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NBA Grind Down: Sunday, November 13th

by Chirag Hira (INSPYR) Last Updated 2016-11-14 06:56:39

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.

Editor’s Note: Don’t yet have a Rosters account? Click here to create one. You’ll receive free access to our premium Rosters strategy content, which will build upon the guide below. Create your Rosters account now!

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Charlotte Hornets at Cleveland Cavaliers – 3:30 PM ET

Charlotte Hornets Cleveland Cavaliers
charlottenba Vegas Total 209.0 clevelandnba Vegas Total 209.0
Vegas Spread 8.0 Vegas Spread -8.0
Team Total 100.5 Team Total 108.5
Pace +/- 1.3 Pace +/- 1.2
Proj. Starter Kemba Walker Nicolas Batum Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Marvin Williams Cody Zeller Proj. Starter Kyrie Irving J.R. Smith LeBron James Kevin Love Tristan Thompson
Opponent DvP Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent DvP Rank PG SG SF PF C
2016-17 13 24 8 1 27 2016-17 8 13 22 1 21

Charlotte Hornets

Kemba Walker had a dominant 66 DKFPs against the Raptors on Friday and will look to keep the momentum going against the Cavs today. The Hornets travel to Cleveland for the only early game of the day and if you’re playing in that slate it makes sense to plug Walker in, especially if Michael Kidd-Gilchrist misses the game. MKG missed on Friday’s game and Treveon Graham started in his place. Graham played 24 minutes and failed to really make an impact because he was guarding DeMar DeRozan for large portions of the game when he was in there. Graham is not a viable fantasy option against the Cavs either. Batum also put up 40+ fantasy points against the Raptors and played 39 minutes.

If the Hornets can keep this close both Batum and Walker have to be considered to be on your rosters. Marco Belinelli played 27 minutes but did not exceed value, he’s primarily a scorer and can be avoided tonight, unless he starts against J.R. Smith. Roy Hibbert made his return from a knee injury and played 13 minutes, scoring 13.5 DKFP. He’s not really on the radar until we can see him get cleared to play over 24 minutes. Charlotte is too injured right now and really need for their stars to play maximum minutes, great for daily fantasy.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary Rosters Sal. FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP
Kemba Walker $8,300 $7,900 1.16 32.3 -2 37.5 3.4 31.7% 3.6% 13
Nicolas Batum $6,300 $6,600 0.84 33.1 0.3 27.6 -2.4 20.6% -2.4% 24
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist $5,400 $4,800 0.84 29.4 -0.9 24.7 -2.7 12.6% -2.7% 8
Marvin Williams $5,100 $5,000 0.79 28.7 -2.6 22.8 -2.3 17.2% 3.0% 1
Cody Zeller $4,800 $4,000 0.98 22.2 1.3 21.8 2.1 19.2% -0.2% 27
Roy Hibbert $3,500 $3,500 1.12 18.2 20.4 16.6% 27

Elite Plays – Kemba Walker, Nicolas Batum

Secondary Plays – N/A

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs beat the Wizards on Friday behind a dominant performance from their starters and Iman Shumpert off the bench. James’s salary is still under $10k on both FanDuel and DraftKings. He’s an elite option tonight at home and has scored 50+ fantasy points in three out of his last four games. Kyrie Irving used the three-point bonus and has scored 40+ fantasy points on DraftKings in consecutive games. His salary is going to rise to over $8k soon enough and we should use it before he gets there. Still, he has a tough matchup tonight and can be easily ignored for Curry, Westbrook, or Lillard on the slate.

