Sorry that this is late. Hopefully, you have enough time to read it before the lineups lock. Since it is coming at you late, I am going to make it short and to the point. Here is who I like tonight on DraftKings and I will mention if I like them for cash, tournaments, or both.
Help yourself out by checking out our NBA Optimal Lineup for today’s slate
Point Guard
Russell Westbrook (OKC): $12,100 vs. UTA
I like Westbrook for cash here. Is coming at a slight discount because the matchup is against the Jazz. The Jazz are a slower-paced team and decent at defense. The upside is limited for him and I would not use him in tournaments, but cash is another story. In the two previous games, Westbrook posted a 42.5 and a 78.5 on DraftKings. I think he finds his way into the 60-point range tonight. Just enough value for cash.
Kemba Walker (CHA): $8,300 @ LAL
Walker is my tournament play and also another cash game play. The last time these two teams met, Walker put up almost 7x value. His salary is slightly higher this time, but he is still worth it in my opinion. Over his last five games, Walker has shot the ball over 50 percent from the floor in four of them. The one he did not, he still shot 42 percent. He comes with some risk for cash games, but not enough to stay away from him.
Other options:
- John Wall (WAS): $10,300 vs. GS (Cash)
- Mike Conley (MEM): $7,900 vs. PHO (Both)
- D’Angelo Russell (LAL): $6,500 vs. CHA (GPP)
Shooting Guard
You can make a case for any of the top three guys. However, I usually play Jimmy Butler at the small forward position so I will exclude it from my positional breakdown here.
Dwyane Wade (CHI): $7,500 vs. DEN
This is a good matchup for Wade as Denver is ranked toward the bottom in DVP against the shooting guard position. He is the guy I will target if I spend up tonight. I prefer him over Nicolas Batum at the same price. Although, Batum may be a better tournament play (remember I prefer cash games). Wade is making 18 shot attempts per game this season. His usage rate is over 25 percent and with the Bulls struggling, Wade and Jimmy Butler have pretty much taken over the offense.
Jordan Clarkson (LAL) : $5,200 vs. CHA
Clarkson is seeing a ton of minutes with the second team now that Lou Williams has been traded. He is shooting the ball on average, 17 times since Williams was traded too. That is five more shot attempts per game for Clarkson. I wish the price was a little lower, but he’s still in play for me here – especially in cash games.
Other options:
- Gary Harris (DEN): $5,900 @ CHI (Cash)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (DET): $5,900 vs. POR (Both)
- Rodney Hood (UTA): $4,100 @ OKC (GPP)
Small Forward
Kevin Durant (GSW): $9,700 @ WAS
I love Durant’s price tag here. Any time he is under $10,000 I have to consider him. I like him for both formats too. This is projected to be a close game by Vegas and the game total is the highest of the night. You can consider this game if you want to game stack tonight too. Out of the three main guys in Golden State, Durant is by far my favorite option. Curry is my least favorite. I think I’m leaning only cash games with any of these guys, though. Looking at their splits, none of them see a bump in fantasy production when the games are predicted to have a closer outcome.
Jimmy Butler (CHI): $9,300 vs. DEN
Unless I can work in both Durant or Butler, I’m leaning Butler here as my higher-exposure guy. He put up 55 DraftKings points the last time these two teams played. He has a slight bump in fantasy production at home. Plus, his peripheral stats have been increasing slightly over the last few weeks. With his price this high, Butler is also only a cash-game option for me though.
Other options:
- Danillo Gallinari (DEN): $6,200 @ CHI (Cash)
- Al-Farouq Aminu (POR): $5,000 @ DET (Cash)
- Andre Iguodala (GSW): $4,400 @ WAS (Both)
- Brandon Ingram (LAL): $4,200 vs. CHA (Both)
- Denzel Valentine (CHI): $3,400 vs. DEN (GPP)
Power Forward
Draymond Green (GSW): $7,400 @ WAS
If it was not for the five games that he looked awful, I’d say Green is the better play than Durant tonight. I will probably have more exposure to Green, even though I’m not sure I like it. He is coming off a decent game where he hit 6x value. The matchup is great too as the Wizards struggle against the power forward spot. At this price, I’m looking to use Green mostly in cash, but only needing 44 DraftKings points for tournament value seems feasible.
Frank Kaminsky (CHA): $6,900 @ LAL
Kaminsky only put up 17 fantasy points against the Lakers in December. However, he only saw 18 minutes in that game. Over his last nine games, Kaminsky has seen over 30 minutes in seven of them. If Cody Zeller sits out again, then Kaminsky is a lock for me in both formats. When given the opportunity, Kaminsky has produced more often than not for fantasy users. He has great upside for tournaments and his floor is near 4x right now for cash games. Lock and load!
Other options:
- Julius Randle (LAL): $5,700 vs. CHA (Both)
- Zach Randolph (MEM): $5,600 vs. PHO (Cash)
- Nikola Mirotic (CHI): $5,000 vs. DEN (GPP)
Center
Nikola Jokic (DEN): $8,900 @ CHI
I feel like this price tag is a trap. I want to be all over him and I cannot go without recommending him, but somehow maybe he fails. He has not been as consistent the last couple of weeks, so he could bust. This is probably why is price is below $9,000 for the first time in nearly a month. He put up 26 DraftKings points in 18 minutes the first time these teams met. If he sees 30-plus minutes tonight and produces with the same efficiency, Jokic has a chance of putting up over 50 DraftKings points. At this price, he is a lock for tournaments and worth a look in cash games as well.
Marc Gasol (MEM): $7,600 vs. PHO
Gasol has not done great against Phoenix this season. In the last two games, he has averaged 4.5x value. However, he should be going up against the likes of Alan Williams or Alex Len this time out. I think he can hit 5x or greater value and I like him in cash for that reason.
Other options:
- Rudy Gobert (UTA): $7,300 @ OKC (Cash)
- Robin Lopez (CHI): $4,400 vs. DEN (GPP)
- Alan Williams (PHO): $4,100 @ MEM (Both)
That wraps it up! Good luck tonight!
Help yourself out by checking out our NBA Optimal Lineup for today’s slate
Rob Schwarz, Jr. is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Rob, check out his archive. You may also read his work on RotoViz, House Money Fantasy and FLAFFL House or you can follow him on Twitter @ChiSportsnut25.
