NBA Starting 5 (GPP): Friday, March 31st
What is up everyone? Welcome back to another edition of the NBA GPP Starting 5. Last Friday I did not have an article and had a nice relaxing week off, but now I am back and ready to rock. I then had a great weekend at the live final. (Thanks to BobbyFi for filling in while I was gone). I was lucky enough to take home second place, thanks to Rolo and Mirotic. Guess my Chicago squad has my back after all. Now it is time to get back to the true grind.
As usual, we have to continuously dodge resting and supposedly injured players, but that is not going to faze me here. Hopefully I can start right where I left off and continue my stretch of picking four out of five right, but we’d much rather get all five correct. I will be picking plays that I will be targeting in my lineups, and if a chalky play stands out to me I will play him regardless the ownership. These picks are reserved for tournaments unless stated otherwise.
Enough talk, let’s get into this solid 11-game slate.
Point Guard: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors – $9,500 on DraftKings
Point guard is loaded on this slate, and Stephen Curry is just one of many that sticks out to me. Any time we talk about Curry, there is not too much that I really need to say, but this spot stands out. Curry has been playing some very good basketball as of late and has been extremely consistent. In his last five games he does not have one showing under 40 fantasy points. I also prefer to play Curry at home than on the road, and with his recent price bump we could see lower ownership. But, the fact of the matter is he is still too cheap.
The Warriors will host the Rockets in what should be a very high scoring and high paced game. Everyone talks about “Pat Bev” defense, but I am one of the few that does not get scared away in situations like this. This game will most likely turn into a shootout, and if it can stay close, expect fantasy gold throughout. Curry is the one I will have the most exposure to.
Shooting Guard: Evan Fournier, Orlando Magic – $5,600
Shooting guard is always a position where I like to save money, and Fournier fits this notion well. I do believe Fournier will come into this game with a bit of a chip on his shoulder after losing a close game in overtime, but to make matters worse he lost to the team that now has Victor Oladipo. The reason I bring this up is because the Magic believed Fournier was their future over Oladipo, so they had no problem trading him. Granted he did outplay Oladipo in that game, but he did not play well down the stretch.
All narratives aside, Fournier has been shooting solidly in his last six games, but what is important to me is the shot attempts. If we get the aggressive Fournier that I expect, he should make value at his price with ease. In games Fournier has taken over 14 shot attempts. he has made value, and that is out of his last ten games. Hopefully we can get an aggressive Fournier in a game that should be high scoring, with the Magic playing at a faster pace as of late.
Small Forward: Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz – $7,300
Man do I love this price for Gordon Hayward! I am going to buy low on him while I can after he had no setbacks in his return. Hayward was playing some solid basketball before his injury, and in his return he played well in a blowout. The only thing that always scares me with Hayward is if he is going to be aggressive and take enough shots to pay off his salary. Not including the game he got injured, he has taken at least 14 shots in his last seven games. If we get at least 14 shots here in this spot, sign me up, especially at this low price tag.
The Jazz will host the Wizards in what should be a very competitive game. The Wizards are one of my favorite teams to target, especially at the wing. They have been one of the worst teams all season guarding the small forward position, and that is not going to stop here. I do think Utah will play at a slightly faster pace in this one, and if this is a four quarter game, look for Hayward to pay off his salary with ease.
Power Forward: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors – $7,800
This was my easiest pick, which is rare for me at the power forward position. Draymond Green should kill in this spot. The last time these two teams squared up, I was almost all in on Draymond, and he was paying off very nicely until the injury set him back. People will look at his game logs and be scared away, but most will not realize he got hurt. He should be 100% coming into this one. Yes, he has not been playing well lately, but these are my favorite tournament plays! You can’t get ahead of the field waiting for a player to go off; you have to play the player when he goes off to set your lineup apart from the rest.
The matchup with the Rockets is exactly what Draymond needs to turn things around. With the pace in this game and an extremely high total, I am not worried playing two players from the same team. I prefer to pair Draymond with one of the guards and not pairing the guards together, as I believe it limits your upside. Hopefully we can find Draymond at low ownership, but I doubt we will. Let’s hope everyone will overlook him in this spot.
Center: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets – $9,100
This slate is filled with so many great tournament plays, so let’s hope some value opens up throughout the day and that we are able to fit in as many of these plays as we can. Jokic is by far one of my favorite tournament plays to roster, especially on DraftKings where you can get that bonus. The Nuggets are in must win mode after dropping a very important game to the Portland Trail Blazers. It will be all hands on deck for Mike Malone, so I am not worried at all about his minutes here. Jokic also finds himself in a plus matchup against a team that has been struggling as of late and also is in must win territory. Now, let’s throw in a price tag that is way too low, and he may be my favorite play on the entire slate.