There are only six games on the FanDuel main slate tonight. FanDuel has a variety of contests from high dollar tournaments to $0.25 contests. There is a little something for everyone. Four of the six games have projected game totals of at least 226 points with the Portland-Atlanta game projecting for 234.5.
Even though it is a smaller slate, there is still a lot of star power as 12 players are priced at $9,000 or higher with nine of the players priced in the five-digit range (though three of them are listed as game-time decisions or questionable). Karl-Anthony Towns ($11,600), LeBron James ($11,300), and Russell Westbrook ($11,300) are the only players in the $11K range tonight.
There are a lot of ways to construct lineups. Stacking the games that are projected to be higher scoring is never a bad option. You can also look to take the “stars and scrubs” approach, where you essentially play higher-priced players, then find low-cost value plays, and punt plays to round out your roster. If you don’t feel good about the high-end or low-end players, then you can take the balanced approach, which minimizes your risk a little bit, but it also can limit your upside.
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.
There are only six games on the FanDuel main slate tonight. FanDuel has a variety of contests from high dollar tournaments to $0.25 contests. There is a little something for everyone. Four of the six games have projected game totals of at least 226 points with the Portland-Atlanta game projecting for 234.5.
Even though it is a smaller slate, there is still a lot of star power as 12 players are priced at $9,000 or higher with nine of the players priced in the five-digit range (though three of them are listed as game-time decisions or questionable). Karl-Anthony Towns ($11,600), LeBron James ($11,300), and Russell Westbrook ($11,300) are the only players in the $11K range tonight.
There are a lot of ways to construct lineups. Stacking the games that are projected to be higher scoring is never a bad option. You can also look to take the “stars and scrubs” approach, where you essentially play higher-priced players, then find low-cost value plays, and punt plays to round out your roster. If you don’t feel good about the high-end or low-end players, then you can take the balanced approach, which minimizes your risk a little bit, but it also can limit your upside.
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 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 the lineup 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!
Check out today’s NBA Slam from FanDuel
Point Guard
Kemba Walker (CHA): $10,000 at LAL
I think Damian Lillard might be the top pure equity play on the board tonight. However, I don’t think Walker is too far behind. At nearly $1,000 in discount, I will take the guy that has averaged 62.7 FDFP in his last three games. Charlotte has an outside chance at the playoffs still, so you’ll see Walker at his best.
Additionally, he is a free agent after this season and could wind up being third-team All-NBA, which would carry a hefty bonus. Oh, did I mention that he gets to play the Lakers? Fire him up with confidence.
I also like Kyrie Irving as he has scored at least 50 fantasy points in six of his last eight games. I am hoping that some value news breaks later today because my original roster had both Walker and Irving as my first two players. I took Irving out once I saw that I’d have trouble fitting him in without a punt.
Trae Young (ATL): $8,700 vs. POR
If I can’t get Kyrie Irving tonight, Young is not a bad consolation prize. He is $1,300 less and has at least 50 FDFP in his last two games. In his earlier matchup against Portland, Young had 46.4 FDFP. This game also has the highest projected total of the night (234.5).
Shooting Guard
Dennis Schroeder (OKC): $5,400 vs. DEN
Paul George is questionable for tonight. I am going on the assumption that he will sit. If that is the case, Schroeder should be in line for quite the boost in usage and opportunity. Regardless, he has averaged 28.5 FDFP in his four games against the Jazz this season. He has had a couple of 40+ fantasy performances this month, so we know that the ceiling exists for him. Overall, he has averaged 28.7 FDFP in his last five games.
Josh Okogie (MIN): $5,400 vs. GS
I don’t like playing Okogie as he has been one of those players that is more valuable to his team as a real-life basketball player than as a fantasy basketball player (see also Terrance Ferguson and P.J. Tucker). However, he has caught fire as of late. He has scored 30+ FDFP in four of his last five games, including 34.3 FDFP against these same Warriors 10 days ago.
Small Forward
Jae Crowder (UTA): $5,600 vs. WAS
Crowder will certainly be low owned in this high-pace matchup against Washington. He is not flashy or someone you think of right away, but he is a consistent player. In the last three games, his range of outcomes has been from 23.6 to 27.2 FDFP. Two weeks ago, he scored 33.5 FDFP against the Wizards in Washington.
Miles Bridges (CHA): $5,500 at LAL
Any time we can pick on the Lakers, I try to take advantage of that. Bridges has been playing well lately, averaging 32.5 FDFP in his last five games. During that stretch, he has averaged 32.2 MPG. In his only meeting with the Lakers, way back in mid-December, he had 24.6 FDFP.
Power Forward
Jerami Grant (OKC): $6,000 vs. DEN
Grant is a solid play, but if Paul George sits tonight, then we could see a similar ceiling to what we saw Wednesday night against Indiana when he had 44.4 FDFP. That was his second game of 40+ fantasy points in his last five. In his previous three games against Utah this season, he has averaged 32.5 FDFP.
Marcus Morris (BOS): $5,200 vs. IND
He was my last man in on this roster build. I don’t love playing Morris, but I think his floor is good enough that I am not scared to play him. He has averaged 28.6 FDFP in the last 10 games. He has played at least 26 minutes in eight of those 10 games. In his only matchup with the Pacers this year, he earned 34.6 FDFP back in early January at a $5,100 salary (6.8x).
Center
JaVale McGee (LAL): $8,000 vs. CHA
I am probably rolling the dice tonight with one of two guys that I don’t trust. I will be going with DeMarcus Cousins or JaVale McGee. For this initial build, I didn’t have the salary for Cousins. McGee has been on fire lately.
The knock against him through the years has been that he is a high point-per-dollar play, but he doesn’t get the minutes. He has gotten at least 28 minutes in each of his last five games. Overall, he has averaged 42.2 FDFP in his last nine games. We’ve also seen an incredible ceiling from him, as he had 75 FDFP against Brooklyn and 57 FDFP against Washington over the last week.
I also don’t mind Cousins as he has a pretty high floor (provided he doesn’t get ejected or something like that). He has 40+ fantasy points in five of his last seven games, including two games in which he reached at least 50. Additionally, Rudy Gobert is in play at the position if you choose to pay up at center. Playing centers against Washington is never a bad idea. Especially when Gobert has gone for 50+ fantasy points in two of the last three games.
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Jamy Bechler is an NBA, NFL, and PGA fantasy contributor for FantasyPros. His DFS twitter is @WinningDFS101. 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.