NBA Tournament Plays: Friday, 11/7
It’s that time again, Grinders.
We’ve got another slew of huge Friday night NBA tournaments around the industry. We have the $25 entry $175K Slam on FanDuel, the $27 entry $120K Crossover on DraftKings, and a slew of other tournaments as well. Let’s get started by talking about some of tonight’s high upside plays that may help get you to the top of the standings!
POINT GUARD
Rajon Rondo – Rondo is always on my target list when playing large field tournaments, as he is able to provide fantasy points for us in a variety of ways. He just logged his first triple-double of the season in his last game out, and has one of the best matchups on the board going up against the uninspiring defense of Donald Sloan. This game should remain close throughout, as the Celtics are only four-point favorites, so unleash Rondo in your tournaments without hesitation, and watch those points roll in as he piles on points, assists, and rebounds.
Ricky Rubio – I consider Rubio to be Rondo Jr., as he can also contribute in every category for a true GPP-winning performance. Without Kevin Love, Rubio has been unreal in dishing out assists, as the offense now runs through him, not Love. He is second in assists per game (11), trailing only the Rondo, who is at 12.5. With assists being worth 1.5 points at most places around the industry, these two studs don’t even need huge point totals to have productive nights.
Other PGs To Target For GPPs – John Wall, Tony Wroten, Aaron Brooks (If Derrick Rose is out)
SHOOTING GUARD
Jimmy Butler – Jimmy Minutes belongs in every game you play tonight, in every format, on every site, at every price point. With Derrick Rose looking questionable at best for tonight’s game, Butler is in line for a huge night. He gets to take on the Sixers, who are allowing the ninth-most points per game this season at 101. With Noah also considered doubtful for this game, Butleris a lock for production across the board. Don’t over think this one – get him in your lineups tonight.
Kevin Martin – Martin has posted back-to-back big games for the Wolves, and like Rubio, is seeing quite an uptick in his offensive production without Kevin Love around. He is playing huge minutes as well, averaging 37 minutes over his past two games. Martin makes an appealing GPP play tonight, as it’s just not points he is getting this season. Without Love snagging every ball off the glass, Martin has seven rebounds in each of his past two games. His price is reasonable throughout the industry, and with Kobe and Harden both not playing, he makes a top tier GPP play tonight.
Other SGs To Target For GPPs – Eric Bledsoe, Courtney Lee
SMALL FORWARD
LeBron James – On a night void of top-tier stars, LBJ is the clear #1 player for me to spend my salary on tonight in tournaments. Cavs coach David Blatt reportedly told the Cavaliers players that LeBron James and Kevin Love should “eat first” in the offense, this coming after there was a heated discussion between Kyrie and LBJ after the Cavs’ last game. This game has the highest O/U of the day at 207.5, and should remain close throughout. LeBron should have no trouble putting up a huge stat line in Denver, and is no doubt eager to “eat”.
Gordon Hayward – This dude has been taking his vitamins during the offseason. Hayward is locked into massive minutes for the Jazz this season, and gets a great matchup with Dallas coming into Utah on the second end of a back to back. Like others mentioned in this article, Hayward is capable of stuffing the stat sheet in every category, making him a prime GPP play every night. This game has a 207 O/U, and should be close with Dallas playing a back to back on the road.
Other SFs To Target For GPPs – Rudy Gay, Jeff Green, Tobias Harris, Chris Copeland
POWER FORWARD
Derrick Favors – Favors has become one of my favorite plays of the 2014 season, putting up huge games every night (he had one bad game due to foul trouble). A few games ago, Favors put up 17 and 11 against the tough inside D of Tyson Chandler on the road, and now gets that same matchup at home, with the Mavs playing for the second night in a row. That should lead to increased performance for Favors tonight. He is reasonably priced around the industry, so he won’t break the bank either.
Taj Gibson – Though Noah may play tonight, Gibson could still be a good play here. He gets the fantasy-friendly Sixers defense tonight, one that is likely to be without Nerlens Noel. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau loves to play his main guys huge minutes, so expect Gibson to still put up good numbers, that is unless the Bulls get a huge lead.
Other PFs To Target For GPPs – Kevin Love, Pau Gasol, Jared Sullinger, Channing Frye
CENTER
DeMarcus Cousins – Boogie already has two monster performances to start the season, putting up 63.9 FanDuel Points in 34 minutes vs. the Clippers and 45.7 FanDuel Points in just 22 minutes vs. the Nuggets in his last game. He is a top-tier GPP play tonight.
Nicola Vucevic – Vuc had an off night his last game out, only putting up 17 & 5, which due to recency bias in DFS, should have him a little lower owned than he should be tonight. Before that, he put up four straight great games. I’m thinking he should bounce back tonight at home, where last year he performed better than on the road in every single statistical category.
Other Cs To Target For GPPs – Al Jefferson, Marcin Gortat, Kelly Olynk