NBA Starting 5: Wednesday, March 1st
Tonight we have a monster 11-game slate to attack. We have four teams (Washington, Detroit, Denver, and Utah) on the second half of a back-to-back, so as usual I will try my best to avoid players on those teams who I feel should be downgraded. There are also plenty of injury situations to monitor, so I envision another mad scramble before lineups lock.
Today, I’m going to continue to discuss how I can quickly glance at two of the Research Tools available to identify good situations for my starting five. First, I always browse the Salary Charts tool to see if I can identify some players that DraftKings has priced lower than FanDuel so I can take advantage of the better pricing — this is especially important with pricing becoming more dynamic on each site. I will then click the Advanced Player Stats tool and focus on their USG%. It’s also nice to glance the peripheral stat percentages available to see if I can expect peripheral points.
Point Guard: Jrue Holiday, New Orleans Pelicans, $6,900
Jrue gets an $800 price discount on DK tonight and the Pelicans are currently two-point favorites against Detroit coming off a back-to-back in a game with a 209-point total. New Orleans will be without DeMarcus Cousins tonight due to a one game suspension, which allows me to target my favorite Pelicans players.
There aren’t many mid-range point guards I like tonight, but Holiday’s price has dropped because of the decrease in usage since the addition of Boogie. While his production has taken a hit with Boogie, tonight he should go back to his old ways of offering a steady floor with plenty of upside in a matchup with Detroit, currently ranked 20th in DVP vs. the point guard position and a team that ranks in the bottom half or worse in the league in allowing opposing point guards mid-range scoring, threes, free throws, rebounds and assists. We should also be able to count on a heavy minutes dose for Holiday with the lack of Pelicans guards since the trade.
Shooting Guard: Seth Curry, Dallas Mavericks, $5,900
Curry get’s a $200 discount on DK tonight and has been tearing it up since the all-star break, averaging 37.25 DK points in his last three games. The departure of Deron Williams has really solidified his role and tonight the Mavs will also be without Wesley Matthews making him a great bet for over 35 minutes tonight in a great matchup with the Hawks, currently ranked 23rd in DVP vs. the point guard and shooting guard positions. Over the last month of play the Hawks have given up big games to Ben McLemore, Tyler Johnson, and C.J. McCollum and I see no reason why we won’t be adding Seth to that list after tonight in this pace-up spot.
Small Forward: Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings, $5,700
Tyreke is priced $200 lower on DK tonight and has certainly been underwhelming so far in Sacramento, but I’m looking for him to have his first big game tonight as two-point home favorites against the Nets in a game with a 216-point total that should have plenty of fantasy goodness. You cannot get a better matchup for Reke, as Brooklyn currently ranks 30th in DVP vs. every position except center and they rank towards the very bottom in allowing threes, field goals, rebounds, steals, and blocks to the small forward position.
Many will be concerned with his 28-minute limit restriction and less than stellar recent play, but after a horrible first half in his last game, he put up over 23 fantasy points in the second half. I’m going back to the well one more time and at his price he allows me to fit in the next two studs I really want in my lineups tonight.
Power Forward: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans, $10,400
While the addition of Boogie has not slowed down Davis much, you have to love the fact that we know who will be getting all the usage tonight for the Pelicans. We get a $1,200 discount on DK and a matchup he already crushed on the road this month when he went for 60 DK points. Tonight he gets them at home where he’s averaged an extra 6.3 fantasy points per game on the season. He comes into tonight with 31% usage – the highest at the position tonight.
While some may be concerned with the pace down spot for the Pelicans, it does not affect the frontcourt to the same degree as the backcourt and though Detroit ranks eighth in DVP vs. the center position, they still rank in the bottom half of the league in allowing threes, twos, assists, steals and blocks allowed to opposing centers. He also correlates very well with Jrue Holiday, as they work great in the pick-n-roll together. He’s the top stud on the slate tonight by far and because I said that, is almost guaranteed to get injured tonight.
Center: Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat, $8,300
First off, it’s Kyle O’Quinn chalk night, which means the same thing as every Elf and Beasley chalk night. Time to fade! While I do think O’Quinn is a good play, as the Knicks just don’t have enough frontcourt bodies, I like the upside Whiteside brings to the table tonight more. We get a $500 discount on DK and he gets a premium matchup against the 76ers, currently ranked 29th in DVP vs. the center position. Whiteside already played Philly twice this month and went for 61 and 38.75 fantasy points. A matchup with Okafor is laughable and you can bet Holmes will have his hands full as well. He should completely dominate the glass as Philly ranks just about last in offensive and total rebounding to the center position. Expect plenty of offensive put backs, rebounds, field goals, and blocks making for a great play with monster upside. Oh yeah, Whiteside averages seven fantasy points more per game at home.