Kevin Love has really started to string it together and has a solid true usage rate of 26.7%. Love has played 38 minutes in consecutive games and his minutes are as secure as they come. Having only played under 30 once this season which was opening night, where they blew out the Knicks. His multi-position eligibility on DraftKings makes it really easy to fit him into the lineup but he has the toughed matchup based on the DvP chart above. Marvin Williams is a strong defender and is not lost when Love plays on the perimeter. The safest choice out of the “Big 3” is LeBron James. Tristan Thompson is still cheap across the industry and is a viable option if you need a punt center. Channing Frye and Iman Shumpert are nice value plays off the bench that don’t provide much upside. On a slate this short with so many superstars, we’ll need to find some value guys that will hit their floor. Since Frye and Shumpert are priced under $4k on both major sites they are viable options.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary Rosters Sal. FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP
Kyrie Irving $7,500 $7,400 0.97 35.3 0.5 34.3 -2.4 31.3% -0.4% 8
J.R. Smith $4,300 $4,300 0.61 31.5 1.5 19.3 -0.8 14.7% -1.9% 13
LeBron James $9,900 $9,900 1.31 36.4 0 47.7 4.6 31.9% 2.9% 22
Kevin Love $7,500 $7,600 1.08 33.3 3 36.0 2.1 26.7% -1.2% 1
Tristan Thompson $4,500 $4,600 0.76 28.3 0.2 21.5 2.7 7.5% 1.0% 21

Elite Plays – LeBron James

Secondary Plays – Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson

Los Angeles Lakers at Minnesota Timberwolves – 7:00 PM ET

Los Angeles Lakers Minnesota Timberwolves
lalakersnba Vegas Total 215.0 minnesotanba Vegas Total 215.0
Vegas Spread 5.0 Vegas Spread -5.0
Team Total 105.0 Team Total 110.0
Pace +/- -0.9 Pace +/- 3.7
Proj. Starter D’Angelo Russell Nick Young Luol Deng Julius Randle Timofey Mozgov Proj. Starter Ricky Rubio Zach LaVine Andrew Wiggins Gorgui Dieng Karl-Anthony Towns
Opponent DvP Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent DvP Rank PG SG SF PF C
2016-17 19 2 18 6 29 2016-17 26 22 17 12 16

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers travel to Minnesota after defeating the Pelicans last night. The bench came through again for the Lakers with Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams leading the way. Both players will need to make substantial impact again tonight if the Lakers are to keep their winning streak going. We saw D’Angelo Russell break out of his slump, and his salary continues to drop. Since salaries came out before he exceeded value last night, he should be looked at a solid tournament option. He only played 28 minutes and that is a concern, but Clarkson and Williams have been playing too well to deny. Clarkson is the cheapest of the bunch and if you don’t grab one of the top names, he’s a solid mid-range play. On FanDuel where you need two SGs, he’s great so you can pay up for two elite points guards.

Julius Randle has been on dominant stretch of play but gets Gorgui Dieng tonight, a player that was able to keep Blake Griffin somewhat in check. Randle is a secondary option tonight but has the most upside from the guys priced in his range. Brandon Ingram is questionable after he suffered a mild ankle injury against the Pelicans. This could open the door for some extra run for Luol Deng. He is a boom-or-bust option that is a better option on DraftKings. He is under $4k there and has multi-position eligibility. With so many solid choices at the SF position, he’s only viable if you’re trying to punt your second SF spot on FanDuel or F spot on DraftKings. Timofey Mozgov is also a viable punt C option but comes with considerable risk and might not play extended minutes. Still, against Karl-Anthony Towns he should see 24+ minutes tonight, making him tournament viable at such a cheap salary on both major sites.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary Rosters Sal. FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP
D’Angelo Russell $5,800 $6,000 $9,600 0.95 26.7 -1.3 25.4 -4.3 30.8% -3.4% 19
Nick Young $4,400 $4,700 $7,700 0.76 27.4 4.2 20.8 5.6 18.1% -0.5% 2
Luol Deng $4,300 $3,900 $7,900 0.69 25 -0.4 17.4 -4.7 14.6% -4.0% 18
Julius Randle $6,300 $6,400 $10,500 1.03 28 0.5 28.8 0.3 22.2% 1.1% 6
Timofey Mozgov $3,700 $3,500 $8,700 0.72 22.4 2.7 16.1 -0.4 15.2% -1.1% 29
Jordan Clarkson $5,000 $5,000 $9,000 0.78 26.8 -0.3 20.9 2.3 24.4% 0.2% 2
“(player-popup)Larry Nance Jr $3,800 $4,200 $7,300 0.87 20.2 -7.7 17.5 -7.7 12.5% -7.0% 6

Elite Plays – D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson (GPP)

Secondary Plays – Timofey Mozgov, Lou Williams

Minnesota Timberwolves

The young T-Wolves played well against the Clippers with Karl-Anthony Towns hitting over 40 fantasy points in his second game in a row, third in his last four. As we saw last season, KAT is a double-double machine and is an elite option against the Lakers tonight. KAT is one of the top players on the slate that proved that he can handle back-to-backs. Having played 41 minutes on the second night of a back-to-back last week.

