This article aims to highlight some of the alternative plays at each position for tonight’s main NBA slate. These are some potentially lower-owned, higher risk/reward options for use in large field GPPs. Keep in mind that the following player write-ups were constructed earlier in the day, and sometimes injury/rest situations can alter the fantasy landscape. Monitoring our NBA News & Headlines Feed throughout the day will keep you in the loop. Today’s main slate includes three games starting at 4:00 ET.
POINT GUARD
Markelle Fultz – Orlando (at Milwaukee) – Yahoo: $18, DK: $5100, FD: $5500
We are probably facing a pretty chalky day in NBA DFS today, as we are down to three games. Both LA and Milwaukee are looking to close out their first round series today, so I think stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James are solid ways to spend. At PG in particular (where you can’t use James), options are limited. Chris Paul and Eric Bledsoe stand out as safe bets, but if you want to go a different way, consider the Magic guards. Both Fultz and D.J. Augustin rank in the Top 3 values (dollars per fantasy point) in our DFS Tools, with projected fantasy points around 30-34 apiece, depending on the site’s scoring.
Also Consider: D.J. Augustin
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SHOOTING GUARD
Eric Gordon – Houston (vs. Oklahoma City) – Yahoo: $20(SF), DK: $6100, FD: $5800(SF)
All eyes are going to be on this game, and James Harden is the star we’ll be watching. However, Gordon has quietly been cranking out value in all four games of the series so far. He’s averaging over 30 fantasy points per game, and hasn’t even been shooting the three that well. His mid-range salary is hard to fit for those going pure stars and scrubs today, but consider locking him in to differentiate your large field tournament lineups today.
Also Consider: Khris Middleton (FD)
SMALL FORWARD
Carmelo Anthony – Portland (at LA Lakers) – Yahoo: $21(PF), DK: $5900, FD: $5400
Anthony is apparently like a box of chocolates. I don’t know what he’s going to do any given night and that range of possible fantasy outcomes is a major turnoff for some DFS players. His salary falls into that same range as Gordon’s which, again, is tough to do with the stars most people will be striving to fit tonight. Anthony certainly isn’t risk-free, but he does have the possibility of hitting 6-7X value in a must-win scenario for Portland tonight.
Also Consider: Khris Middleton (Yahoo, DK)
POWER FORWARD
Robert Covington – Houston (vs. Oklahoma City) – Yahoo: $23, DK: $5700, FD: $5700
I think if people are looking for (another) mid-range option to differentiate lineups, they might turn to Danuel House, Jr., who has been really solid in his last three games. Our DFS Lineup Optimizer is also high on House today. That means Covington could be one of the lower owned players at this tricky position. Covington’s offense is highly variable, but he is a pretty consistent defender, with an average of about five rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.5 steals in this series so far. He’s capable of a modest double-double, and during the seeding games was putting up 30-plus fantasy points regularly.
Also Consider: Danuel House, Jr.
CENTER
Nikola Vucevic – Orlando (at Milwaukee) – Yahoo: $40, DK: $9200, FD: $8600
Center is often the position people will sacrifice salary on to fit Harden, James, Giannis… and there are some decent center values out there, including Hassan Whiteside and P.J. Tucker. Possibly even Dwight Howard for near minimum salary. But none have close to the upside of Vucevic, who displayed all the justification for his high salary Monday night with a 31-point, 11-rebound, 7-assist and 2-block game. There’s the risk of a let-down tonight since the monster performance was unable to produce a win for the Magic, but if you’re going with some of the other mid-range wing players, you might decide to spend up for Vuc tonight.
Also Consider: P.J. Tucker
