DFS Alerts
Top Value off the Bench
The absence of Ricky Rubio is clearly going to benefit Jae Crowder. Even though he hasn’t moved into the starting lineup, he is the de facto sixth starter at this point. He played a healthy 33 minutes in the Game 1 loss, scoring 21 points in the process while adding a few peripheral stats as well. His defensive presence will also ensure that the minutes will be there in this series, and CourtIQ tells us that Crowder actually sees a 2.3% boost in usage with Rubio off the floor. Value is difficult to come by when we only have one game to target, but Crowder provides that much needed salary relief for us.
Nick Young sticks in starting five with Stephen Curry coming off the bench
Curry will come off the bench in his first game back, but is reportedly not on a minutes restriction if Kerr’s comments yesterday are any indication. Expect Nick Young to see close to his minutes allotment from Game 1 (21), although that number likely falls into the high-teens with Quinn Cook falling out of the rotation entirely unless this one gets ugly.
Other tagged players: Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry expected to play Tuesday
The Warriors are expected to get Stephen Curry back tonight for game 2 versus the Pelicans. Curry has been out for roughly five weeks with a knee injury. According to Steve Kerr, Curry won’t be on a minutes limit Tuesday. Curry participated in shoot-around this morning. With Curry coming back, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, and Quinn Cook will see their minutes decrease, especially Cook. Kevin Durant’s usage rate will go down with Curry back on the court.
As reported by: Mark Medina via Twitter
Hop on Before the Masses
What do we know about LeBron James? There are always a couple of players on his teams that he trusts. One of those players is Tristan Thompson, who was given a huge contract a couple years ago thanks to LeBron. Thompson didn’t see much run against the Pacers until the final game of the series and out of nowhere, he played 34 minutes and scored 31 fantasy points. Tyronn Lue already said that Thompson will play more in the series against the Raptors and his salary in DFS is only going up from here.
Value at Power Forward
Kevon Looney is one of the top value plays of the slate. He was mentioned as a possible starter in Game 1, but Nick Young ended up getting the nod. While I don’t expect him to start Game 2, he should see plenty of minutes off the bench. In the first game against the Pelicans, Looney played 23 minutes and scored 20 fantasy points. At his current price point, we would gladly take a repeat performance.
Great Matchup for this Shooting Guard
The time is now. For years and year, the Raptors have done their best to beat LeBron James in the playoffs. They have yet to succeed, but this year feels different. The Raptors are better than ever, while LeBron has his worst team in years. DeRozan should play minutes in the upper 30s against one of the worst defenses in the NBA. Toronto is playing at home, so they should be fired up for Game 1.
Solid Value Once Again
Moore didn’t play a ton of minutes in Game 1, but that was largely due to the Pelicans getting absolutely waxed by Golden State. The good news is that he shot 7-for-11 from the floor while he was out there, and it’s clear that the Warriors will focus their defensive attention on New Orleans’ better players. This could create some opportunities for Moore, and he should play 30+ minutes if this game stays close. He is one of the safest value picks for all DFS formats.
Wiping the Slate Clean in a New Series
Kevin Love was awful against Indiana in the most recent series – there’s no doubt about that. Perhaps a new series can help him get going, even though the Raptors don’t present the best matchup on paper. The good news is that ownership will likely flow elsewhere given Love’s struggles, and the price tag has come down to a very affordable level. Fire up Love as an interesting risk/reward play in GPP formats. He’s nowhere near the player he once was, but that is at least priced in at this point.
The Best Top-End GPP Play
LeBron James and Kevin Durant are likely your safer options at the high end tonight, but I love Davis in tournament formats. If the Pelicans want to hang on the road in this game, they absolutely need him to put up a monster performance. Period. Of course, we know he is capable of that, as Davis has dominated plenty of games this season. At his salary, there is certainly some risk, but the GPP upside is undeniable.
Where To Go For Salary Relief?
Looney is one of my favorite cheap plays on the slate. He gave the Warriors a ton of good minutes, as they like his size and athleticism to matchup with AD. He was the big guy getting minutes when the game was still competitive, over the likes of JaVale, Bell, etc. I can’t imagine the Warriors will abandon him tonight after how well it went in Game 1. At only $3,600 on FanDuel and $3,300 on DraftKings, he is a huge piece of salary relief on a two-game slate.
Another Stud I Like Tonight
I want as much Warriors exposure as I can get tonight. For starters, they have the highest implied team total on the board tonight. Secondly, they have the highest differential between that team total and their season average. The matchup against the Pelicans is one of the better you will see at this point in the playoffs too. Despite Curry being back (and ultimately eating into his usage rate and assist rate), I still like KD a ton tonight due to his price tags. He comes at a significant discount to LeBron and AD, which will help your roster construction in other places. And we know how much better of an offense the Warriors are with how much attention Curry draws. I like KD in all formats tonight.
Jumping On This Discount In All Formats
Here is what we know. Steph should be making his return to the action tonight for Game 2 against the Pelicans. Steve Kerr said that, assuming he is cleared to play, there will be no minutes restriction on him. The Warriors have a tremendous matchup against the Pelicans, who stand little chance to slow them down offensively. On top of that, Curry has discounted prices everywhere. On FanDuel, he is only $9,000. On DraftKings, he is only $8,500. Sure, he may be a little rusty, but that risk is baked into these price tags. I want all the Curry I can get tonight.
Jaylen Brown officially ruled out
Brown apparently tried to lobby to play, but he’s been ruled out after previously being listed as doubtful. Look for Marcus Smart to see a boatload of minutes at the wing with Semi Ojeleye likely to see minutes in the mid to high 20s off the bench. Aron Baynes will start at C with Horford at PF and Ojeleye off the bench.
As reported by: @Celtics Aron Baynes will start ahead of Semi Ojeleye
Semi Ojeleye started the last two games for the Celtics, but he will head to the bench for game 1 versus the 76ers tonight. Aron Baynes will start tonight, to give the Celtics more size against the 76ers. This obviously hurts the value of Ojeleye, and Baynes should see a couple more extra minutes tonight with him starting.
As reported by: Jay King via Twitter Feeding off Emotion
Marcus Morris isn’t the most consistent fantasy option in the world, but he plays off emotion and tends to play better at home. In the first round against the Bucks, he averaged 26 fantasy points per game at home, compared to only 15 fantasy points per game on the road. He’s cheap across the industry and he should see a few extra minutes tonight with Jaylen Brown expected to miss the game. While the Sixers are a very good team defensively, Dario Saric is arguably their worst defender and that’s who I expect Morris to be matched up against for most of the game.