There are 10 games on tonight’s FanDuel main slate with tournament sizes and entry fees to satisfy all levels of DFS players. There are two games with 228-point projected game totals, but one is expected to be close (Toronto-Houston) while the other should be a blowout (Milwaukee-Charlotte).
There are 11 players priced at $9,000 or higher, with James Harden topping the charts by a clear margin at $14,000, $2,500 more than Giannis Antetokounmpo. Karl-Anthony Towns ($11,100) is the only other player in the $11,000 range.
There are a lot of ways to construct lineups. Targeting and stacking the night’s highest-scoring games isn’t a terrible decision. You can also look to take the stars-and-scrubs approach, where you play higher-priced players and then find low-cost value plays to round out your roster. Harden is getting to be too expensive (especially if he sees Kawhi Leonard on defense tonight). As of this writing, I have decided to go with a more balanced approach by fading all of the guys $9,000 and above in my initial first-look lineup. There are question marks on all of them that makes me OK with fading them.
There are 10 games on tonight’s FanDuel main slate with tournament sizes and entry fees to satisfy all levels of DFS players. There are two games with 228-point projected game totals, but one is expected to be close (Toronto-Houston) while the other should be a blowout (Milwaukee-Charlotte).
There are 11 players priced at $9,000 or higher, with James Harden topping the charts by a clear margin at $14,000, $2,500 more than Giannis Antetokounmpo. Karl-Anthony Towns ($11,100) is the only other player in the $11,000 range.
There are a lot of ways to construct lineups. Targeting and stacking the night’s highest-scoring games isn’t a terrible decision. You can also look to take the stars-and-scrubs approach, where you play higher-priced players and then find low-cost value plays to round out your roster. Harden is getting to be too expensive (especially if he sees Kawhi Leonard on defense tonight). As of this writing, I have decided to go with a more balanced approach by fading all of the guys $9,000 and above in my initial first-look lineup. There are question marks on all of them that makes me OK with fading them.
The roster and comments that I provide are intended to be taken as an early first look. In no way should you blindly enter this lineup in a contest, 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 should open up as the day goes by that may allow you to get even better plays into your lineup. All of the following recommendations are players that I will be considering for my lineups as well. That doesn’t mean I will end up with all of these guys, as updated news and constructing rosters might lead me 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
Eric Bledsoe (MIL): $7,700 vs. CHA
The first thing to understand is that if Jeff Teague and Derrick Rose both sit for Minnesota, then you have to pivot to Jerryd Bayless in one of your point guard spots. Bayless as chalk is a scary thought, but 32.4 and 35.3 FanDuel fantasy points (FDFP) in the last two games at $4,000 would make him a must-start if he is the Timberwolves’ only point guard suiting up. This would also open up your roster to pay up somewhere else. Otherwise, I am looking at Bledsoe, as he has been playing well lately. This is especially an important play if I fade Antetokounmpo in this potential blowout but still want exposure to the Bucks. Bledsoe is averaging 41.4 FDFP in his last six games. Charlotte is not good defensively, so he has a chance to have a nice game and should be under-owned.
Jamal Murray (DEN): $6,900 vs. PHO
Other than his weird game on Wednesday, when he scored nine points against the Jazz, Murray has been consistent. Going into Wednesday, he had seven straight games of between 29-35 FDFP. Nothing great, but reliable production. Tonight, though, he gets everybody’s favorite opponent in the Phoenix Suns. In his three games against the Suns this season, he has earned 35.3, 63.2, and 43.1 fantasy points. There is always the possibility of a blowout. If that is the case, he should still provide a reasonable floor. If the game stays close for any length of time, then he has a chance to show a higher ceiling.
