We have a small six-game slate on tap tonight, which makes analysis a lot easier. There is a major news piece we are waiting for involving James Harden, who is questionable, so the slate really revolves around that at this point in the day. Let’s get into some FanDuel plays for the slate.
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Guards
Russell Westbrook (PG – HOU): $11,000 @ Trail Blazers
There is no total out for this game yet as we await more clarification on Harden, but this will almost certainly be the highest projected total on the slate. The Trail Blazers add eight points on average to their opponent’s team fantasy point total, and Westbrook has gone for a 1.67 fantasy point per minute rate this year with Harden off the floor. He will take all the shots he can handle and control the ball much more, giving him a massive floor/ceiling combo in this matchup with the Blazers. Nearly everybody will have him, so in cash games, it is a real losing proposition to not roster him. If Harden is in, my interest in him is really diminished at the big price tag, so keep a close eye on the news.
We have a small six-game slate on tap tonight, which makes analysis a lot easier. There is a major news piece we are waiting for involving James Harden, who is questionable, so the slate really revolves around that at this point in the day. Let’s get into some FanDuel plays for the slate.
Check out today’s NBA Shot from FanDuel
Guards
Russell Westbrook (PG – HOU): $11,000 @ Trail Blazers
There is no total out for this game yet as we await more clarification on Harden, but this will almost certainly be the highest projected total on the slate. The Trail Blazers add eight points on average to their opponent’s team fantasy point total, and Westbrook has gone for a 1.67 fantasy point per minute rate this year with Harden off the floor. He will take all the shots he can handle and control the ball much more, giving him a massive floor/ceiling combo in this matchup with the Blazers. Nearly everybody will have him, so in cash games, it is a real losing proposition to not roster him. If Harden is in, my interest in him is really diminished at the big price tag, so keep a close eye on the news.
Derrick Rose (PG – DET): $7,500 @ Nets
Rose has been unleashed, playing 30+ minutes in four straight games and scoring 20+ points in his last twelve games. The price is obviously reflective of that, as Rose is one of the better fantasy contributors in the game when he is given a lot of minutes, but with Andre Drummond potentially missing this game, buying high on Rose does not sound like too bad of an idea. It helps that the Nets have given up an average salary return of 5.7x to guards. You can easily pencil Rose in for 20+ shot attempts here, giving him a very reachable floor/ceiling combination even at the elevated price tag.
C.J. McCollum (SG – POR): $7,400 vs. Rockets
The price on Lillard is a little bit exorbitant, so I am going to favor McCollum here. Guards have averaged a 5.8x return on salary when facing the Rockets, and McCollum has been a surprisingly high floor player this season. Two games ago he played just 12 minutes, which was majorly disappointing, but when you take that game out you see that he has routinely been over 30 fantasy points, even despite a pretty tough schedule recently. You are going to want a ton of this game, and McCollum is one of the better pieces of it price-wise.
Mike Conley (PG – UTA): $3,800 @ Spurs
What a disastrous year for Conley. He has missed a bunch of games with injury, and just has not been doing much when healthy. He has not been a featured part of the Jazz offense to say the least. However, at $3,800 how do you ignore the guy? His minutes finally popped back up to 25 last games after playing less than 20 minutes in five straight games. He did not do much with those minutes, but he did take nine shot attempts. If we can see another 25-minute game, there is a really good chance Conley pays off this price tag. While you should not expect much at this point, the ceiling is intact just because of how little has to happen for him to post a 6-7x return here. If you need a salary saver at guard, consider Conley.
Forwards
Julius Randle (PF – NYK): $7,500 vs. Grizzlies
The Knicks never seem to treat DFS players well, as their minutes and shot attempts fluctuate a ton from game to game. However, Randle is one of the consistent ones in the picture, as he has at least played 30+ minutes routinely. He has seen a little bit of a boost over the recent games with RJ Barrett on the shelf, and he has scored 20+ real points in three straight games. This matchup with the Grizzlies at home is juicy, as they play really fats and add 8 fantasy points to their opponent’s team totals this year. With so little teams on the slate, it is hard not to want some Knicks exposure in this great matchup, and Randle seems like the safest way to get that.
Eric Gordon (SF – HOU): $6,100 @ Trail Blazers
Another beneficiary of Harden being off the floor is Gordon, who has a 1.01 fantasy point per minute rate on the year in those situations. He has been playing more minutes and has actually gotten some usage lately, coming off of a ridiculous 50 point game on Monday where he took 22 shots. If Harden is out, those shots should continue to come in heavy doses. At this price tag, however, he is far from a lock. He is really reliant on the shots falling, so there are many paths to failure here. I would lean towards playing him just because of the insane shot attempt projection he has with Harden out, but it is far from a must-play.
Christian Wood (F – DET): $3,800 @ Nets
This is dependent on the injury news involving Andre Drummond, who is currently questionable. When Wood has been on the floor without Drummond this year, he has averaged 1.26 fantasy points per minute. At $3,800, if you give him even 20 minutes, he is projected to smash that salary with a projection of 25 FanDuel points. Considering the fact that he has routinely played around 20 minutes even with Drummond in the game, Wood projects as one of the best plays on the board if Drummond does sit out. In the two recent games where Drummond missed, Wood played 25 and 28 minutes. I am not sure more needs to be said.
Centers
Hassan Whiteside (C – POR): $8,900 vs. Rockets
We have talked about this a ton this year in my articles, but the Rockets have really been punished by centers this year. They have given up an average salary return of 5.8x to big men, and Whiteside is one of the best in the game. He has a 20% usage rate (high for a center) and a really strong 1.50 fantasy point per minute rate. Minutes are no problem, as he has played more than 30 minutes in nearly every game this year, routinely going past the 35-minute mark. The ceiling is a little bit cut off at the higher price tag for Whiteside, but he is my top projected center right now.
Clint Capela (C – HOU): $7,800 @ Trail Blazers
This slate is all about this Rockets/Blazers game, and Capela is in play regardless of the Harden news. The Blazers have given up an average salary return of 5.6x to centers, and Capela has been a very steady fantasy contributor this year. He is averaging a double-double (14 points, 14 rebounds), and has big-time block upside to boot (he has 11 blocks over his last three games). There is an injury question with him as well, as he is currently listed as questionable, but I would expect him to lace them up for this game. If he does, he should be in your player pool at center, if not just because of the lack of other options at the position on the short slate.
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Jon Anderson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jon, check out his archive and follow him@JonPgh.
