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NBA Grind Down: Friday, February 3rd

by Chirag Hira (INSPYR) Last Updated 2017-02-04 03:31:44

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Welcome to the RotoGrinders NBA Grind Down. In this all-encompassing preview of today’s NBA action, every game will be broken down statistically, with several key elements highlighted in our charts.

Vegas lines are broken down to show projected team totals, to give you an idea of who is favored to win, and often more importantly, how many points they’re expected to score. We also provide pace numbers, so you can spot a game that might have a few extra possessions and more opportunities for fantasy points.

We also provide position-by-position matchup rankings for every team, to give you an idea of the players who will be in better situations to succeed. Using Defense versus Position data, every projected starter is listed along with his opponent’s rank in points allowed to players of his position. These color-coded charts will help you spot the best matchups of the night at a glance.

If you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use promo code “GRINDERS” to receive the best perks in the industry.

Click here to follow INSPYR on Twitter!

Toronto Raptors at Orlando Magic – 7:00 PM ET

Toronto Raptors Orlando Magic
Article Image Vegas Total 210.0 Article Image Vegas Total 210.0
Vegas Spread -4.5 Vegas Spread 4.5
Team Total 107.3 Team Total 102.8
Pace +/- -0.4 Pace +/- -0.8
Proj. Starter Kyle Lowry Norman Powell DeMarre Carroll Patrick Patterson Jonas Valanciunas Proj. Starter Elfrid Payton Evan Fournier Aaron Gordon Serge Ibaka Nikola Vucevic
Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C
Adj. DvP 28 18 21 8 23 Adj. DvP 11 7 11 10 11
DRPM -0.55 -0.75 -0.99 0.44 1.58 DRPM 1.04 -0.15 0.69 1.77 -0.29

Toronto Raptors

Happy Friday! We made it through another week and I’m here to fill in for the Notorious on this nine-game slate. One game starts at lock and that’s Toronto visiting Orlando. DeMar DeRozan has missed five out of the last six games due to an ankle injury and he is currently being listed as questionable. He has not even been off for a week and I’d expect him to be out here. Even if he does play, DeRozan is scoring dependent guard that carries more risk than reward for tonight’s matchup. Norman Powell will continue to start for DeRozan and is a lock for 30+ minutes tonight. Powell’s salary has started to creep up and he did underperform salary-based expectations in his last game. Still, Powell should be considered tonight against the Orlando Magic and Evan Fournier, who is coming off a heel injury and owns a -0.75 DPRM.

Kyle Lowry is the elite option here and while he’s played well in the absence of DeRozan, averaging 47.22 FanDuel points over his last five, he’s still overpriced on FanDuel. Considering he is $9.6k on FD and only $8.9k on DK, we should look his way on DraftKings. The position is deep as usual considering it’s a nine-game slate, but Lowry is projecting out as a high-floor cash game play rather than a huge ceiling tournament play. While he can go off, 50 fantasy points is pretty much expected on FD. He’s only had two games over 55 fantasy points this season and one came against the Lakers and the other came against the Bulls in overtime, two ideal scenarios.

Lucas Nogueira has also been playing well over his last seven games, underperforming only once, but that game did come against the Magic this past Sunday. He’s foul prone and also not that rewarding. A lot of players must have gotten burned by Jonas Valanciunas after his dud in Boston but he’s still a strong tournament play against the Magic, who rank 29th against centers. DeMarre Carroll is dealing with a finger injury and should be avoided even though he’s played 37 minutes in back-to-back games. Jared Sullinger played well against his former team on Wednesday but he’s not even playing 20 minutes yet and also has more potential risk than reward.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP DRPM
Kyle Lowry $9,600 $8,900 1.07 37.5 2.9 40.1 7.3 27.2% 3.6% 28 -0.55
Norman Powell $5,100 $5,700 0.72 16.5 12.0 11.9 7.1 19.0% -0.7% 18 -0.75
DeMarre Carroll $4,000 $4,000 0.68 26.3 4.5 17.9 -2.1 15.9% -0.7% 21 -0.99
Patrick Patterson $3,900 $3,600 0.64 28.0 0.3 18.0 0.8 12.3% 1.0% 8 0.44
Jonas Valanciunas $5,600 $5,400 0.97 27.1 -3.2 26.2 -3.3 18.5% 0.1% 23 1.58
Terrence Ross $3,600 $3,900 0.75 22.5 1.8 16.9 0.5 18.5% 2.0% 21 N/A

