Tonight’s slate features seven games over on FanDuel and there are a few injuries situations that have a pretty significant effect on tonight’s slate. Steph Curry and Draymond Green will be out of the Warriors’ lineup on Saturday, while Russell Westbrook has been ruled out for the Thunder. With these injuries in mind, it will be important to capitalize on players who see increased minutes and usage bumps.
With these injuries in mind, here are a few plays at each position that I will be targeting on tonight’s slate.
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Point Guard
D’Angelo Russell (BKN): $6,500 at GSW
Russell offers a decent amount of upside at his mid-range price tag tonight. He put up 39.3 fantasy points in a tough matchup against Denver last night and has averaged 35.5 fantasy points over the past three games. With Steph Curry out of the Golden State lineup, Russell will square off against Quinn Cook who graded out as the 70th ranked point guard defensively last season out of 82 players. Russell should only see about 25-28 minutes in tonight’s game, but he has a 29.0% usage rate on the season and will have plenty of opportunities in a pace up spot.
Tonight’s slate features seven games over on FanDuel and there are a few injuries situations that have a pretty significant effect on tonight’s slate. Steph Curry and Draymond Green will be out of the Warriors’ lineup on Saturday, while Russell Westbrook has been ruled out for the Thunder. With these injuries in mind, it will be important to capitalize on players who see increased minutes and usage bumps.
With these injuries in mind, here are a few plays at each position that I will be targeting on tonight’s slate.
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Point Guard
D’Angelo Russell (BKN): $6,500 at GSW
Russell offers a decent amount of upside at his mid-range price tag tonight. He put up 39.3 fantasy points in a tough matchup against Denver last night and has averaged 35.5 fantasy points over the past three games. With Steph Curry out of the Golden State lineup, Russell will square off against Quinn Cook who graded out as the 70th ranked point guard defensively last season out of 82 players. Russell should only see about 25-28 minutes in tonight’s game, but he has a 29.0% usage rate on the season and will have plenty of opportunities in a pace up spot.
Collin Sexton (CLE): $4,400 at CHI
Despite his early-season struggles, Sexton is in an interesting spot tonight against a poor Bulls’ defense that ranks 25th in fantasy points allowed to point guards. He played almost 42 minutes in Wednesday night’s game against the Thunder in George Hill‘s absence. Sexton only put up 18.9 fantasy points in that game, but if we can project him for over 30 minutes a night with Hill out, he will be a great volume play at his current price point – especially since fantasy points should be a lot easier to come by against the Bulls. With Quinn Cook set to be a chalky play at the same price, Sexton might fly under the radar and is a great pivot.
Shooting Guard
Zach LaVine (CHI): $8,800 vs. CLE
LaVine’s price tag is getting close to being uncomfortable, but in a matchup against the Cavaliers, he should still have some upside. He has averaged 42.4 fantasy points over the past five games and gets a terrific matchup against Collin Sexton. With LaVine running the offense in Kris Dunn‘s absence, he’s had some decent assist totals and has an elite 32.8% usage rate so far this season. There will continue to be big-time fantasy production with the Bulls’ offense flowing through Zach LaVine and tonight’s game against the Cavaliers is no exception.
Buddy Hield (SAC): $7,300 vs. LAL
Hield has shown a ton of upside in the early part of the season by putting up 43 or more fantasy points three times over the past six games. He should be set for another big performance in tonight’s game against the Lakers, a team that ranks dead last in fantasy points allowed to shooting guards. Hield has a 23.2% usage rate so far this season while attempting 15.1 shot attempts per game. In a game that features an absurd 240-point total, Hield is a high-upside play at his price point tonight.
Small Forward
LeBron James (LAL): $11,800 at SAC
As mentioned previously, the Lakers are playing in a game that features a 240-point total tonight. 240. James is my favorite target at the high-end of the player pool, as he should have plenty of opportunities to produce against the Kings. The Kings are currently middle-of-the-pack defensively so far this season, ranking 19th in defensive efficiency, and they should struggle to defend Lebron James tonight. James has exceeded 60 fantasy points three times in the Lakers’ first 11 games. He should be able to make it four in tonight’s game.
Kevin Durant (GSW): $11,200 vs. BKN
With Steph Curry and Draymond Green out of the Warriors’ lineup, they will be relying heavily on Durant over the next few games. In 24 minutes with Curry and Green off the floor this season, Durant has a 45.4% usage rate and has averaged 2.03 fantasy points per minute. Even in small sample size, those are ridiculous numbers. While the Nets have been surprisingly competent to start the season, they should struggle to slow Durant down in tonight’s matchup. He is an elite play and finding a way to sneak Durant and Lebron James into the same lineup offers a huge amount of upside.
Power Forward
Kyle Kuzma (LAL): $6,200 at SAC
With tonight’s high total, jamming in Lakers and Kings’ players will be a popular option for tonight’s slate. Brandon Ingram is coming off a 41-fantasy point outing on Wednesday night, so I am going to be pivoting to Kuzma tonight. He is averaging 28.8 fantasy points per game this season and is seeing minutes in the low-thirties on a nightly basis. The Kings have been dreadful against opposing power forwards to start the year, ranking 29th in fantasy points. Kuzma has been churning out solid fantasy production for the past month, but we’re still waiting on an upside game. Tonight’s matchup would be a great place for it.
Jerami Grant (OKC): $5,500 at DAL
Grant has been a nice surprise in the Thunder frontcourt this season and he will benefit from a fantasy perspective in Westbrook’s absence. He has averaged 29.6 fantasy points in 31.7 minutes over the past four games and offers a relatively high floor for his price tag. Grant will continue to see minutes in the low 30s and should be able to produce consistent stat lines, even in tougher matchups like tonight’s game against the Mavericks. Power forward is not a strong position overall tonight, so a mid-range play like Grant makes a lot of sense.
Center
JaVale McGee (LAL): $7,100 at SAC
The center position is tough to navigate tonight, as everyone seems a little bit overpriced for their matchups. After two down games in a row, McGee might not be as popular of a play as he has been over the past few weeks. His price tag is still at a premium, but he is squaring off against a Kings’ team that ranks 24th in fantasy points allowed to centers and 28th in rebounding differential so far this season. McGee should be able to dominate the glass and find some easy pputbackopportunities in tonight’s game.
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Jay Brancato is an NBA fantasy contributor for FantasyPros. You can follow him on Twitter @jay_brancato.