There are eight games on FanDuel’s main slate tonight. There are not a lot of high-scoring games that are expected to stay close. The Minnesota-Golden State game has the highest total at 239, but the Warriors are favored by 11. Probably the best game to target is the Washington-OKC game. There is a 230 total with Washington favored by 2.5. The Memphis-Utah game is probably a stay-away game with a 201 total with Utah favored by 7. The Toronto guys are interesting but there is blowout potential in their matchup against Phoenix (Raptors favored by 11). This doesn’t mean the Toronto guys have bad games, it just means that they probably won’t play enough to smash and put up a high ceiling. There are six players priced at $10,000 or above with Russell Westbrook having the highest salary at $11,700. James Harden is close behind at $11,600 but he is a game-time decision. There are six other players with salaries in the 9k-range.
Remember that you roster nine players on FanDuel but only count your best eight scores as FD drops the worst scoring player from your lineup. There are various schools of thought on the best roster construction. There is a stars-and-scrubs approach. There is a balanced approach. You can also look at having a combination of these two approaches. You can also game-stack (which you might want to consider tonight with the Washington-OKC game). In this article, we’ll give you information so that you can have a starting point as you begin constructing your lineup – whichever strategy you employ. We’ll give you three players at each position. You can mix and match them to come up with a roster construction that fits your style and preference. My recommendations are Toronto-Phoenix heavy because I believe that this game can have fantasy goodness – even if it is a blowout. If you are playing multiple lineups (or think the game won’t be a blowout), you might want to add Kawhi Leonard or Kyle Lowry to the mix as they could smash.
There are eight games on FanDuel’s main slate tonight. There are not a lot of high-scoring games that are expected to stay close. The Minnesota-Golden State game has the highest total at 239, but the Warriors are favored by 11. Probably the best game to target is the Washington-OKC game. There is a 230 total with Washington favored by 2.5. The Memphis-Utah game is probably a stay-away game with a 201 total with Utah favored by 7. The Toronto guys are interesting but there is blowout potential in their matchup against Phoenix (Raptors favored by 11). This doesn’t mean the Toronto guys have bad games, it just means that they probably won’t play enough to smash and put up a high ceiling. There are six players priced at $10,000 or above with Russell Westbrook having the highest salary at $11,700. James Harden is close behind at $11,600 but he is a game-time decision. There are six other players with salaries in the 9k-range.
Remember that you roster nine players on FanDuel but only count your best eight scores as FD drops the worst scoring player from your lineup. There are various schools of thought on the best roster construction. There is a stars-and-scrubs approach. There is a balanced approach. You can also look at having a combination of these two approaches. You can also game-stack (which you might want to consider tonight with the Washington-OKC game). In this article, we’ll give you information so that you can have a starting point as you begin constructing your lineup – whichever strategy you employ. We’ll give you three players at each position. You can mix and match them to come up with a roster construction that fits your style and preference. My recommendations are Toronto-Phoenix heavy because I believe that this game can have fantasy goodness – even if it is a blowout. If you are playing multiple lineups (or think the game won’t be a blowout), you might want to add Kawhi Leonard or Kyle Lowry to the mix as they could smash.
As always, more value will open up as the day goes by that can allow you to get even more top-tier players into your lineup. All of the plays that we recommend are plays that we will be considering for our lineups, as well. That doesn’t mean that we will end up with all of these guys as updated news and constructing rosters might lead us to a different play. Remember to check the news and injury reports, especially in the 30 minutes prior to lock. Have a solid process, using all the information available to you to make the best decision possible for your lineup. Good luck and have fun!
POINT GUARD
Russell Westbrook (OKC): $11,700 at WAS
He is still pricey, but his salary did drop by $300 from last night. He is on a back-to-back and hasn’t had a monster game yet. There is no guarantee that is comes tonight. However, he has gone for 50+ FD points in four of his five games. He gives you a strong floor with a slate-winning ceiling. This is a game I am wanting to target tonight, so I am going to roll with Westbrook as my main stud and jam him in whenever possible.
Derrick Rose (MIN): $6,000 at GSW
The whole Timberwolves story is a bit confusing and unreliable, but Rose seems to have found the fountain of youth. Sure, I am going to chase his 66.8-fantasy game from Wednesday night (where he scored 50 real-life points) but even before that, he had returned at least 5x value in the previous six games. His game on Wednesday was the second time that he went for 12x value so far this year. Even though this game is expected to be a blowout, with Rose coming off the bench, he shouldn’t be affected too much. He is definitely a consideration for all of my lineups tonight.
Dante Exum (UTA): $3,800 vs. MEM
I am not very interested in this game in general, but Donovan Mitchell got hurt in Wednesday’s game and Exum saw a bump in minutes. Mitchell has been ruled out for tonight so Exum should see a lot of minutes. Exum has played 20+ minutes twice this year and he scored 20+ FD points in both of those games. He is probably the best and safest value on the slate tonight at first look. He will most likely be in at least one of my two main lineups. Remember that Exum was the 5th overall pick in the 2014 draft. Even though he hasn’t carved out a consistent starter role, he has talent and should be given the opportunity tonight.