Elite Plays – Kyle Lowry (DK cash), Norman Powell (if DeRozan is out)

Secondary Plays – Jonas Valanciunas, Lucas Nogueira

Orlando Magic

For whatever reason, Frank Vogel figured out that he should start playing Nikola Vucevic and Serge Ibaka more. Vucevic has played over 32 minutes in four of his last five games, with the last two games being over 37 minutes. Vucevic has had really nice performances against Indiana and Toronto and faces Toronto again tonight. Evan Fournier was out for that game against Toronto last week but is back for this one. While Vucevic might not go off for 55+ fantasy points again he should remain a high-floor option with his minutes seemingly secure. Evan Fournier has been back for two games but has yet to log over 30 minutes. He has not had a huge game yet but is only $5k on both sites. This might not be the game for him to break out but his huge GPP game is coming soon if he underperforms again and his salary drops some more. I’d expect Vogel to keep his minutes under 30 again with the Magic playing the Hawks tomorrow.

Serge Ibaka has not seen a dip in his performance with Fournier back, scoring over 40 fantasy points in both games. He didn’t have a huge game against Toronto last week and will remain a GPP play for this game. Elfrid Payton had a solid game against Toronto last week but struggled against them earlier in the year, with so many options today, I’m not looking at a guy that can’t shoot but needs to shoot over 50% to exceed value. Aaron Gordon has disappeared on us again and is too risky to trust on a nine-game slate.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP DRPM
Elfrid Payton $6,700 $6,000 0.94 29.3 3.2 27.6 2.2 25.7% -1.1% 11 1.04
Evan Fournier $5,000 $5,000 0.78 32.8 -6.6 25.5 -10.3 23.9% 0.0% 7 -0.15
Aaron Gordon $4,800 $4,700 0.77 27.6 0.9 21.2 -6.5 19.7% -3.6% 11 0.69
Serge Ibaka $6,000 $6,200 0.93 30.3 5.4 28.0 4.8 20.1% -0.7% 10 1.77
Nikola Vucevic $7,200 $7,000 1.14 28.3 7.9 32.2 10.5 25.1% -0.3% 11 -0.29

Elite Plays – Nikola Vucevic

Secondary Plays – Serge Ibaka, Elfrid Payton

Indiana Pacers at Brooklyn Nets – 7:30 PM ET

Indiana Pacers Brooklyn Nets
Article Image Vegas Total 219.5 Article Image Vegas Total 219.5
Vegas Spread -7.0 Vegas Spread 7.0
Team Total 113.3 Team Total 106.3
Pace +/- 5.3 Pace +/- 1.0
Proj. Starter Jeff Teague C.J. Miles Paul George Thaddeus Young Myles Turner Proj. Starter Isaiah Whitehead Randy Foye Bojan Bogdanovic Rondae Hollis-Jefferson Brook Lopez
Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C
Adj. DvP 30 29 30 29 26 Adj. DvP 16 14 15 21 20
DRPM -0.38 -1.56 -3.39 0.15 -0.33 DRPM -0.21 -0.80 -0.30 1.83 2.01

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers get the nicest matchup on the board tonight with a date with the Nets in Brooklyn. The Nets usually play tough at home but did allow Myles Turner and Jeff Teague to have huge games against them in early January. Teague and Turner will remain elite fantasy options against the Nets tonight and we should see their whole squad since the Nets don’t play again until Sunday. Paul George should also be considered an elite option and was playing well before his dud against Orlando earlier this week. With Jimmy Butler only ahead of George in salary, he should be a popular play tonight. Butler does have the higher floor/ceiling combo and is not that much more expensive than George on FanDuel but the position does include Giannis Antetokounmpo against Denver on DraftKings, making the Greek Freak the more valuable player.

