Starting 5: Back to Back - Wednesday, January 28th
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.
Today we’ll take a closer look at the newly-minted Back to Back tool. This tool may seem rather insignificant, but there really are some things we can gain from it. With the big January Jam tournament tonight, we’ll focus on DraftKings pricing with today’s article.
When looking at the back-to-back tool, we will want to focus on using players who aren’t a part of any back-to-back sets, while targeting opposing defenses that are in the middle of three games in four nights or four games in five nights. I won’t paste the full chart here, but feel free to reference it in the link above as you read through this article.
POINT GUARD – Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns, $6,500
Matchup – vs. Wizards (four games in five nights)
According to our handy chart, the Suns are not on any sort of back-to-back this evening, and they are facing the Wizards, who are at the tail end of a four-game span over five nights.
That doesn’t set up well for any team, let alone the fact that the Wizards are on the road against one of the fastest paced teams in the league. Every Phoenix player should get a nice fantasy bump with this factored in, and the price tag makes Dragic very enticing on DraftKings. He does tend to be a boom-or-bust player, but he’s a great GPP target this evening.
SHOOTING GUARD – Wesley Matthews, Portland Trail Blazers, $6,100
Matchup – vs. Cavaliers (three games in four nights)
Cleveland has been giving up massive stat lines to seemingly every position on the court of late, with the exception of whoever LeBron is guarding. There is a chance he could match up with Matthews some in this game, especially if Nicolas Batum sits out again.
However, I still like the spot for Matthews. This game should be played at a fast pace, the Blazers are well-rested, and there will be fantasy points scored in this contest. With Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge both ailing, Matthews should enjoy an uptick in usage as well. He’s a solid target for your cash games tonight.
SMALL FORWARD – Rudy Gay, Sacramento Kings, $7,700
Matchup – vs. Raptors (three games in four nights)
There are quite a few factors working in Rudy Gay’s favor in this game. Obviously, the schedule is one of them, since that is the tool I am highlighting in this piece.
However, there’s more to like. The Raptors have been rotating several players at the small forward position over the past few weeks, and their defense against this spot has really suffered as a result. James Johnson is probably their best defensive option, and he was a DNP-CD last night. Throw in the price tag for Rudy Gay being as low as it has been in a long time, and you have all the makings of a great play.
POWER FORWARD – Nerlens Noel, Philadelphia 76ers, $4,800
Matchup – vs. Pistons (four games in five nights)
Believe it or not, the Sixers might actually have some sneaky fantasy options tonight. Detroit is the other team on the schedule that is in the midst of four games in five nights, and the Pistons don’t play very solid defense to begin with.
The Sixers will need Noel inside, as he is one of their only players that can hang physically with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. He has double-double potential in this game at a very reasonable price tag. With the Pistons in a tough schedule spot, the Sixers should be competitive in this one and keep the starters in the game down the stretch as a result.
CENTER – Alex Len, Phoenix Suns, $4,600
Matchup – vs. Wizards (four games in five nights)
Given the poor situation for the Wizards on this Wednesday night, I can definitely get on board with taking multiple Phoenix players, especially in a tournament format. With the Suns being well-rested in advance of this game, I expect their starters to get a solid amount of minutes.
Len has been massively outproducing Miles Plumlee this season, and there’s no reason he should be playing less than 30 minutes per game right now. The price is also very affordable at $4,600, and he gets to face off against Marcin Gortat, who has been struggling a bit of late. There’s a lot to like with Alex Len here.