NBA Starting 5: Monday, December 26th
I’m changing up the Starting 5 to a format that I use for my NFL Premium piece called the Player Pool, in which I give you the guys I’m considering for my core on a particular slate and give a couple sentences about them. When you look at all the awesome RotoGrinders tools, it can give you a big list of guys that you have to narrow down for your lineup(s), and this is an important skill that goes overlooked.
Let me know in the comments section if you find this useful.
Point Guard (DK Pricing/Positions)
James Harden – $11,900
Kemba Walker – $8,100
Austin Rivers – $4,400
Point Guard Analysis
As you guys will see throughout this article, it’s a stars and scrubs day for me with Chris Paul being OUT, opening up value (he’s out, despite what others might try to say). Austin Rivers was in consistent foul trouble against the Lakers on Christmas Day and will be the lowest owned of the value plays, but we’ve seen his ceiling before.
Kemba Walker gets the Jeremy Lin matchup that people might be overlooking and his usage will be up with Belinelli doubtful for this game. James Harden plays a fast Pheonix team, and I don’t think I need to explain this one.
Shooting Guard
Devin Booker – $6,700
Zach LaVine – $6,500
Jamal Crawford – $4,400
Raymond Felton – $3,600
Shooting Guard Analysis
Devin Booker losing his SF eligibility is a tad annoying on this slate, but it will keep that ownership down on a slate with all the value being found at the guard position. Since his move back to the two, he’s been shooting more and been more comfortable on the floor. With Bledsoe being guarded by Beverley, it should be a funnel situation to Booker.
Zach LaVine didn’t shoot well against the Thunder on Christmas, but gets a nice rebound spot against the Hawks, who have struggled at stopping shooters all year. The chalk Clippers value in Crawford and Felton is no surprise; just remember, with JJ Redick also likely out, these plays are even better than yesterday.
Small Forward
Jabari Parker – $6,900
Tobias Harris – $5,300
Markieff Morris – $4,900
Small Forward Analysis
With Booker no longer SF eligible, we will have to pivot to three guys with a lot lower floors for our core. Jabari is in a great matchup and has torched this Wizards team twice this season, but should be super popular.
With the Cavs sitting someone out, this should be a spot to attack Detroit in a pace-up game with Tobias Harris,, who played 32 min off the bench in his first game as the sixth man. I look for that to continue and getting extra minutes against this Cavs bench a major positive. Markieff has let us down, but has had two solid games against the Bucks and the price is at near punt levels.
Power Forward/Center
Anthony Davis – $11,000
DeMarcus Cousins – $10,900
Jabari Parker – $6,900
Myles Turner – $6,400
Marvin Williams – $4,800
Power Foward/Center Analysis
I combined these two positions since most of the players have dual eligibility. Brow and Boogie are the guys you are playing the punts for. Boogie gets the 76ers’ interior which he simply is too strong for, and Brow has been on fire and gets a pace-up situation against the Mavericks, who he dropped 63 DK points on in the first meeting this season.
Myles Turner is in a rebound spot against a Bulls team that likes to drive which can lead to inflated block numbers, and the price is too low for his talent and ability to get 40 DK points. Marvin Williams shot terribly in this matchup against the Nets the first time, but with everyone healthy he had 13 shot attempts despite going 2-for-13 and Frank the Tank going HAM. I don’t think Tank will play that many minutes this time and should even be more usage available for Marvin. Love this spot for him.
Thanks for reading. Post in the comments what you think about the format!