Ricky Rubio is finally back, and he is an elite option against the Lakers. Los Angeles struggles against PGs and Rubio should be rested ready to make an impact tonight. He only played 24 minutes in his return and we could see him get more than tonight. With so many good guards available on the slate, Rubio could go overlooked and should easily make value and has a chance to really exceed value. He’s a strong cash game play that has tournament upside. Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine have their upside priced in and have to really play well to exceed value. LaVine is cheaper than Wiggins on both DraftKings and FanDuel, leaving him with some potential upside. The best options from this game are Rubio and KAT since Minesotta has the third-highest implied team total.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary Rosters Sal. FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP
Ricky Rubio $6,100 $5,500 $9,900 0.61 30.8 18.8 15.2% 26
Zach LaVine $6,200 $6,500 $9,700 0.84 34 0.2 28.5 -2.5 23.0% -1.2% 22
Andrew Wiggins $6,500 $6,600 $10,600 0.90 34.5 0.9 30.9 2.7 28.7% 2.9% 17
Gorgui Dieng $6,000 $6,200 $10,600 0.93 30.3 -3 28.1 -1.4 16.3% 0.8% 12
Karl-Anthony Towns $8,600 $8,300 $14,200 1.09 35 -0.4 38.3 -0.2 25.0% 0.4% 16
Kris Dunn $4,300 $4,000 $8,300 0.76 22.2 -1.7 16.9 -4.4 17.9% -1.8% 26

Elite Plays – Karl-Anthony Towns, Ricky Rubio

Secondary Plays – Zach LaVine

Orlando Magic at Oklahoma City Thunder – 7:00 PM ET

Orlando Magic Oklahoma City Thunder
orlandonba Vegas Total 203.0 oklahomacitynba Vegas Total 203.0
Vegas Spread 9.0 Vegas Spread -9.0
Team Total 97.0 Team Total 106.0
Pace +/- 3.0 Pace +/- -3.4
Proj. Starter Elfrid Payton Evan Fournier Aaron Gordon Serge Ibaka Nikola Vucevic Proj. Starter Russell Westbrook Victor Oladipo Andre Roberson Domantas Sabonis Steven Adams
Opponent DvP Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent DvP Rank PG SG SF PF C
2016-17 24 5 20 21 2 2016-17 18 19 16 16 29

Orlando Magic

The Magic started Jeff Green on Friday and got absolutely trashed by the Jazz. The Magic are just that bad and also the Jazz are just that good. Tonight Orlando travels to Oklahoma City and are all tournament options. Elfrid Payton is extreme boom-or-bust player but we’ve been targetting PGs against Russell Westbrook all season. This does not look like a great spot for him with Ricky Rubio sitting in his price range. Aaron Gordon came off the bench and was able to make value. He’s been solid all season long outside of one bad game where the entire team got blown out. If he continues to come off the bench, his ownership levels should continue to stay low. He’s not a mandatory option but could get it going against the bench of the Thunder. With the lowest team total on the slate, everyone else is pretty much to be avoided.

N/A

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary Rosters Sal. FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP
Elfrid Payton $5,400 $5,600 $9,800 0.83 30.6 -6.1 25.5 -6.6 25.3% -1.2% 24
Evan Fournier $5,700 $5,500 $9,600 0.72 33.3 -3.8 23.9 -7.3 24.2% -1.9% 5
Aaron Gordon $5,600 $5,200 $9,200 0.82 29.7 -1.2 24.3 -3.1 19.6% -0.3% 20
Serge Ibaka $5,200 $5,100 $10,300 0.78 28.1 -3.7 22.1 -2.0 19.3% -0.7% 21
Nikola Vucevic $7,100 $6,100 $10,500 1.18 28.3 -1.8 33.3 0.0 24.4% -2.0% 2
Jeff Green $4,000 $3,600 $7,100 0.78 20.7 0.2 16.2 1.1 22.3% 0.6% 20

