NBA Starting 5 (GPP): Friday, January 27th
What is up everyone!? Welcome back to another edition of the NBA GPP Starting 5.
Talk about just a crazy NBA season up to this point. Let’s quickly go back to my rant last week on resting players — why would a team that has no chance whatsoever to make the playoffs rest players? I guess I am just too old school, but it gets annoying waiting for injuries, and then you have to sweat the chance of random players resting. Hopefully we do not have to deal with that in today’s packed slate.
Recently on my Starting 5 picks, I have hit about 80% of my picks. Hopefully I can repeat that success here and even get to the golden five-for-five that we all love and want to see. As usual, these picks are tournament only, unless stated otherwise.
Today we have a nice 10-game slate, so let’s take a look.
Point Guard: Darren Collison, Sacramento Kings – $4,800 on DraftKings
Before everyone starts to tear this pick apart, please hear me out. It may just be my projections, but for some reason they love any point guard against the Pacers. With Rudy Gay off the floor this season, Collison has a usage rate of 22% per RotoGrinders CourtIQ tool. If you haven’t used it, I suggest you start, because it’s been one of my favorite tools lately. I have been on Collison for about the last week and he finally paid off against the Cavaliers the other night. Yes, that game went into overtime, but he only had one jump shot and one assist in overtime and he still ended up with over 40 fantasy points on the night.
The Sacramento Kings head to Indiana to take on the Pacers in what should be a competitive game. As of right now, Vegas predicts it to be somewhat high scoring and also predict it to stay close. Like I said earlier, point guards against the Pacers have worked for me all season. They have been better as of late, but that does not scare me with being torched by numerous point guards this year. This is definitely a risky play, but we can buy low on him here and get him at low ownership. Not that I always love this narrative, but these two teams squared up about a week ago and Collison had a solid night.
Shooting Guard: Dwyane Wade, Chicago Bulls – $7,000
The last three games it seems Dwyane Wade has found the fountain of youth. This play may come in as semi-chalky with his recent level of play, but there are a couple other things that stand out to me that make me like him regardless. First is his shot attempts, as he has shot over 20 times in his last three games, and that will not stop here because Chicago needs him to shoot. The next thing is his recent usage rate; this is old news but Chicago has the worst point guard rotation in the NBA. That being said, the Bulls have been smarter and just decided to let Wade and Butler run most of their plays.
People are going to be scared off with the complete mess the Bulls have become with the recent drama, but I think that only fires Wade and Butler up more. They are going to have to back up what they said or they will look pretty bad. Now, onto the surprisingly juicy matchup versus the Heat. Wade and the Miami organization did not end on the best of terms and he will most likely come into this game with a chip on his shoulder. The Heat have been one of the best defensive teams this season, so I am really hoping that drives down ownership. Wade, in my opinion, is matchup proof and he could be in for a very big night.
Small Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks – $10,000
Sorry everyone, I just had to do it. I was like a kid in a candy store when finding out that The Greek Freak was now small forward eligible on DraftKings. On first thought, I believed this pick was forced for that reason, but after digging into things, this is a great spot for The Alphabet. He could go overlooked on this slate and we finally get him for a bit of a discount. Not much, but I will take the $500 and spend it elsewhere. Another thing that I have to explain is that we are getting a point guard at the small forward position. It’s obvious, but just had to put that out there. His floor is about as good as it gets, as he has not had one game under 40 fantasy points in his last eight.
The Bucks head to Toronto to take on the Raptors, who have not been the defensive juggernauts against point guards that we have all been used to. One of their biggest concerns is rebounding, as they have one of the worst rebounding rates in the NBA. That shows me a possible opportunity for a triple-double from Giannis. These teams do not play at the fastest pace in the league, but this will be a very competitive game nonetheless.
Power Forward: Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks – $6,200
This is definitely going down as one of my riskiest Starting 5 articles. Porzingis has been terrible as of late, but I have recently been watching interviews after their morning shootarounds. His Achilles is fine and is focusing on different stretching methods for pre-game warmups, and he also talked about the bruise on his elbow and stated he doesn’t even feel it even though it looks weird (put in my words, but you get the point). Then, when talking about his shot, he said it is all mechanics and he is not worried. I do take that with a grain of salt, but confidence is huge for me. His last outing against the Mavericks, he barely played in the first half with three quick fouls.
One thing that I have always love about rostering Porzingis is the peripheral stats that he provides, especially in the block department. Now, let’s throw in a salary that we have not seen him at all season in which he doesn’t have to do much to pay off. If this doesn’t scream great tournament play, but I guess I think differently than most. Vegas has this game with a high-ish total, a very close spread, and it is also at The Garden.
Center: Al Horford, Boston Celtics – $7,000
Editor’s Note: Al Horford has been ruled OUT for tonight.
As usual, this play should come as no surprise. We all know by now I love a little safety at the center position. Horford has been very consistent and has not had one game under 30 fantasy points in his last 10 games (and that streak could be even longer, but 10 is where I stopped counting). His price has (very) slowly creeped up, but for some reason DraftKings will not bump his price up. He is another player that we get at a discount. His field goal percentage also stands out to me, and he does not shoot only in the paint like most centers do. In his last three games, he has only missed one three-point field goal on seven attempts.
The Celtics will host the Magic, which is great spot for Horford. Now that the Magic have gone back to starting Vucevic, this makes his matchup even better. He is known as one of the poorest defensive centers in the NBA and that is also a big reason why he lost his starting role, although he has been somewhat better this season. I am a little concerned that the game does not stay close, but not enough to scare me away. The Magic have played some mediocre basketball as of late and should be able to keep it somewhat close.