NBA Tournament Plays: Friday, January 2nd
Happy New Year Grinders!
There are some huge tournaments going on tonight around the industry – there’s the $250K Slam on FanDuel for a $25 entry along with the $200 Monster with a $100K prizepool and the $2 Shot, which has a staggering $150K prizepool. Also, dont forget about the Playboy Basketball Championship Qualifiers tonight: they are available at $25, $109, and $535 buy ins.
Over on DraftKings, we have the $300 3-Ball with a $120K Prizepool and the $27 Crossover with a $100K prizepool. It’s a great time to be a player in today’s DFS landscape, and with so much money to be won tonight, let’s jump right into some GPP plays for the upcoming 11-game slate.
POINT GUARD
Kemba Walker – Kemba will be playing at home, where he has a significant splits advantage this season in every statistical category. Not only that, he gets to play against Kyrie Iriving, who is not a good defender. Add onto that the fact that Al Jefferson is out, which will increase Kemba’s usage by a significant margin, and you have the makings of a play that has everything going in its favor tonight.
Kyrie Irving – With LeBron out for a few weeks, Kyrie’s usage rate is going to skyrocket. He will be the primary ball handler and scorer when he is on the floor, involved in nearly every offensive possession. He will have a slew of 40+ FPT nights over the next two weeks, and will be a threat for 50+ FPTS every night until LBJ gets back. Kemba Walker is not a good defender, and I love both of these guys as they battle it out tonight.
Other PGs to consider: Stephen Curry, Kyle Lowry, Rajon Rondo, Jeff Teague, Brandon Jennings, Trey Burke, Donald Sloan (if CJ Watson is out)
SHOOTING GUARD
James Harden – Dwight Howard coming back has not slowed down Harden at all, as he put up four huge fantasy performances in his past five games. The Pelicans have had trouble defending the SG position all season, and with Davis and Asik keeping Howard busy inside, they should put the focus of the offense on Harden tonight. SG is pretty ugly tonight, so I like spending top dollar for the best player at the position.
Rodney Stuckey – With George Hill out and C.J. Watson questionable for tonight, Stuckey figures to see extended run. He has had two horrible games in a row, which may keep his ownership low, as players tend to use guys that have performed well recently. If both of the above guys sit, Stuckey should easily see 30 minutes, and he can put up huge games when he gets hot shooting, with two 40+ FPT games in his last 10.
Other SGs to consider: Kobe Bryant, Eric Bledsoe, Klay Thompson, Victor Oladipo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dion Waiters
SMALL FORWARD
Kevin Durant – He’s back. Use him before the price skyrockets. He is going to have no minutes restriction, and will be playing the Wizards, who have struggled to limit fantasy performances to SFs this season. At a position that can be very tough to find consistent production and huge upside, Durant is one of my top plays to spend on today.
Draymond Green – Green is a player I will be targeting in nearly every lineup I make tonight, as he has been having some insane production for his price around the industry. This game has a 215 O/U with the Warriors as five-point favorites over the Raptors, and should be one of the highest scoring and most watchable contests of the night. He can put up huge fantasy nights without even scoring and should be in line for a huge night in a premier matchup.
Other SFs to consider: Carmelo Anthony, Gordon Hayward, Jeff Green, Robert Covington, C.J. Miles, Gerald Henderson
POWER FORWARD
Anthony Davis – There is no other PF options on the board tonight that can touch Davis’ upside, and with Durant being cheaper than him in most places, he will have a much lower ownership tonight than he should, with people perhaps opting to target other expensive options. He has 40+ minutes in three straight games, while having only two blocks in his past two games. Blocks are what gives Davis so much upside on a nightly basis, as he can easily go for 5+ blocks every time he takes the floor. Plus, since he is at home tonight, he gets the friendly scorekeeper bump, as he tends to get credit for blocks (that are not actually blocks) on the team’s home court (over a block more per game at home this season).
Tristan Thompson – Tristan is seeing all the minutes he can handle right now with LBJ and Varejao out, playing 39 minutes per game over his last four. When you play that many minutes, you are going to have good performances. He has 28+ FPTS in each of those past four games, and should have no trouble putting up another solid game tonight against the Hornets, who are without All Jefferson. The price is very reasonable and will only be going up from here, so use him while you can.
Other PFs to consider: Kevin Love, Paul Millsap, Greg Monroe, Nerlens Noel, Marreese Speights
CENTER
Marc Gasol – With Zach Randolph looking questionable to play tonight, Gasol makes a great choice for consistent production at the center position tonight. He hasn’t had less than 32.5 FD points in his last 10 games, and has gone over 40 FD points in six of his last 10 games. He is the ultimate play for consistent high-end production tonight.
Henry Sims – Sims went for 19 and 7 in just 23 minutes in a blowout loss to the Warriors his last time out. Tonight he gets the very weak interior defense of the Suns, and he should be able to provide plenty of value to your team. If the Sixers can keep this game close, Sims will see around 30 minutes in an up-tempo game between two of the higher-pace teams in the league.
Other Centers to consider: Andre Drummond, Nikola Vucevic, Mason Plumlee, Cole Aldrich, Zaza Pachulia, Bismack Biyombo