Elite Plays – N/A

Secondary Plays – Aaron Gordon, Serge Ibaka

Oklahoma City Thunder

Russell Westbrook turned 28 last night and gets a cupcake matchup against the Magic tonight. He was able to exceed value against the Clippers on Friday and actually saw his salary go down $100 on DraftKings and up $100 on FanDuel. He’s an elite option regardless of site and is a solid tournament option. He’ll be tough to fit in for cash with not many value options availble on the slate. Still on a short slate if you can field a solid team with relatively high floors he deserves to be on it. Curry and Lillard are much cheaper than him but also have their own game issues to deal with.

Steven Adams and Domantas Sabonis are really solid plays tonight with Sabonis representing as one of the top value plays on the slate. Sabonis has some tournament upside and can really open up some roster flexibility with a solid floor. Steven Adams struggled against the Clippers on Friday and will look to get back on track against the Magic. Adams and Enes Kanter keep swapping good games and Kanter is the cheaper of the two. Since either can’t be trusted, both are simply tournament options that can exceed value in a favorable matchup. The position is relatively top heavy and they are the punt options that could at least hit their floor. Victor Oladipo is also a solid tournament option that is too inconsistent for cash. He’s fairly priced around the industry and won’t have as much ownership with so many viable options at the position today. Oladipo is facing his former team and could be more apt to show what they are really missing out on.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary Rosters Sal. FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP
Russell Westbrook $11,600 $11,200 $15,900 1.59 33.8 -2.5 53.8 -8.5 46.5% -3.5% 18
Victor Oladipo $5,400 $5,200 $10,400 0.71 33.8 -0.4 23.9 0.5 20.8% -4.0% 19
Andre Roberson $3,800 $3,700 $7,000 0.58 27.7 -1.5 16.1 -2.5 10.6% 0.9% 16
Domantas Sabonis $4,000 $4,000 $8,900 0.78 20.8 6.5 16.2 5.4 15.7% 0.6% 16
Steven Adams $5,100 $5,300 $8,800 0.84 31.6 -0.6 26.5 2.7 14.9% -2.5% 29
Enes Kanter $5,000 $4,800 $9,300 1.10 18.2 1.9 20.0 5.7 25.7% 2.1% 16

Elite Plays – Russell Westbrook, Domantas Sabonis

Secondary Plays – Victor Oladipo (GPP)

Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors – 8:00 PM ET

Phoenix Suns Golden State Warriors
phoenixnba Vegas Total 230.0 goldenstatenba Vegas Total 230.0
Vegas Spread 16.0 Vegas Spread -16.0
Team Total 107.0 Team Total 123.0
Pace +/- 3.3 Pace +/- 4.9
Proj. Starter Eric Bledsoe Devin Booker T.J. Warren Marquese Chriss Alex Len Proj. Starter Stephen Curry Klay Thompson Kevin Durant Draymond Green Zaza Pachulia
Opponent DvP Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent DvP Rank PG SG SF PF C
2016-17 22 18 11 30 18 2016-17 28 12 23 22 7

Phoenix Suns

The Suns travel to Oakland after losing to the Nets at home last night. This is not a favorable spot for them, but they still get to play in a uptempo game against the Warriors. Marquese Chriss has the best matchup based on the DvP chart and should play at least 20 minutes. If things get out of hand, he could see about 24 minutes. With his salary still under $4k on both major sites, Chriss is one of the top punt options availble on this slate. Devin Booker disappointed last night and is simply a tournament option here along with Eric Bledsoe and T.J. Warren. Someone has to score but it does not look like they will exceed value, making it tough to trust them on a short slate.