C.J. Miles suffered a minor injury against the Rockets and has only played 20 minutes in his last two games. He once again had over 20 fantasy points against Toronto but he’s simply a GPP fill-in play and not someone to build around on a nine-game slate. Thaddeus Young has been a solid option that won’t kill you over the last five games and faces his former team for the last time this season. He scored over 37 fantasy points against them in Brooklyn early in the season. Glenn Robinson has also been averaging 20 minutes over his last three games and is cheap tournament dart throw if you need one to round out a roster.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP DRPM
Jeff Teague $7,600 $7,500 1.05 32.6 5.1 34.3 1.9 26.5% -5.3% 30 -0.38
C.J. Miles $4,100 $4,100 0.73 22.5 4.3 16.4 -1.8 17.7% -5.2% 29 -1.56
Paul George $8,700 $8,100 1.02 35.7 2.6 36.3 -0.1 27.4% 0.9% 30 -3.39
Thaddeus Young $5,500 $5,400 0.78 31.3 -1.9 24.3 -1.1 15.9% 0.8% 29 0.15
Myles Turner $6,700 $6,900 1.03 30.4 3.9 31.2 0.9 19.5% -4.4% 26 -0.33
Monta Ellis $3,500 $3,200 0.63 27.3 -9.9 17.2 -8.4 17.0% -3.1% 29 N/A

Elite Plays – Jeff Teague, Myles Turner, Thaddeus Young

Secondary Plays – Paul George, C.J. Miles or Glenn Robinson

Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets continue to play a bunch of guys but started Isaiah Whitehead and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson over Spencer Dinwiddie and Trevor Booker in their last game. I’d expect that to stick tonight with RHJ really being the only player with some potential profit on his punt level salary. Whitehead was playing better off the bench where he didn’t have to share the ball as much with Brook Lopez and Bojan Bogdanovic. Brook Lopez has not had a huge game against the Pacers in three meetings this year but that does not mean he won’t. Still, he’s their main option and leads them with a 28.3% true usage rate, making him a viable GPP play on DraftKings. His salary is over $7k on FanDuel and likely won’t return a huge profit. BroLo has not scored over 50 fantasy points this calendar year and has only done four times all season. Caris LeVert has a salary that is under $4k on DraftKings and he’s played over 26 minutes in four consecutive games, making him a viable GPP play.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP DRPM
Spencer Dinwiddie $3,700 $3,300 0.68 21.0 1.3 14.2 3.8 16.5% 2.4% 16 -0.21
Randy Foye $3,500 $3,000 0.60 18.4 0.0 11.0 -3.0 17.4% 1.8% 14 -0.80
Bojan Bogdanovic $4,300 $4,200 0.76 26.6 1.8 20.2 -2.0 21.4% 1.4% 15 -0.30
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson $4,300 $4,100 0.85 21.4 -1.3 18.2 -0.9 18.7% -1.3% 21 1.83
Brook Lopez $7,200 $6,500 1.12 29.3 1.4 32.7 -3.7 28.3% -4.8% 20 2.01
Sean Kilpatrick $3,800 $4,000 0.82 26.7 -6.3 22.0 -9.2 24.1% -2.5% 14 N/A

Elite Plays – N/A

Secondary Plays – Brook Lopez (DK), Caris LeVert (DK), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

