. I especially like it if Jimmy Butler decides not to play (which is always a possibility as he tries to preserve himself for a potential trade). Regardless, his place in the rotation is solid as he is averaging 36 MPG in the last three games that he actually played (I didn’t count the four-minute cameo appearance in the Golden State game). He’s averaging nearly 23 shot attempts per game during that stretch, as well. He may not be the MVP Derrick Rose, but he is certainly getting the job done. This is the highest projected scoring game this evening and he is a main cog in this offense. Even at high ownership, I will be rolling with him. If you are concerned about ownership and can find the extra salary, I am not opposed to De’Aaron Fox on the other side of this game, or even Jamal Murray against Brooklyn.
D.J. Augustin (ORL): $4,800 vs. WAS
This is not a play I want to make but once I decided to target the Pistons tonight, I had to find salary relief somewhere. You can do worse than playing someone against the Wizards right now. They are a dysfunctional (though talented) bunch of players. Augustin has earned 30+ FD points in two of his last three games so it is not like he is a scrub. He’s just not very attractive and does carry a lower floor than you’d like for GPPs. However, if he can return 5X value and it allows me to pay up for Griffin and Drummond then I am all for it.
SHOOTING GUARD
Buddy Hield (SAC): $7,400 vs. MIN
Hield has a nice ceiling, especially in a high-scoring game like is expected tonight. He is getting his shots up, as he is averaging 17 shot attempts in his last seven games. He has gone over 40 FD points in three of his last five games. Overall, he has returned 5X value in five of his last seven games. His price has come down a bit even though this is a nice matchup. He has a decent floor with nice upside. Sure, I like Oladipo but he is too pricey for me, and I like Levert but am not thrilled about his matchup tonight. I almost went with Fournier here because his minutes are pretty much guaranteed due to the consistency and defensive value he brings the team. Though Fournier has a nice floor, I felt that Hield has more upside for GPPs.
Wayne Ellington (MIA): $3,800 vs. IND
When Ellington starts, he should be an automatic plug and play. He is not afraid to get his shots up. He is usually fantasy gold when he starts and/or gets the minutes. Certainly, a gunner comes from risk because he could also miss everything. At this price, it is hard for him to fail, however. He went from playing three minutes on Monday night (1.2 FD points) to 37 minutes Wednesday night (30.3 FD points). If Goran Dragic is out again tonight, this is a lock for me. He probably won’t go 6/10 from three-point range again, but he should still be able to return a nice value.
SMALL FORWARD
Nemanja Bjelica (SAC): $6,500 vs. MIN
We get the #RevengeNarrative tonight for Bjelica, who never seemed to get the minutes in Minnesota. I like this game from a scoring perspective, though it is scary because you never truly know who will get the minutes for Sacramento (hot hand situation) and who will actually suit up for the Timberwolves. I think Dave Joerger will give Bjelica plenty of opportunity to have a good game tonight. If you are only looking at game logs, Bjelica seems like a thin play. Certainly, there is no guarantee with him, but the last three games have been unusual in that there were two blowouts and then he got in foul trouble Wednesday against the Raptors. In the four games before that stretch of bad luck, he had at least 39 FD points in all of them. Before this recent rough patch, he returned 6X value in six of the previous eight games.
Justise Winslow (MIA): $5,600 vs. IND
Admittedly, this games may not be very exciting but Winslow could still have a decent game in him with Dragic sitting. He has had plenty of minutes the last three games (34 MPG) and has earned 22.5 – 31.7 – 46.0 FD points in that time. Yes, the points have been decreasing but he still gives you some upside. Nicolas Batum is also a fine play at just $400 more that I wouldn’t argue against, especially considering that there should be more scoring in that game. I’ve just always been a fan of Winslow.
POWER FORWARD
Blake Griffin (DET): $9,800 at ATL
This was the tough decision for me. I like Griffin but he is so expensive relative to all the other Power Forwards. I wouldn’t argue against Aaron Gordon in this spot but ultimately you have to make stands in DFS and I decided that I like the Pistons against the Hawks. If I like this spot, then I have to like Griffin. He is expensive enough that it isn’t a slam dunk decision, though. He does have, by far, the biggest gap among position players on FantasyPros projections. He is projected for 49.0 and Aaron Gordon is at 40.9. I like his upside and feel that he is one of the best bets to score 55-65 FD points (provided the game stays competitive). This is a pace up situation and nobody on Atlanta’s team should be able to stop him. He has a high floor as he’s earned 40+ FD points in eight of his last 10 games and has 50+ in four of those games.
Taj Gibson (MIN): $5,300 at SAC
Thibs likes Taj Gibson, which means he’ll get minutes. In NBA DFS, minutes usually equal money. He has played 37 and 32 minutes in the last two games, earning 42.7 and 36.3 FD points, respectively. Overall, he has returned at least 5X value in seven of his last 10 games. Minnesota has the highest implied total on the night and Gibson is still underpriced.
CENTER
Andre Drummond (DET): $10,200 at ATL
There are a lot of Centers to like tonight and it wouldn’t be terrible to take the discount and go with Rudy Gobert, Hassan Whiteside, or Dwight Howard. But in targeting the highest-scoring game of the night and looking at who might be able to put up the best ceiling game, I like Drummond. KAT was also in consideration, but he’s too inconsistent for my taste and Embiid is a little too pricey. Drummond has returned 6X value in three of his last four games. The only one he didn’t was when Embiid “owned real estate inside of Drummond’s head.” Drummond plays against the average Joes (I mean the Atlanta Hawks frontline) in a pace up situation. He has earned at least 50 FD points in five of his last 10 games.
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Jamy Bechler is an NBA fantasy contributor for FantasyPros. His DFS twitter is @WinningDFS101, and his website is www.FantasyFocusFootball.com. When he is not playing DFS, Jamy is an author, host of the “Success is a Choice” podcast, and is a leadership trainer, working with businesses and teams across the country (including the NBA). Even though he offers his advice on players and contests, after additional information and consideration, he may end up using different players and strategies than what he recommends.