Tyson Chandler missed another game last night and is questionable for this one. Don’t expect him to play on the road, but anything is possible. If Chandler is out again Alex Len will get the start but has head coach Earl Watson has shown that he will pull Len in uptempo games, making him also a risky option. P.J. Tucker deserves a look on DraftKings since he is min priced. Tucker is averaging 24 MPG over his last seven games and allows for maximum flexibliity tonight. He’s still under $4k on FanDuel and is a vialbe option as an SF2.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary Rosters Sal. FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP
Eric Bledsoe $7,700 $7,100 $11,200 0.97 34.0 -2.1 33.0 2.0 26.3% 3.5% 22
Devin Booker $6,500 $6,800 $10,600 0.77 35.8 0.8 27.7 4.3 26.6% 0.9% 18
T.J. Warren $6,100 $6,700 $8,800 0.86 36.3 -0.5 31.4 -6.4 22.2% -0.9% 11
Marquese Chriss $3,500 $3,300 $7,200 0.73 14.0 -2.0 10.2 -3.9 19.5% -3.1% 30
Alex Len $5,700 $4,700 $9,100 1.03 21.1 2.8 21.8 3.4 17.8% -4.2% 18
Brandon Knight $4,500 $4,400 $9,200 0.68 25.2 -7.4 17.2 -1.7 26.2% 5.1% 18
P.J. Tucker $3,900 $3,000 $7,900 0.66 18.6 4.8 12.2 6.3 10.0% -0.7% 11

Elite Plays – Marquese Chriss

Secondary Plays – P.J. Tucker (DK)

Golden State Warriors

Kevin Durant broke his streak of 72 games with 20 or more points against the Nuggets on Thursday after they blew them out. Look for Durant to get back on track tonight with multiple Warriors also viable since they have the top implied team total. Durant is cheaper than Curry on DraftKings and will likely also have lower ownership with Curry playing great since bottoming out in LA. If you’re not paying up for LeBron, Durant should be your next option at the position. No one else has the upside priced below him and a lot of users could go to the sure thing in LeBron James due to recency bias. This looks like a spot for Durant to be one of the lower owned studs on the slate. With the potential blowout also looming, expect others to be scared away and go to the sure thing in James in cash. If the Warriors blow the Suns out, Durant will be a major contributor tonight. As I mentioned last night with Hawks and the Sixers, don’t get caught up looking at the spread. Look at how the players will perform in their given situations. The Sixers hung with the Hawks for three quarters and if the Suns do the same, that’s plenty for all of the Warriors studs to eat.

Chef Curry has been cookin’ over the last week and always an elite option when he plays. Curry leads the team with a 32.1% usage rate and is considerably cheaper than Westbrook and slightly more expensive than Lillard. All three point guards are elite options tonight, making it possible that ownership is evenly spread out. Klay Thompson has shot over 50% from the field in his last three games but has only exceeded value once. This could also keep his ownership levels down. He’s an elite option against the Suns and should be used in a Warriors stack GPP lineup. Playing all three does not hurt when their implied team total is 123. Draymond Green has also been playing well and could pick up a triple-double getting all the free assists to the rest of the Warriors tonight. Green is my favorite PF option on FanDuel tonight. He has MPE on DraftKings and can even be used at C. He’s too good to pass up but how many Warriors can we possibly use tonight? Honestly, all of them are in play.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary Rosters Sal. FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP
Stephen Curry $8,900 $9,200 $14,100 1.22 32.2 -0.1 39.4 7.4 32.1% 1.4% 28
Klay Thompson $5,800 $6,100 $10,900 0.74 34.6 -1.8 25.5 2.6 22.9% 0.2% 12
Kevin Durant $9,500 $9,100 $15,100 1.34 34.7 -0.8 46.7 -6.8 27.7% -1.4% 23
Draymond Green $8,400 $8,000 $12,300 1.19 32.8 -0.1 38.9 -0.8 19.0% -1.5% 22
Zaza Pachulia $3,600 $3,400 $8,000 0.86 17.6 -4.8 15.1 -4.8 12.9% -1.1% 7
Andre Iguodala $3,800 $3,500 $7,700 0.61 24.9 -2.7 15.2 1.9 11.9% -1.0% 23

Elite Plays – Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green (FD)

Secondary Plays – Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala

Denver Nuggets at Portland Trail Blazers – 9:00 PM ET

Denver Nuggets Portland Trail Blazers
denvernba Vegas Total 216.0 portlandnba Vegas Total 216.0
Vegas Spread 5.5 Vegas Spread -5.5
Team Total 105.3 Team Total 110.8
Pace +/- 1.7 Pace +/- 3.4
Proj. Starter Emmanuel Mudiay Gary Harris Danilo Gallinari Nikola Jokic Jusuf Nurkic Proj. Starter Damian Lillard C.J. McCollum Maurice Harkless Noah Vonleh Mason Plumlee
Opponent DvP Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent DvP Rank PG SG SF PF C
2016-17 24 14 9 26 25 2016-17 30 29 2 29 3

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets travel up to Portland after an embarrassing loss to the Pistons, who were playing their third game in four nights while the Nuggets were off since Thursday’s blowout. The Nuggets are not good this season, and it would not surprise me to see Mike Malone as the first coach fired this year. He has no clue what to do with his rotations and started Kenneth Faried last night to no avail. He played Jusuf Nurkic 17 minutes even though Nurkic did not pick up a single foul. This is a situation to just avoid, avoid, avoid. It’s common knowledge to try and play PGs against Damian Lillard, but with so many good guard options, I would avoid Mudiay too. Danilo Gallinari is getting the minutes but is a secondary option at best.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary Rosters Sal. FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP
Emmanuel Mudiay $5,800 $5,900 $9,500 0.85 31.9 1.0 27.1 2.9 29.4% 1.2% 24
Gary Harris $4,500 $4,700 $7,900 0.80 21.4 1.9 17.2 2.8 22.3% 0.4% 14
Danilo Gallinari $6,000 $5,700 $10,900 0.69 36.1 -0.8 24.9 0.8 18.1% 0.1% 9
Nikola Jokic $5,200 $5,200 $9,600 0.94 23.0 0.0 21.6 -2.8 20.0% -4.7% 26
Jusuf Nurkic $5,500 $5,600 $9,700 1.12 24.5 -4.8 27.5 -11.3 23.1% -0.4% 25
Wilson Chandler $5,200 $4,700 $8,200 0.80 29.3 -4.0 23.5 8.5 22.3% 5.0% 9

Elite Plays – N/A

Secondary Plays – Emmanuel Mudiay

Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers have the second-highest implied team total and Damian Lillard has the best matchup according to the chart above. Vegas thinks this is going to be a close game and I disagree. Still, we don’t want to try and project blowouts and play the best possible guys that can provide us the best ROI. Damian Lillard has a true usage rate of 33.2% and should play 32 minutes regardless of the score. We don’t have to say much about Lillard at home. With so many great PG options available on the slate, Lillard’s ceiling is still one of the highest.

C.J. McCollum has put up 50+ fantasy points in two out of his last three games. He’s an elite option when he’s rolling but is at a season-high salary on both FanDuel and DraftKings. Still, he’s the top option at the position and is an elite play against the Nuggets. Moe Harkless has come back down to earth and is also an elite option tonight with Al-Farouq Aminu out of the lineup. Mason Plumlee is a strong value play at the position even though the DvP chart does not work in his favor. He’s still really cheap across the industry and saw a season-high 35 minutes on Friday against the Kings.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary Rosters Sal. FP/Min Minutes L3 +/- FP/Game L3 +/- True Usage L3 +/- DvP
Damian Lillard $9,300 $8,700 $13,500 1.15 35.5 -2.9 40.8 -11.6 33.2% -2.9% 30
C.J. McCollum $7,400 $7,300 $11,000 0.97 33.9 0.3 33.0 5.1 25.9% 1.9% 29
Maurice Harkless $4,500 $4,900 $7,800 0.67 29.9 -0.1 20.0 5.2 15.4% 2.3% 2
Noah Vonleh $3,700 $3,000 $7,500 0.77 12.7 1.8 9.8 2.2 17.2% 0.8% 29
Mason Plumlee $5,200 $5,200 $8,100 0.92 25.6 -0.3 23.6 -3.4 19.7% -0.3% 3
Evan Turner $3,800 $3,700 $8,300 0.61 23.7 -1.6 14.5 -3.6 17.5% -5.8% 2
Allen Crabbe $3,900 $4,100 $7,300 0.52 29.0 -2.0 15.2 -6.1 13.0% -2.8% 29

Elite Plays – Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum

Secondary Plays – Moe Harkless, Mason Plumlee, Meyers Leonard

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.