NBA Starting 5 (GPP): Friday, December 15th
The Starting 5 Series will provide Grinders a quick look at the day’s top positional plays, as analyzed by one of our daily fantasy sports experts.
Friday, December 15th
Happy Friday, Grinders! Welcome to the Friday edition of the NBA Starting 5 series! Fridays offer us solid slate sizes and large DFS tournaments, so it is a great day to analyze the NBA from a GPP perspective.
Let’s take a look at five of my favorite tournament plays of the day. For reference, I will be using DraftKings pricing throughout the article.
Point Guard: Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors – $8,200
There are a number of ways you can go at point guard tonight, and I will highlight Lowry for his potential upside in a favorable matchup against the Nets. We saw the Knicks have some success with their point guards on Thursday, and Lowry is certainly capable of making six or seven times his salary if this game stays close. Lowry has continue to play well after a rough October, as he has put that in the rear view mirror. However, his shooting has slumped again in December, which has brought his scoring down. He is still contributing with six rebounds and seven assists per game this month, so it simply comes down to his shooting.
In a matchup against the Nets, you have to think that the shooting will come around. This should be a pace up game for the Raptors, and Brooklyn is not a strong defensive team — though they have improved as a whole this year. The pace will still benefit, as Brooklyn ranks second only to the Lakers in pace. Toronto has the highest implied team total of the night at 115 points, so the biggest risk is whether or not this game stays close. In GPP formats, I will gladly take a chance on Lowry (and DeMar DeRozan) on some rosters.
Shooting Guard: Gary Harris, Denver Nuggets – $6,400
Like many other teams, Denver has been rolling with a shorter rotation of late due to injuries. Nikola Jokic is back, but Will Barton missed the game against Boston the other night and is questionable for this one. Both Gary Harris and Jamal Murray went off for 50 fantasy points in that game, and they will both receive a boost if Barton is out once again. Even if Barton plays, he might not see his usual allotment of minutes. Harris is never a sexy fantasy play, but the minutes will be there in any case. Even if Barton plays, Harris is still a viable selection. This should be a close, relatively high scoring game between two decent offensive teams, and both Harris and Murray are on my radar. Keep an eye on Barton’s status as we get closer to tip-off, but as I said, I still like Harris even if Barton is active.
Small Forward: Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder – $7,700
The small forward position doesn’t feature any slam dunk options that I feel like I have to roster tonight, so I’ll look for upside at a reasonable salary. Enter Paul George. He has been very frustrating at times this year, and life is difficult when you also have Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony on your team. However, I like George’s chances to have a solid game tonight. His defense will be needed against the Sixers, so I expect the minutes to be there. This game also has a one point spread and a 215 Vegas total, which is awesome from a DFS perspective. As an aside, I think this is a very stackable game in GPP formats. I’ll gladly buy low on George at a very affordable $7,700 price tag. His all around game suits a matchup against the Sixers, and I think he gets it rolling with one of his better performances of the year.
Power Forward: James Johnson, Miami Heat – $5,900
Miami is going to be very thin tonight with both Hassan Whiteside and Justise Winslow on the shelf, and they went with a short seven man rotation the other night after Winslow got hurt. All seven of those players logged at least 28 minutes in the game, while Johnson started and played a healthy 37 minutes. He has always had plenty of upside on a per-minute basis, so the potential is off the charts now. A matchup against Charlotte is relatively neutral, but I absolutely love Johnson in the opportunity with a short rotation. When you add on the fact that the price tag of $5,900 is more than reasonable, you get a guy that could very well be one of the best point per dollar plays on the board for both cash games and tournaments. I am debating having 100% exposure to him tonight.
Center: Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies – $7,900
It has not been the smoothest of seasons for Marc Gasol, but tonight’s matchup gives him a chance to show off his GPP upside. A matchup against the Hawks is mouth-watering for any big man, and look at what some solid centers have done against the Hawks in recent games:
Andre Drummond = 12 points, 19 rebounds, 8 assists
Kevin Love = 17 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists
Kristaps Porzingis = 30 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
Nikola Vucevic = 31 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists
Nikola Vucevic = 22 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists
Those are the last five games against the Hawks. Giddy up, Mr. Gasol.
Good luck tonight, everyone!