Thursday’s NBA slate features four games. Tonight’s slate trends toward slower-paced, defensive-minded teams with one big exception: Cleveland at San Antonio. The Spurs are big favorites, but there should be fantasy goodness on both sides as these teams rank 29th and 24th in defensive efficiency, respectively, with many plus positional matchups. Injuries to watch out for include Jamal Murray, Paul Millsap, Gordon Hayward, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, and Delon Wright. In this column, I generally set $6000 FD/$5000 DK as the bargain threshold, and I try to indicate when I think a position is particularly well-suited--or not--to using the cheap plays given the landscape of the particular slate. DraftKings’ pricing is notably sharper than FanDuel’s tonight, so I tried to provide a couple extra options to consider where it was feasible. Tonight’s slate tips at 8:05 pm EST.
Point Guard
Monte Morris, Denver Nuggets vs. Portland ($3700 FD, $3900 DK)
If Murray were to miss the game tonight, Morris would be not only a popular play, but a fairly high floor one. He was good last season when Murray missed time, and he stepped up with a little bit of everything Tuesday night – seven points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. Portland is a great matchup, allowing the eighth-most overall fantasy points and ranking 11th vs. PG.
Patty Mills, San Antonio Spurs vs. Cleveland ($4200 FD, $4100 DK)
Mills has been the Spurs reserve guard to play the past two games, but much like the New England Patriots, just when you think you have this rotation figured out, it changes. That’s partly why the salaries of Mills, Derrick White and Bryn Forbes don’t fluctuate a whole lot. Spurs guards is a situation you’ll want to attack: Cleveland ranks third overall in fantasy points allowed, and gives up the second-most to PG (sixth to SG). If you’re a multi-entry tournament player, consider hedging with White and/or Forbes, and of course, Dejounte Murray.
Anfernee Simons, Portland Trail Blazers at Denver ($3900 both)
Simons is getting a bit more playing time with Rodney Hood out, and although he can be inconsistent, an average of 26 minutes over the last two games at this price is hard to come by. He’s a tournament-only super saver that could get you 20 fantasy points.
Shooting Guard
Gary Harris, Denver Nuggets vs. Portland ($4500 FD, $4600 DK)
Harris would be the other cheap Nugget to benefit from Murray’s absence tonight with increased usage. He’s a high minutes guy, but can be quite volatile in terms of his production. I like him to see the higher end of his range tonight, if Murray is out.
Bruce Brown, Detroit Pistons vs. Dallas ($3800 FD, $3900 DK)
As a starter, Brown is a cheap path to a fairly safe 20-ish fantasy points. He struggled in a tough matchup with Milwaukee last week, but generally has found a way to reach value. He’s not a pure shooter, meaning he can kick in plenty of assists, rebounds and other peripherals to bump his stat line, which I love at this price.
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Small Forward
Carmelo Anthony, Portland Trail Blazers at Denver ($5800 both)
This is a nice position to save at, so I’m throwing out a few options, even on the small slate. Anthony is the consistent cash game play tonight, as he seems to be in a groove despite not shooting great. His eight steals in the last three games, as well as his ability to get to the free throw line definitely help him reach value.
Josh Richardson, Philadelphia 76ers at Boston ($4200 FD, $5300 DK)
Richardson is much more playable on FanDuel tonight, but even there I’m considering him in the GPP, risk/reward category. Boston is a good defensive team, though they are likely to be missing at least a couple key players for tonight. Richardson’s return on Tuesday was underwhelming to say the least, but he did play 19 minutes. This is a guy who was playing 30-plus minutes and posting 30-40 fantasy points regularly before his injury, so it’s only a matter of time before he’s back. Why not try to get that big game at this price?
Kevin Porter Jr., Cleveland Cavaliers at San Antonio ($4000 FD, $3600 DK)
Porter is coming off a great game in which he took nine three-point shots…and sunk six of them. He added three blocks and steals, coming away with a nearly 40-fantasy point night. If you use him tonight, you’re doing more than just chasing points; you’re taking advantage of a good matchup in a cheap, versatile player seeing around 24 MPG in December.
Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks at Detroit ($5000 FD, $5100 DK)
If you can spend a bit more, but not quite reach Melo, or want two mid-range SFs in your lineup, Hardaway is a safe pick with big scoring upside. He is dependent on his scoring, but he takes such a high volume of shots (around 10.3 attempts per game, with 6.8 threes) that it almost always works out.
Power Forward
Daniel Theis, Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia ($4300 FD, $4000 DK)
I’m thinking that at least one of Smart and Hayward don’t play tonight, which is going to open up some forward minutes. Theis is a guy who has been a little frustrating, but has over 20 minutes and has scored double-digit points in back-to-back games. PF isn’t a position I’m driven to save at tonight, so don’t force the bargain here.
Jerami Grant, Denver Nuggets vs. Portland ($4300 FD, $3900 DK)
If Millsap is out, the Nuggets would turn to Grant to fill his shoes. Portland is a very positive matchup for opposing bigs, and Grant has been returning about 4X value most nights. His ability to rack up multiple blocks or steals helps keep him fantasy relevant, but in a bigger role, a double-double is not out of the question in this game.
Center
Jakob Poeltl, San Antonio Spurs vs. Cleveland ($5100 both)
There are many ways to spend at center tonight, and I think that’s the wisest course of action. Still, Poeltl gets this great matchup and even when his minutes vary dramatically, his production doesn’t. We’d love to see the high end of his range or the rare double-double, but his normal 23-24 fantasy points won’t hurt.
Enes Kanter, Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia ($3800 FD, $3700 DK)
Kanter is a mere tournament flier, again assuming the Celtics are short-handed and that Williams in particular isn’t back tonight. He has been quiet this season, but given the opportunity can put up a double-double in a hurry. Philly is the best rebounding team in the league, so again, don’t force Kanter anywhere.
