With 10 games to decide between, I’ve been lead towards a studs-and-scrubs strategy. As usual, I set myself the challenge of coming in under the FanDuel $60k budget, ideally with a little spending money left over. This week I have $1,000 left over. Let’s take a look at the lineup.
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Point Guard
Kyrie Irving (BOS): $8,400 vs. IND
Irving (eye) missed two games prior to Monday’s return, in which he had a successful night before sitting out the fourth quarter. He scored 17 points, two rebounds, six assists, and three steals in that game. His salary dropped a few hundred dollars, but he’s likely to see his typical 30+ minutes now. Take advantage of buying on the dip.
Patty Mills (SA): @ $3,800 @ MEM
Mills has scored double-digit points in his last four games. In the last two, he has seen and increased average of 24.5 minutes and 24.1 FPTS. Memphis have been in the top three in turnovers over the last three games, so there’s opportunity here for Mills as a bargain-bin play. There’s a risk that Mills sees limited minutes, and some of his recent output has been due to game flow, but in his last game against the Grizzlies, two games ago, Mills saw 23 minutes for 24.4 FPTS.
With 10 games to decide between, I’ve been lead towards a studs-and-scrubs strategy. As usual, I set myself the challenge of coming in under the FanDuel $60k budget, ideally with a little spending money left over. This week I have $1,000 left over. Let’s take a look at the lineup.
Check out today’s NBA Shot from FanDuel
Point Guard
Kyrie Irving (BOS): $8,400 vs. IND
Irving (eye) missed two games prior to Monday’s return, in which he had a successful night before sitting out the fourth quarter. He scored 17 points, two rebounds, six assists, and three steals in that game. His salary dropped a few hundred dollars, but he’s likely to see his typical 30+ minutes now. Take advantage of buying on the dip.
Patty Mills (SA): @ $3,800 @ MEM
Mills has scored double-digit points in his last four games. In the last two, he has seen and increased average of 24.5 minutes and 24.1 FPTS. Memphis have been in the top three in turnovers over the last three games, so there’s opportunity here for Mills as a bargain-bin play. There’s a risk that Mills sees limited minutes, and some of his recent output has been due to game flow, but in his last game against the Grizzlies, two games ago, Mills saw 23 minutes for 24.4 FPTS.
Shooting Guard
James Harden (HOU): $12,600 vs. MIL
Harden’s performance has been virtually unmatched due to his massive points totals. Over his last four games, he has averaged 39.2 points and 66.1 FPTS. He’s also been a turnover machine, but that’s just a blip compared to what he will get you overall. During his last four games, Harden has averaged 40.0 minutes, 39.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 12.2 assists, 1.0 blocks, 1.2 steals and 7.2 turnovers. He’s scored 50+ FPTS in each of his last 10 games, and beyond.
Furkan Korkmaz (PHI): $3,800 @ WAS
J.J. Reddick (back) will miss Wednesday’s game, after first sitting out on Tuesday. Korkmaz filled in for him on Tuesday and made 16 points with two rebounds and four assists. The Wizards have given up the third most points this season, so Korkmaz should have another good night and generate value.
Small Forward
TJ Warren (PHO): $6,700 @ DAL
Warren stepped up on Sunday to lead the Suns in scoring with 23 points over 37 minutes when Devin Booker exited with back spasms. Booker is a GTD for Wednesday, but he missed Tuesday’s game, and there’s a strong chance he sits out again. Warren would then be in line for another heavy workload. Even with Booker in the lineup, Warren is generating points. He has scored 20+ points in four of his last five games. Warren is also a good source of steals, averaging 2.4 over those last five games, and the Mavericks have given up the second most turnovers this season.
Cedi Osman (CLE): $4,500 @ NO
Osman has scored double-digit points in his last two games. He failed to do so in his previous two but was in double-digits in his previous eight. He’s seeing 30 minutes a game, so the playing time is there. He scored 27.7 FPTS when the Cavaliers last paced the Pelicans, which was just two games ago.
Power Forward
Blake Griffin (DET): $9,200 @ LAL
Griffin has scored 34 points in his last two games and has averaged 30.7 points over his last four, along with 7.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 0.2 blocks, 1.2 steals, and 36.7 minutes. This works out to an average of 50 FPTS per game. His efficiency on a FPTS-per-dollar basis is very comparable with that of top-option Anthony Davis and has been all season. Thus, Griffin makes a great choice without breaking the bank.
Richaun Holmes (PHO): $3,800 @ DAL
Holmes can certainly be regarded as a punt-play, but he’s done enough to merit consideration. In his last four games, he has ranged from 14.1 to 39.8 FPTS, hitting 30+ FPTS twice. He’s scored double-digit points in those last four games, despite averaging just 17 minutes per game. His efficiency has been steady enough to generate a solid floor, with the potential for an upside burst.
Center
Tristan Thompson (CLE): $6,200 @ NO
Thompson is a good choice if you wish to avoid high-priced centers to make a more economical choice. He scored 34.2 FPTS when he faced the Pelicans two games ago, and 41.1 FPTS in his previous game, against the Pacers. In his four games since returning, Thompson has double-doubled twice and hit double-digit points and double-digit rebounds three times each. He’s a good bet to do well on Wednesday.
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Jason Micklewright is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyPonder.