This Tuesday’s NBA slate contains four games, with plenty of superstars. Six of the Top 10 players in PER (player efficiency rating) are on the court tonight. All four games are expected to be high scoring, but beware of blowout risk in Houston vs. Charlotte and LA vs. San Antonio. Charlotte and Denver get big pace bumps, while Milwaukee, Houston, Charlotte, and Denver enjoy excellent overall fantasy matchups. Key injury news to watch for is Russell Westbrook (doubtful), Jamaal Murray and P.J. Washington, while Clint Capela and Michael Porter Jr. will be out tonight. 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. Tonight’s slate tips at 7:00 pm EST.
Point Guard
Dejounte Murray, San Antonio at LA ($5600 FD, $5000 DK)
Coming at you with the usual caveats about my ongoing struggle to get the Spurs guards right, Murray really stands out on DraftKings tonight. Sure, he’s coming off a terrible game after a stretch of good games, and the Lakers are one of the best defensive teams on the slate (and in the league, where they rank third in defensive efficiency). They do, however, give up the 10th-most fantasy points to point guards, and Murray is averaging over 30 fantasy points a game vs. the Lakers this season. Patty Mills and Derrick White are out there if you’re looking to hedge, but I think Murray is the best chance at great value tonight.
Monte Morris, Denver Nuggets vs. Portland ($5000 FD, $5900 DK)
Keep an eye on the news out of Denver as the other Murray (Jamaal) does have a shot to return tonight. However, they are on the front half of a back-to-back, and Murray may choose to wait one more day and play Utah tomorrow. We are looking at a nice increase in pace for whomever the starting PG is tonight for Denver, and the Nuggets are decent home favorites against a Portland team that ranks 25th in defensive efficiency and gives up the sixth-most overall fantasy points (third to PG). After a couple of difficult matchups, Morris busted out for over 40 fantasy points vs. the Pistons Saturday night, which led to a price increase on DraftKings. All things considered, I do like the idea of getting some exposure to the Denver PG tonight.
Shooting Guard
Ben McLemore, Houston Rockets vs. Charlotte ($3800 FD, $3400 DK)
Warning: players from this game are going to come up a lot here. It’s going to be a good one for fantasy with both teams ranking in the Top 10 overall fantasy points allowed. If the Rockets continue to play small, and Westbrook sits out, there could be a nice opportunity for McLemore to pay off this super-small salary. He’s scored 17, 13, and 22 real points in his last three games and a short rotation for Houston tonight could easily put him in position to do so again.
Donte DiVincenzo, Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans ($4600 FD, $4200 DK)
DiVincenzo is quietly putting up roughly 20-30 fantasy points a game since Jan 1. In a game with a 245-point total, I’m all over the shooters, but I also like the fact that DiVincenzo isn’t exclusively relying on his scoring to reach value (unlike Avery Bradley, for example, who has been scoring well but doing little else).
Also consider: Malik Monk ($4600 FD, $4300 DK), Danny Green ($4100 FD, $3800 DK) or Avery Bradley ($3600 FD, $3300 DK)
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Small Forward
Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets at Houston ($5400 FD, $5300 DK)
Bridges continues to crush it and his price is staying pretty stable – in fact, it has come down on DraftKings. Houston is one of the best wing matchups in the league for fantasy, so given how he’s playing right now, injury is only thing between him and another 30-plus fantasy point game.
Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets vs. Charlotte ($4900 FD, $5300 DK)
If Westbrook is out, the usage that goes to Gordon could be enough for him to exceed value. His range of outcomes is all over the place; even on a short slate I don’t trust Gordon for cash game lineups, but he’s got upside that someone like P.J. Tucker and Danuel House lack. Still, given that the Rockets are set to be so short-handed tonight, all three guys could have strong showings for their prices.
Power Forward
Jerami Grant, Denver Nuggets vs. Portland ($6100 FD, $5700 DK)
Almost an auto-play by now since Paul Millsap and Michael Porter Jr. are out, Grant is still cheap enough to warrant a mention here if you’re looking to save some, but not go as risky as Tucker or Kyle Kuzma. He should do just fine vs. a Trail Blazers team that has been plenty fantasy-friendly to the opposing frontcourt.
Also consider: Isaiah Hartenstein ($4000 FD, $3000 DK) ONLY if he starts, given the fantastic matchup with the Hornets’ frontcourt.
Center
Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans ($5800 FD, $5300 DK)
New Orleans is the perfect combination of fast-paced and poor defense that we love to target. He’d be finding himself here even if he wasn’t coming off a nine-block game, but WTH is Lopez doing with NINE BLOCKS?!? Seriously, I would have bet against it, being somewhat ageist in sports (to my own detriment at times). I mean, he gets 4-5 blocks on a regular enough basis and his scoring is adequate enough for the price so we are not chasing those points here. No, I’d frankly rather spend up for Nikola Jokic tonight, but if that’s not compatible with the rest of your build, BroLo is not a bad way to go.