Minnesota Timberwolves at Detroit Pistons – 7:30 PM ET

Minnesota Timberwolves Detroit Pistons
Article Image Vegas Total 210.0 Article Image Vegas Total 210.0
Vegas Spread 4.5 Vegas Spread -4.5
Team Total 102.8 Team Total 107.3
Pace +/- -2.1 Pace +/- -1.6
Proj. Starter Ricky Rubio Zach LaVine Andrew Wiggins Gorgui Dieng Karl-Anthony Towns Proj. Starter Reggie Jackson Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Marcus Morris Jon Leuer Andre Drummond
Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C
Adj. DvP 25 6 14 4 17 Adj. DvP 14 8 6 7 14
DRPM -2.17 0.17 0.66 1.07 1.65 DRPM 1.44 -3.31 -2.02 3.10 -0.84

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves travel to Detroit after getting crushed in Cleveland on Wednesday. Even though the T-Wolves lost by 28 points, Karl-Anthony Towns still played 38 minutes. KAT will continue to be a high-floor play against the Pistons and has a chance to exceed value against Andre Drummond who is a better help side defender than on the ball or posting up. Still, the Pistons rank 9th in rebounding differential so it might be difficult for KAT to get 13+ rebounds, thus limiting his upside. Andrew Wiggins was playing well before that Cleveland thrashing and will remain a viable option against the slow paced Pistons. Considering he’s a scoring dependent player that will see less possessions than usual, it might be a good spot to fade him with his salary sitting over $7k.

Zach LaVine has been in a slump and will likely get Detroit’s best defender for most of the night in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, making him too risky as well. Ricky Rubio magically found his touch against the Magic, hitting a career-high 6 three-pointers and will be a viable option against the burnable defense of Reggie Jackson. Rubio has played over 35 minutes in consecutive games and I’m pretty sure Rubio and Shabazz Muhammad are being auditioned for trades. The Wolves reached out to the Suns regarding a trade to deal Muhammad for P.J. Tucker. They’ve been giving Muhammad plenty of run over the last six games and he should be considered a solid punt option tonight. Nemanja Bjelica minutes have also been trending in the right direction but his ceiling is capped as long as the starters are all playing over 30 minutes.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP DRPM
Ricky Rubio $6,900 $6,700 0.85 31.6 0.3 26.9 8.8 18.9% 7.4% 25 -2.17
Zach LaVine $6,000 $6,100 0.75 37.3 1.7 27.9 -4.2 22.0% -4.6% 6 0.17
Andrew Wiggins $7,300 $7,000 0.83 37.1 1.1 30.9 2.2 27.4% -0.7% 14 0.66
Gorgui Dieng $5,500 $5,300 0.80 32.2 -3.1 25.7 -2.5 15.4% -2.0% 4 1.07
Karl-Anthony Towns $10,800 $9,900 1.19 36.4 3.4 43.3 10.8 27.3% 1.4% 17 1.65
Shabazz Muhammad $4,100 $4,000 0.67 19.1 8.0 12.9 12.2 18.4% 1.3% 14 N/A

Elite Plays – Karl-Anthony Towns, Ricky Rubio

Secondary Plays – Shabazz Muhammad

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons snapped a three-game losing streak on Wednesday against the Pelicans but Andre Drummond once again did not play heavy minutes. He was not even in foul trouble and should play 30 minutes against Karl-Anthony Towns tonight. With the position being relatively deep today, Drummond is a viable option since he did have a game where he picked up 22 points and 22 rebounds against the Timberwolves earlier this season. It was the Kentavious Caldwell-Pope show against the Pelicans and it’ll be a good idea to go back to the well considering Zach LaVine owns a -3.31 DPRM. Ish Smith minutes have been trending upward for the last few games and he’s someone to check out if you’re scraping the bottom of the salary barrel. Considering the position is deep as usual, he’s more of a DK utility play.