Shooting Guard
Donovan Mitchell (UTA): $8,500 vs. MIN
I really like the shooting guard position and am choosing to go with two stars instead of paying up for a superstar. Mitchell is the man in Utah, and he gets Minnesota at home on a back-to-back. Mitchell has gone for 61.2 and 50.9 FDFP in his last two games. In his last 10 outings, he is averaging nearly 47 fantasy points with four games of at least 50 during that stretch. His usage gives him a nice floor, and his talent gives him a nice ceiling.
D’Angelo Russell (BKN): $8,800 vs. NYK
Spencer Dinwiddie will be out tonight with a thumb injury that could require surgery. This should mean that Russell sees all the minutes he can handle. Tonight’s price tag is the highest it has been all season, but there is a reason for that. He has 50+ fantasy points in four of his last five games. In his last 11 games, he is averaging 42.0 FDFP (which includes a 7.7 clunker). Two words of warning, though. This is still the Nets, and their rotations are sometimes unpredictable. Also, he hasn’t done anything special against the Knicks this season. In his three games against New York, he has only averaged 26.1 FDFP. Yet he last faced them on Dec. 8, and he is playing at a different level right now.
Small Forward
Kelly Oubre Jr. (PHO): $6,000 at DEN
TJ Warren is out, and Oubre has taken advantage. He was actually producing decent fantasy numbers before Warren suffered an ankle injury, but this has solidified his role with the Suns as a high-energy player who can fill up a stat sheet. They are continuing a back-to-back at Denver, which is one of the toughest things to do in sports, so there is always the chance he goes cold. But I like how he does a little bit of everything and is not entirely reliant on shooting the ball. He is averaging 35.7 FDFP in his last nine games after recording 48.7 FDFP last night against Portland. Two weeks ago, he had 49.7 FDFP against the Nuggets.
Will Barton (DEN): $5,100 vs. PHO
Barton finally looked like his old self on Wednesday night against the Jazz. It was the most minutes he has played since returning from hip surgery. He took the most shots (13) in his five games since returning, but what I liked the most was seeing him grab nine rebounds. This is what you want to see from a guy returning from an injury. He gets a bad Suns defense tonight, so this seems like the perfect situation to keep the momentum going from Wednesday’s 43.3 FDFP production.
Power Forward
Jaren Jackson Jr. (MEM): $6,000 vs. SAC
I wouldn’t be surprised if Blake Griffin is one of tonight’s highest scorers, but with Andre Drummond scheduled to return, I am not prepared to make that play with one lineup. If playing multiple lineups, I will find a way to use Griffin. Instead, I will choose to save 4K in salary and go with a guy that is only a GPP play. Jackson is not a safe play, but he does have upside in a matchup with Sacramento that gives Memphis the biggest pace bump on the slate. He has not reached 30 fantasy points in the last six games, so there is a great deal of risk. However, he has averaged 38.6 FDFP in the three games against Sacramento this season. Pascal Siakam is a better cash game or safe pick at a similar price point if you don’t want to go with Jackson. If you can find more salary (see: Bayless), then you could also easily get to Tobias Harris and his 47.7 fantasy-point average in the last three games.
PJ Tucker (HOU): $5,100 vs. TOR
Harden isn’t the only Rocket playing well lately. Tucker has averaged 29.3 FDFP in his last nine games. He is seeing consistent minutes and does a lot of things well. Consider Tucker a solid value play who most likely won’t win you a GPP, but also shouldn’t hurt you. If you are into narratives, he used to play for Toronto.
Center
Brook Lopez (MIL): $5,600 vs. CHA
The Bucks have the highest implied total on the slate, and Charlotte isn’t great defending centers. Lopez is priced as you’d expect, but not in line with recent performance. He has gone for 42.0 and 32.3 FDFP in the last two games. Even before this latest run of high-level play, Lopez was averaging a decent 25.5 FDFP in the previous six games. He is a solid play with a chance for upside in this matchup. I don’t mind paying up for Nikola Vucevic, Rudy Gobert, or Towns, but I decided to try and save salary at this position tonight.
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Jamy Bechler is an NBA, NFL, and PGA 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.
