NBA Starting 5 (GPP): Friday, March 3rd

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What is up, everyone? Welcome back to another edition of the NBA GPP Starting 5. We had some big news with the Kevin Durant injury, but it seems like he is going to be fine. Golden State got lucky on that one and they are going to be extremely cautious when it comes to bringing him back. We all remember how cautious they were with Curry, and if they can move on in the playoffs without him that is the route they will probably go. An interesting situation nonetheless, and knowing Westbrook, he was not happy; he would much rather see them lose with him on the court. I did not agree when people said he was smiling somewhere. You would have to be one cold player if you were happy about someone getting hurt, enemy or not.

Around the industry I have started to receive the nickname “Rain Man,” so I figured why not roll with it. In those regards, I will have my rain man play of the day that will be outside the box. Last week my picks were solid except for my play at point guard, which I even stated was my least favorite position on the slate. Hopefully I can repeat that success this week. Also, I apologize as I am writing this article early and will be traveling all day, so I will miss any big news and therefore will be unable to update. Now onto the solid 10-game slate.

Point Guard: D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers – $6,900 on DraftKings

This week is the complete opposite for me at the point guard position, I love a lot of plays here. I am going to have to go with my boy Russell in this spot, though. Luke Walton and the Lakers have recently committed to start progressing their younger players and it showed last game. Russell played 36 minutes and had a very solid line with 42.75 fantasy points. I do believe he will continue to see these type of minutes in the second half of the season, and with a little more confidence in minutes, his game can hopefully start to elevate.

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The Los Angeles Lakers host the Boston Celtics in what will likely be a high scoring and high paced game. I am not concerned with a blowout here, as the Lakers have been playing better at home and should be able to keep the game somewhat close. I love both point guards in this matchup and do not mind pairing them together. My one fear here is that Boston could possibly shift Bradley over to Russell and have IT guard Nick Young,, but that is a risk I am willing to take. The Celtics have been extremely cautious here with Bradley, so let’s hope they limit his minutes some more.

Shooting Guard: J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers – $4,500

Not too often do I recommend Redick, but he has a few things in his favor. One thing that is big for me with J.J. is Chris Paul is back and that is so important for his upside. CP3 is crucial for Redick’s success and it has shown in the games when Paul was out. Now onto his last few games — against Charlotte he shot 16 times and made nine, so you can see Charlotte allows a lot of spot up jump shots and a lot of three-point shots to the shooting guard position. I am going to exclude the game against Houston as the entire Clipper team looked out of sorts.

Now let’s get onto what really intrigues me the most and that is the matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks. When I picked Nick Young people thought I was crazy, but he ended up destroying the Bucks. My eyes were opened on the tournament podcast with TheSeige about the poor defense they have against shooting guards. The defensive breakdown was brought to my attention by @prblmylastlogin and how they love to double the point guard off the pick and roll. This is why I will be going back to the well, and attacking the Bucks with Redick could not be a better option.

Small Forward: Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz – $7,600

Hayward has been one of the most consistent players at the small forward position all season. Now we are getting him at a very reasonable price and I am going to attack that. I do wish he was more selfish with the basketball, but he still produces good numbers. Last game they got killed and his minutes were limited, so he should be fresh and ready to rock. Before that game the Jazz were on the road for three straight games and came out flat in my opinion. Now they are back home for the second game in a row.

The Utah Jazz will host the Brooklyn Nets and most people will be very afraid of a blowout here, but we can not always play in that mindset. Hayward can easily make value in three quarters against this team. If they are able to keep it close he could be in for a very big night against the worst defense in the NBA. Hayward is one of my favorite plays at this extremely reasonable price tag and I will be taking my chances elsewhere.

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Power Forward: Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks – $7,500

Here we are at the power forward position and I am recommending a small forward, but luckily he is power forward eligible on DraftKings. His shooting as off late has been mediocre at best, but his last game against Orlando was interesting because he started off very hot and cooled off instantaneously. Now we get him at a price that I love targeting him at because it is just too low here in a spot where he recently just crushed. I am not a game log watcher, but I was all over him that night and he was almost $1,000 more. Yes, I know Porzingis was out, but his usage does not have a huge negative on Melo.

The New York Knicks head to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers in what will be a close and semi-high scoring game. Like I stated above, these two teams just faced one another, so I am not scared of Covington defense. If Melo can find his mojo from deep than he will be in store for a very big night. He has been very poor from deep as of late, but he is not a player that I scare away from just because he is in a slump shooting. He can get it done in all aspects of the game and knocking down that three-point shot would be the cherry on top.

Center: Al Horford, Boston Celtics – $6,200

Not sure if I said this already, but this is my favorite game of the night and I am assuming most people will be on this game as well, which makes me try and find different players that could possibly be lower owned. I was on Horford against Cleveland and he paid off, so I will be going right back to the well here at that extreme discount of a price. With his recent performances it isn’t my usual safety play at center, but there are not many better matchups than this. Horford truly has that triple-double upside and if he actually starts to shoot the ball that will make it even better, but not planning on that. His matchup against one of the fastest paced teams in the NBA helps his upside. I will attack him at this price before he truly bounces back.

About the Author

Wining247
Jack Hendrixson (Wining247)

Jack Hendrixson, aka wining247, is a top DFS player who is also a licensed plumber in his home state of Illinois. He’s a tournament specialist that has qualified numerous times for live finals utilizing a contrarian mindset. He can often be found providing expert analysis on GrindersLive shows and can be found on twitter under the username jkhendrixson.