This is an unusually small main slate on FanDuel tonight with only five NBA games. The marquee game is the Houston-Denver game, which also has the highest projected total of 227 points. Nikola Jokic is on fire right now, but everybody’s performance fails in comparison with what James Harden is doing on a nightly basis. This game could have a lot of fireworks in it.
There are only six players that are priced at $9,000 or higher with James Harden being the top-priced player by a clear margin at $13,600. He is priced $2,000 more than Russell Westbrook. Nikola Jokic and Paul George are the only other players in the $11,000 range at $11,500 and $11,400, respectively.
There are a lot of ways to construct lineups. Stacking the Rockets-Nuggets game is a very good option.
Targeting multiple Jazz players as they play the Hawks, who play at a fast pace with little regard for defense, also isn’t a terrible decision. You can also look to take the Stars-and-Scrubs approach, where you essentially play higher-priced players and then find low-cost value plays to round out your roster. You can also look at a balanced roster, where you minimize your risk by avoiding low-end punt plays.
With tonight only having five games, pure point plays are more important than point-per-dollar plays. You have to decide which star(s) you are going to hitch your wagon to. Harden, Westbrook, Jokic, and George are all capable of 70-point performances. If that happens and you don’t have that in your lineup, it’ll be hard to make that up in a five-game slate.
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 plays that recommended are plays that I will be considering for my lineups, as well. That doesn’t mean that 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
Trae Young (ATL): $7,300 at UTA
I want to play Westbrook but can’t fit him in. I am not opposed to Young, but I’d rather be playing Westbrook from an equity standpoint. Certainly, a good Westbrook game is much better than a good Young game. But, a “meh” Westbrook game is not $4,300 better than a good Young game. Granted, the matchup with the Jazz isn’t great but they are not playing defense as well as they did last year. They are exploitable. Young has averaged nearly 41 FDFP in his last three games (all on the road, by the way). He has four 40+ fantasy performances in his last eight games. This is purely a roster construction play that I can live with. If you can get Westbrook in your lineup and feel good about the other positions, then that is certainly fine.
Ricky Rubio (UTA): $6,300 vs. ATL
Low-owned? Check. Upside? Check. Playing the Hawks? Check. Rubio might be flying a little bit under the radar since coming back from his injury, but he is a nice GPP option tonight. I also think that the Hawks may just keep this game close, which makes Rubio an even better play. It looks like he is shaking the rust off and getting back in the swing of things. He has had 26.9 and 40.8 FDFP in his last two games. The Jazz have the highest boost in pace of play on the slate today.
Shooting Guard
Monte Morris (DEN): $4,500 vs. HOU
He has been a solid value all season with Jamal Murray in the lineup. With Murray out, he becomes a good play period. He earned 44.9 FDFP on Wednesday at New Orleans without Murray. In that game, his minutes increased 24 to 39 from the previous game. I don’t expect a 40-point performance, but he did have a 38.1 fantasy game against Houston in early January. His price is too cheap, and his projected minutes are too significant to not play him tonight.
Allonzo Trier (NYK): $4,000 vs. BOS
I typically don’t like the idea of playing Knicks players but if Wesley Mathews and Dennis Smith sit tonight, then Trier becomes a must-play in GPPs. Frank Ntilikina and Emmanuel Mudiay are sitting out with injuries and Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Trey Burke are on their way to Dallas. Who else is going to play the point guard position (though he is a shooting guard on FD). He is not a guaranteed safe play, but he is a GPP play because of his upside. Even though he has only averaged 17 fantasy points in the last four games, we’ve seen his ceiling. In the last two weeks, he has gone for 47.5 FDFP against Houston and 37.2 FDFP against OKC. He should get all the minutes he can handle tonight (if the Dallas guys sit) and has upside, which makes him an exciting GPP play.
Small Forward
Paul George (OKC): $11,400 at MIA
The small forward position is not really attractive from an upside standpoint tonight, so I feel that George is a no-brainer. Tonight’s price is the highest he has been all season, but then again, he has averaged nearly 55 FDFP in his last eight games. He is quietly having an MVP-like season, except that James Harden is playing at a ridiculous level, and he is also overshadowed by teammate Russell Westbrook. George does a little bit of everything so even if he is not scoring, he can still provide a decent floor.
Mario Hezonja (NYK): $4,400 vs. BOS
This might be my favorite GPP play of the night, but my good feelings must be tempered by the fact that he still plays for the always dysfunctional Knicks. If the newly acquired Dallas players don’t suit up tonight for the Knicks, then lock in Hezonja. He is going to play a lot of minutes and he is not afraid to come out firing. He is a gunslinger, and this should be a perfect spot for him as the Knicks will only dress nine or ten players. Even before the trade, he played 27 MPG in his last three games (averaging 23.4 FDFP). Since the start of the New Year, he has averaged 28 fantasy points in the seven games that he has played at least 20 minutes. If this is a blowout, it might even be better as he will get some Celtics backups to go up against.
Power Forward
Kenneth Faried (HOU): $7,900 at DEN
He is playing out of his mind right now. It reminds me of his days in Denver. Wait, what’s that you say? He is visiting Denver tonight? Fire him up with confidence. #NarrativeStreet. He is a high-energy player that finds himself in the right spot with the Rockets as Clint Capela is out. He was $3,800 before he was traded two weeks ago to the Rockets and now, he is priced up extremely high but has averaged nearly 40 fantasy points in his last four games.
Jerami Grant (OKC): $6,000 at MIA
He is getting all the minutes he can handle for the Thunder as he hasn’t played less than 30 minutes in a game since January 4. In the past, he has been a better real-life basketball player than he was a fantasy producer, but he is really filling up the stat sheet lately. He has averaged 33.5 FDFP in his last 10 games. He is coming off fantasy performances of 35.9 and 39.4 and his price went down $100. He is a much better single-entry or cash gameplay but on a five-game slate like tonight, he is also a good GPP option.
Center
Marc Gasol (MEM): $8,200 at CHA
First, I would prefer Nikola Jokic here, but I can’t quite fit him in on FD. Going Jokic-George has me with a point guard I can’t handle rostering. Going Jokic-Westbrook puts me on a small forward that I don’t want to play. My first look lineup only has one stud (George) but I then get more stars in my lineup that can get 40+. Gasol is not a terrible consolation prize. My first thought was that I’d avoid the Charlotte-Memphis game but then I remembered what Gasol did to the Hornets last week eight days ago when he had a triple-double. Earning 63.4 FDFP against this same team recently make Gasol a nice option. I don’t expect the same results, but he should be able to pay off his salary. Even though Jokic is the clear equity play here, he is also $3,200 more than Gasol, which is a huge gap considering Gasol has a great matchup.
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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.