Marcus Morris also gets an exploitable matchup against Andrew Wiggins and should be considered since the Pistons have one of the top implied team totals and have a projected point differential that is 6.5 over their season average. Tobias Harris has struggled off the bench but he did have a nice showing against the Pelicans on Wednesday. He’s still playing under 30 minutes but the Timberwolves do struggle against stretch fours, making Jon Leuer also an appealing option. Leuer’s minutes are also not trending in the right direction, so he’s more of a GPP play than cash game option even though he is considered in the punt level.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP DRPM
Reggie Jackson $6,100 $6,000 0.93 29.3 -2.7 27.2 -4.5 31.1% -1.2% 14 1.44
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope $6,000 $5,900 0.73 33.7 2.5 24.5 4.4 20.0% 3.2% 8 -3.31
Marcus Morris $5,100 $5,000 0.70 32.8 2.2 22.9 -4.8 19.8% -2.7% 6 -2.02
Jon Leuer $4,600 $4,000 0.81 26.7 -4.2 21.6 -7.0 16.7% -3.1% 7 3.10
Andre Drummond $8,500 $7,900 1.18 30.8 3.1 36.4 12.1 21.9% 1.6% 14 -0.84
Tobias Harris $5,900 $5,500 0.81 32.7 -4.3 26.5 -0.9 21.3% 0.9% 7 N/A

Elite Plays – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Secondary Plays – Andre Drummond, Marcus Morris, Tobias Harris, Jon Leuer, Ish Smith (DK)

Chicago Bulls at Houston Rockets – 8:00 PM ET

Chicago Bulls Houston Rockets
Article Image Vegas Total 222.5 Article Image Vegas Total 222.5
Vegas Spread 6.5 Vegas Spread -6.5
Team Total 108.0 Team Total 114.5
Pace +/- 2.9 Pace +/- -1.5
Proj. Starter Jerian Grant Dwyane Wade Jimmy Butler Taj Gibson Robin Lopez Proj. Starter Patrick Beverley James Harden Trevor Ariza Ryan Anderson Clint Capela
Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C
Adj. DvP 20 20 28 24 24 Adj. DvP 23 10 5 23 9
DRPM 1.81 -1.42 1.25 -0.63 0.63 DRPM 0.29 -0.57 1.16 1.97 -0.25

Chicago Bulls

Welcome to my favorite game of the day! The Chicago Bulls travel to Houston after winning consecutive games against the Thunder and Sixers. Jimmy Butler did not even play over 30 minutes against the Thunder and still managed to score over 45 fantasy points. He’ll scored 28 actual points in back-to-back games and the Rockets rank 28th vs SFs, their most exploitable position. While Trevor Ariza does own a 1.25 DPRM, I view him more as a passing lanes defender than an elite on-ball defender. He has the length to bother Jimmy Buckets, but Jimmy is going to get buckets in this one. Dwyane Wade has also been playing well and no one ever called James Harden an elite defender. I like Butler more but it’s still Wade and he can score over 50 fantasy points if he plays over 32 minutes. Taj Gibson returned to ruin the productivity of Robin Lopez and both players are too risky to trust on a full slate. Paul Zipser is a viable low-end option but it’s hard to trust him unless he starts. Which he likely won’t.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP DRPM
Jerian Grant $3,500 $3,200 0.68 15.0 4.0 10.1 0.6 18.6% -0.7% 20 1.81
Dwyane Wade $7,800 $7,000 1.05 30.4 -4.2 32.1 1.0 31.3% 0.1% 20 -1.42
Jimmy Butler $9,400 $9,000 1.13 36.8 -2.9 41.6 -5.9 29.2% 1.4% 28 1.25
Taj Gibson $4,800 $4,700 0.86 27.5 -3.6 23.6 1.2 19.0% -3.3% 24 -0.63
Robin Lopez $4,600 $4,200 0.78 28.1 -4.8 21.8 1.6 15.8% 2.5% 24 -0.13
Rajon Rondo $4,900 $4,000 0.87 27.3 -4.1 23.8 0.8 21.7% 2.3% 20 N/A

Elite Plays – Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade

Secondary Plays – N/A

Houston Rockets

James Harden just crushed the Hawks last night and they STILL lost. The Rockets gave away a 20-point 4th quarter lead and I’d expect them to come out firing against the Bulls. The Bulls do rank 9th in defensive efficiency, so it’s probably going to have to be the James Harden show again. Patrick Beverley lost his shot and has not exceeded salary-based expectations in eight straight games. Still, his minutes also seem secure considering he’s played 30+ minutes in all but two games this calendar year. With a position that is deep as usual at the top, Beverley is probably your best option outside of Yogi Ferrell in the under $6k salary range, considering the Bulls rank 23rd vs PGs.

