NBA Starting 5 (GPP): Wednesday, November 15th
What’s up everyone? Welcome back to another edition of my starting five tournament picks. I had an extremely long weekend that I am still recovering from in Vegas; unfortunately my luck at the blackjack tables finally ran out, so I could not be more excited to get back to the DFS world. This past weekend may have changed my life, but let’s remember: “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”.
We have an interesting slate tonight. There are a few games that we are able to cross off the list. On bigger slates that can be crucial to finding the best plays, as it will help narrow down your player pool.
Enough talk, let’s jump into this packed 11-game slate and see if we can find five great tournament plays. As usual, I will be using DraftKings pricing and will try to keep each player under $9,000.
Point Guard: George Hill, Sacramento Kings – $3,900 on DraftKings
Point guard was my toughest decision on this slate. There are a lot of players on my list and most of them are fairly safe, but let’s be honest: That is not why I am here today. This plays scares me as well, but a few things are in George Hill’s favor in this spot. His price is unbelievably low, as when he gets the minutes he is a $6,000-point guard (when healthy).
That brings up my next point, his minutes, which are my biggest concern with Hill. What helps me feel better is I believe he was out of shape to start this season after all of the personal days he has taken. Not sure why he has taken the personal days, but it has shown in his level of play. He recently got some encouraging words from the coaching staff basically telling him “look to score first” and he did just that the other night against the Washington Wizards. If the game stayed closer, he would have likely played close to 30 minutes.
Last but not least is Hill’s matchup against Atlanta, who is notoriously been a bad defensive team against point guards since Dennis Schroder took over the reins. I will have a decent amount of George Hill in tournaments to help save salary, and if there is a game for him to get right, this is it.
Shooting Guard: Evan Fournier, Orlando Magic – $6,400
Evan Fournier has been one of my favorite players to watch (and pick in DFS) to start the season. He has had a string of sub-par games, most of which came during blowouts. I was worried it was due to Elfrid Payton being back on the floor, but that did not prove to be true, as Fournier saw no significant drop in fantasy points per minutes with Elf on the floor. He is the go-to guy in this offense and that will not change any time soon. The Magic have high hopes for him and he has the biggest green light.
It has been a few games since the Magic have found themselves in a close game, which is crucial to Fournier’s success. This has caused his price to drop enough where we are comfortable playing him again. His minutes are not a concern in close games. The game tonight should stay close, and with a nice single-digit spread and a high total, Fournier could have himself a big night. Not positive on who will guard him here tonight, but I am hoping it is CJ McCollum. He is not the greatest defender and is one of my favorite players to target on the defensive end.
Small Forward: Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers – $9,100
This is where I make my exception for a player over $9,000, but at least it is close, right? Earlier I said there are a few point guards that I like tonight and he is one of them. Now, the nice thing about Simmons is that we are able to roster him at both the small forward and point guard position. I always loving cramming as many point guards in my lineups that I can. They usually have the ball in their hands most of the game, depending on the team obviously. Simmons’ minutes have been great to start the season. The only reason they have been a little lower the past few games is due to foul trouble.
Simmons and the 76ers head to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers this evening. This game has an extremely low spread and as of right now the highest total on the slate. I never like to call a triple-double for any player, but he has that upside in almost any game, especially against the Lakers. The nicest thing about Simmons is the great floor we have seen — even if he has an off night he does not destroy your lineups. Look for Simmons to have a big night here against the Lakers.
Power Forward: LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs – $8,200
LaMarcus Aldridge has been the Spurs’ go-to guy the entire season and will continue to be until Kawhi Leonard comes back. He looks to be the old LMA again now that he is more involved in the offense than he was last season. I am a little confused on this price tag, but I guess it makes sense with the mix of a few mediocre games. Still, he is way underpriced in my opinion with the upside he has shown.
He has a phenomenal matchup here against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The way to attack this defense is with a good shooting big man. Last time these two teams faced, LMA had a huge game and I had close to 100% of him. He ended up with a line of 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and look for him to repeat that again here, because we all know how stubborn Tibs can be. He will not be changing his defensive scheme any time soon.
Center: Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers – $6,700
Nurkic has let me down a few times this season, but this is a fantastic spot for him. The Orlando Magic have been one of the worst rebounding teams in the league this season. Nurkic should be able to get his fair share of rebounds, even though he has not shown that upside thus far. I am a huge fan of Nurkic’s shot attempts too, as in the past two games he has taken 35 shots and converted on 17 of them.
His scoring has been there, but it is his peripheral stats that have slowed his fantasy production down in those two games. That should be no problem here against Nikola Vucevic. This game should stay close, and the Trail Blazers will want to keep a big on the floor to try and stop Nikola on the offensive end. He should get his usual 30 minutes of playing time here and have himself a big night.