NBA Starting 5: Tuesday, April 4th
The Starting 5 Series will provide Grinders a quick look at the day’s top positional plays, analyzed through the lens of our Daily Research Tools.
We’re going to once again begin our research with RotoGrinders’ Ceiling and Consistency tool. We’re going to take a look at FanDuel today, and the focus of this article is going to be finding consistent, high floor players who we can confidently roster in our cash game lineups. Baseball took center stage yesterday, but the NBA is back with a big 11 game slate that is sure to contain plenty of attractive options. Let’s take a look at the top pick at every position.
We have a very solid eight game slate tonight with some very high game totals. Let’s start our research with the Ceiling and Consistency tool then narrow our choices down by looking at some other factors.
Point Guard: Jeremy Lin, Brooklyn Nets, $6,100
First of all, there continues to be no sensible reason to fade Russell Westbrook in cash games, so go ahead and get him in there. At this point in the season, it’s not particularly beneficial to readers to spend time analyzing why a guy averaging a triple double on the season with over 30 ppg is nearly a must play every night. I made sure to include him in the table screenshot, however, so you can see that, according to the tool, he’s a top play.
Lin is right up there as well given he’s been an extremely consistent performer. He’s logging around 30 minutes per game, and tonight he draws a terrific matchup against the Sixers. This game has been assigned a 221 total with a tight spread, and given the quick pace and utter lack of regard for anything resembling defense, we should see a shootout between these two dreadful teams. Lin can do a lot of damage in 30 minutes, and I expect him to finish well over the 30 fantasy point mark tonight. Relative to his price, his floor is high, and it’s extremely unlikely he drops a dud. He’s a great option to pair with Westbrook given his cheap price tag.
Shooting Guard: Jordan Crawford, New Orleans Pelicans, $3,700
When you think of Jordan Crawford, the words consistent and cash game don’t typically come to mind, but that’s where we’re at today. Crawford has been extremely consistent when given minutes with New Orleans, and seeing as he’s settled into around a 25 minute role, he’s very cheap at just $3700. He checks in with the highest 4x percentage over the past four weeks while offering a very good chance of reaching 5x or even 6x. Further, he draws a very favorable home matchup with the Nuggets in a game Vegas has assigned the highest total of the evening. He’s a great option for your cash game lineups if you’re spending up for Westbrook. I would look to pair him with Klay Thompson if possible.
Small Forward: Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls, $10,000
Butler is carrying Chicago into the playoffs, and he’s playing terrific basketball in the process. Chicago is in the midst of a four game winning streak as all the teams in the East around them in the standing keep losing. Butler is a few spots away from the top of the chart shown in the screenshot, but given the guys ahead of him aren’t exactly players we want to be relying on, he’s the top option of the day. LeBron James looks pretty good too, but the Cavs played double overtime against the Pacers two days ago and host the Magic tonight. In what should be an easy win, James may not see enough minutes to be worth his price tag. Butler on the other hand, will play all the minutes he can handle in another must-win against the Knicks.
Power Forward: Marvin Williams, Charlotte Hornets, $6,400
I really like Williams as a cash game play today facing a Wizards team that has struggled against opposing power forwards. Williams has been extremely consistent over the past four weeks, and while LaMarcus Aldridge has a 90% 4x rate over that same time frame, he missed last game with a thumb injury and may not suit up tonight. The Hornets need to keep winning games if they want to stay in the playoff hunt. They’re currently one game behind Miami and Indiana, and I would expect head coach Steve Clifford to push his starters as much as he can over the past few games of the season. That should translate to heavy playing time for Williams in what’s likely to be a close game against Washington.
Center: DeMarcus Cousins, New Orleans Pelicans, $9,600
Cousins is playing some inspired basketball right now, and while it looked like his production may suffer starting alongside Anthony Davis, that sure hasn’t been the case lately. He’s putting up similar numbers as he did with Sacramento, and with the Pelicans listed as home favorites in the game with the night’s highest total, you have to love Cousins in cash games. With Jusuf Nurkic out and Nikola Vucevic involved in a potential blowout situation in Cleveland, Cousins is the guy I want if I’m paying up at the center position. He’s an extremely high floor, high ceiling option despite being priced at $9600, and he’s worth paying up for, especially in cash games.