Ryan Anderson was hot before his tough matchup with the Hawks last night and the Bulls also rank 23rd vs PFs, putting Ryno in play. Taj Gibson might have a solid 1.97 DPRM, but he’s more of an interior defender than a guy that struggles to close out on the perimeter. Clint Capela finally saw 30+ minutes for the first time ten games, and he’ll be a viable punt option at the position since his salary is still under $5k on both major sites. He was an elite play earlier this season when he was getting 30+ minutes and seems to be back from his leg injury. I’m concerned about his upside against a team that ranks 2nd in rebounding differential but he’s someone I’m definitely going to ride for the foreseeable future until that salary spikes back over $6k.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP DRPM
Patrick Beverley $5,200 $5,000 0.81 31.1 0.8 25.2 -4.9 16.0% 0.5% 23 0.29
James Harden $12,200 $12,500 1.47 36.4 -2.4 53.4 -11.7 38.6% 0.1% 10 -0.57
Trevor Ariza $5,300 $5,100 0.74 34.4 -4.8 25.3 -5.7 14.6% -1.5% 5 1.16
Ryan Anderson $5,400 $5,400 0.73 30.6 1.6 22.3 10.4 17.2% 3.2% 23 1.97
Clint Capela $4,900 $4,700 1.06 23.0 1.6 24.5 3.0 19.1% -0.2% 9 -0.25
Eric Gordon $5,600 $5,100 0.83 30.4 -2.1 25.1 -3.5 23.8% 0.9% 10 N/A

Elite Plays – James Harden

Secondary Plays – Ryan Anderson, Clint Capela

Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics – 8:00 PM ET

Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics
Article Image Vegas Total 221.0 Article Image Vegas Total 221.0
Vegas Spread 11.0 Vegas Spread -11.0
Team Total 105.0 Team Total 116.0
Pace +/- -0.1 Pace +/- 1.4
Proj. Starter D’Angelo Russell Nick Young Luol Deng Tarik Black Timofey Mozgov Proj. Starter Isaiah Thomas Jaylen Brown Jae Crowder Amir Johnson Al Horford
Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C
Adj. DvP 22 23 7 16 27 Adj. DvP 26 24 22 30 30
DRPM -4.64 0.23 0.89 2.15 0.90 DRPM -0.90 -2.19 1.04 0.88 -0.13

Los Angeles Lakers

Julius Randle played 6 minutes last night and is still recovering from pneumonia. The Lakers might update his status today but I don’t expect him to play more than 10-15 minutes tonight. Sorry bias incoming: my favorite Lakers player D’Angelo Russell is back to playing elite level basketball. He scored over 40 fantasy points in back-to-back games and gets the worst defender in all of the land tonight. Russell has played over 30 minutes in both games since his three-game absence and should play 30 minutes again tonight. With the team playing on their second consecutive night, I’m concerned about the team showing up more than him, because he’s had 10 and 11 assists in back-to-back games. He might need to score more often against the Celtics to keep this game close, which is good for his prospects. Still, he’s not that expensive and can still return some potential profit with his salary in the $6k range on both sites.

