Ersan Ilyasova will be jacking up plenty of shots against this poor Wizards’ defense
Geoff Lambert discusses Saturday night’s NBA lineup advice on FanDuel.
This piece is part of our article program that features quality content from experts exclusively at FantasyPros. For more insight from Geoff head to GoingFor2.com.
*Main Slate Only
**Based on Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid and John Wall NOT playing. All GTD when writing this.
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Point Guard
Jrue Holiday (NOP): $6,800 @ CHI
I’m assuming Anthony Davis will miss another game making Jrue Holiday one of my locks. His usage goes way up when Davis is out as he becomes the Pelicans’ best scoring option. Over the last four weeks, only the Nuggets are worse than the Bulls in points allowed to opposing point guards.
T.J. McConnell (PHI): $5,400 @ WAS
Both of my point guard choices tonight are dependent on an injury. In Holiday’s case, it’s a guy on his team we need to pay attention to whereas, with McConnell, it’s the player that would probably guard him. John Wall missed practice yesterday and was listed as GTD at the time of this article.
Wall is a good defender, and if he plays in this game, I don’t like McConnell quite as much at his price tag. If you play this lineup exactly as it is, a good pivot off McConell — if Wall plays — is George Hill, and you won’t have to make any other changes.
Shooting Guard
Bradley Beal (WAS): $7,000 vs. PHI
This is the third pick in a row that could change based on an injury. When Wall misses games, Beal moves over to play the point resulting in higher usage meaning more fantasy points. The Sixers defend the two-guard spot very well but struggle against the point, so Beal could be a fade candidate if he ends up playing his natural position of shooting guard.
Devin Booker (PHX): $6,300 vs. SAS
A lot of DFS players avoid rostering players against the Spurs which leads to low ownership, and low ownership is a good thing as long as your guy has a big game. Over the last four weeks, the Spurs are bottom eight defending the shooting guard position and Booker comes in hot averaging over 40 FanDuel points over his last two games. The Suns potential to get blown out could hurt Booker somewhat, but rarely does he play under 30 minutes, plenty of time to return value.
Small Forward
Gordon Hayward (UTA): $7,600 vs. ORL
Normally I would avoid a player on the second game of a back to back as Hayward is, but the Magic are also on the second game of a back to back, and they have to travel to Utah after playing the Blazers last night. These two teams played in Orlando earlier in the year, and Hayward dropped 45 FanDuel points on them. I’m not expecting him to hit that number again, but the high 30s is a reasonable expectation.
Robert Covington (PHI): $5,500 @ WAS
Covington is always hard to roster due to his up and down nature, but he has had more ups than downs in the New Year thus far. He has a good matchup against a Wizards team that struggles to defend the small forward position. Covington is also one of the NBA leaders in steals, averaging nearly two a game, and the Wizards are in the bottom third turning the ball over, Covington could have a multi-steals game and help him return value.
Power Forward
LaMarcus Aldridge (SAS): $7,300 @ PHX
Aldridge was rested two games ago and then barely played in a blowout victory against the Lakers. He’ll be well rested for this game and should dominate the Suns’ frontcourt. Before being rested, he was averaging just under 40 FanDuel points a game over his previous four contests, and if the Suns can keep it semi-close, he should easily approach those numbers again.
Ersan Ilyasova (PHI): $5,900 vs. WAS
In case you haven’t noticed by now, the Sixers/Wizards game is a game I’m targeting. Ilyasova marks the fourth player I’ve taken from this game, and if Embiid were playing, I’d have five. Ilyasova seems to have found a place that knows how to use him properly. He has bounced around the league with a multitude of teams but seems to gel with this young Sixers team.
He is having a career year in scoring and shot attempts, and is matching his career high in minutes played per game. The Wizards are bottom nine over the last four weeks in defending the power forward position, and with Embiid expected to sit this game out expect Ilyasova to shoot even more than normal.
Center
Rudy Gobert (UTA): vs. $7,500 ORL
I wanted to go with Embiid here, but with the this being the second game of a back to back I’m expecting him to sit this one out. Gobert is the next best option.
The Magic struggle to rebound ranking 21st in the league while Gobert is fifth in that category. I’m expecting a strong double-double for Gobert in this game with 15-to-18 rebounds.
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Geoff Lambert is a correspondent at FantasyPros. You can read more from Geoff by visiting his site GoingFor2.com or follow him on Twitter @GeoffLambert77.