Swaggy P (Nick Young) will participate in the 3-point contest but was an absolute dud against his former team last night. Considering the Swaggy slate had everyone play him, he didn’t hurt your rosters too much. Wish they picked the game against Denver to use the Swaggy slate. If Avery Bradley plays tonight, avoid Swaggy P, if Bradley plays, Swaggy P will be a GPP option. Jordan Clarkson has had his minutes trending in the right direction but considering he’s a PG, he’s not that great of an option. Would rather take Nick Young on DK at SG than Clarkson. Luol Deng played well against the Wizards and has been known run hot. This might be the game to get back on the train considering he’s only $3.7k on DraftKings. Tarik Black crushed the Wizards and he’ll also be a viable option if Randle continues to be limited. Since returning from a knee injury, Larry Nance has yet to play over 24 minutes but he did have his best fantasy performance last night. Ivica Zubac went back to only playing 11 minutes and is also too risky to trust with Randle playing a little bit.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP DRPM
D’Angelo Russell $6,100 $5,900 0.99 26.5 6.3 26.4 17.8 29.6% 2.3% 22 -4.64
Nick Young $4,300 $4,200 0.73 26.6 1.2 19.4 -0.1 18.6% 0.9% 23 0.23
Luol Deng $4,100 $3,700 0.69 27.3 0.6 18.8 -1.8 14.8% 1.8% 7 0.89
Julius Randle $6,300 $6,000 0.99 29.2 -23.6 28.8 -25.4 23.3% 30.3% 16 0.21
Timofey Mozgov $3,700 $3,100 0.74 20.9 -2.2 15.4 1.9 16.7% 0.5% 27 0.90
Lou Williams $6,400 $5,800 1.08 24.4 -0.4 26.4 3.1 30.8% -3.4% 23 N/A

Elite Plays – D’Angelo Russell

Secondary Plays – Nick Young, Lou Williams

Boston Celtics

The Celtics get the 2nd best matchup on the board and have won five straight games, thanks for Mr. 4th Quarter – Isaiah Thomas. Leading the entire league in 4th quarter scoring, Thomas has been especially hot since Avery Bradley went down. The issue here is, will Thomas have to play in the 4th? With the Lakers traveling to Boston on the second night of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights, there is a blowout possibility here. Still, Thomas is a high-floor option that should roast the Lakers tonight. Jae Crowder has also been playing well over the last 11 games and the Lakers rank 22nd against SFs. Al Horford has played over 30 minutes in 13 straight games and while he’s not putting up huge fantasy performances his floor has been solid. He’ll be a solid GPP play tonight on DraftKings.

I mentioned in my CourtIQ article on Wednesday that it would not surprise me to see Marcus Smart back in the starting lineup and while he did not start the game he did start the 2nd half. Smart has played over 30 minutes in three straight games and is also a strong option against the Lakers tonight. With Kelly Olynyk questionable and Amir Johnson barely seeing 15 minutes, Jonas Jerebko could also make an impact. He’s the minimum salary on FanDuel and only $100 above it on DK.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP DRPM
Isaiah Thomas $10,500 $10,000 1.22 34.3 4.3 41.7 12.3 35.3% 1.0% 26 -0.90
Jaylen Brown $3,700 $3,700 0.68 14.3 8.6 9.8 6.0 18.0% -2.4% 24 -2.19
Jae Crowder $6,500 $6,200 0.80 32.4 3.6 25.8 5.1 16.4% 3.0% 22 1.04
Jonas Jerebko $3,500 $3,100 0.64 17.2 3.4 11.1 1.2 12.0% 0.0% 30 0.33
Al Horford $7,400 $6,800 1.03 33.2 0.0 34.2 -6.8 22.5% -2.0% 30 -0.13
Marcus Smart $5,700 $5,600 0.76 30.6 2.6 23.3 1.8 20.1% 0.9% 26 N/A

Elite Plays – Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder

Secondary Plays – Al Horford (DK), Marcus Smart

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About the Author

INSPYR
Chirag Hira (INSPYR)

Chirag Hira, DFS alias “INSPYR”, has been playing fantasy basketball since 2001. He picked up DFS during the 2015 playoffs and has never looked back. In charge of DFS Alerts for the NBA, Chirag takes it as a daily challenge to break news before anyone else in the industry. He graduated with a degree in sports journalism and his career highlights include interviewing Kobe Bryant and Joe Torre. You can find Chirag on Twitter at C_Hira24.