SHOOTING GUARD
Caris LeVert (BKN): $7,100 vs. HOU
LeVert has earned 30+ FD points in six of his eight games this season. He is coming off of his second 40-point fantasy performance on the year. He has a 28% usage rate and is getting plenty of minutes (32 MPG). Houston is not playing as well defensively as they’ve played in the past so this is not as imposing of a matchup as it might appear at first. Not only does LeVert score the ball well (18.9 PPG), but he does all the other stuff well also (4.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.0 SPG). He is averaging 32.7 FD points per game. He should produce and has a good floor with some upside.
Lou Williams (LAC): $5,300 at ORL
Williams is coming off the bench and his minutes aren’t where he would like them to be but he is still producing fantasy numbers. Yes, there is a concern with the road back-to-back, but Orlando is not a good defensive team. Williams probably will not win you a tournament since he’s just not getting the minutes but he is a good bet to reach 5X value. He allows you to save a little salary and he is still someone that can put up fantasy points.
Avery Bradley (LAC): $3,600 at ORL
This is a punt play, but if you absolutely want to pay down for someone to give you salary relief elsewhere, then Bradley is worth consideration. He hasn’t done much this year offensively, but is playing a lot of minutes (averaging 28 MPG). Typically minutes equals money in DFS basketball but sometimes you get a player like Bradley who is a better real-life player than fantasy player. He had 6.9 FD points last night in 36 minutes. On Sunday, he had 24.7 FD points against the Wizards. This is purely a gamble.
SMALL FORWARD
Paul George (OKC): $9,800 at WAS
He is more expensive than I would like to pay for him but this game should be close and he should put up some nice numbers. Overall, I like Kevin Durant’s consistency, but for nearly $1,000 less, I will take George’s potential to match Durant’s numbers and possibly surpass them in a high-scoring competitive game. He easily can go over 50 FD points tonight and his floor is in the 40’s. He is probably not as safe as Durant, but he is close and I like the savings.
T.J. Warren (PHO) : $5,400 vs. TOR
He finally moved into the starting lineup and he didn’t miss a beat. He earned 31.1 FD points in 35 minutes. This game was a blowout so he seems to be setup okay for a potential blowout tonight against the Raptors as well. He now has two straight games of 30+ fantasy points. He also had a 45.3 game against the Warriors earlier this year so he does have upside.
Miles Bridges (PHO): $3,900 vs. TOR
Bridges is starting to get extended playing time. He played 27 minutes Wednesday against the Spurs. He earned 26.7 FD points (7.6X) in the blowout. That is important to note because this game tonight also has their opponent heavily favored. Bridges should be in line to play minutes again and produce. Remember that Bridges was the 10th pick in this summer’s draft so the Suns think very highly of him.
POWER FORWARD
Serge Ibaka (TOR): $6,300 at PHO
Whether he is coming off the bench or starting, Ibaka keeps performing well. Phoenix is terrible right now defensively. I love this matchup for Ibaka but I don’t like the price. He was $5,200 his last two games against the 76ers and Bucks when he hit 7.7X and 8.7X value, respectively. He can easily go for 40+ FD points again tonight like he did the last two games. Even if it is a blowout and he doesn’t smash, his floor is decent. You can reasonably expect 28-32 FD points from him. He is playing 28.2 MPG and I don’t expect his minutes to fluctuate much tonight regardless of game-flow.
Noah Vonleh (NYK): $5,700 at DAL
Vonleh is quickly becoming a consistent thing for the Knicks, especially with Kevin Knox being out. Vonleh has three straight games of 6X+ value. He has returned 5X value in six of his eight games this season. His price is much higher than we are used to for him and it does feel weird clicking on his name at $5,700, but he is playing well right now. Be warned that even though he has been returning value, his price is much higher and there is no guarantee that he is able to sustain this production at a higher salary.
Pascal Siakam (TOR) : $5,700 at PHO
If you want similar productivity but want to pay just a little bit less than Ibaka, then Siakam is a good option. He is probably not going to be fully affected by game-flow. He is averaging 26 MPG. I love Siakam, but hate the price. In his last two games, he has gone for 42 and 47.6 FD points (9.5 and 10.8X value, respectively). Those were at a $4,400 price tag. His floor is probably a little lower than Ibaka’s but he has a similar ceiling at a discount.
CENTER
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN): $9,500 at GSW
Two straight games of 60+ fantasy production. I don’t trust KAT but he is definitely on fire right now. If you are truly serious about winning a GPP, then you’ll probably need to have players giving you 60+ points. KAT is certainly someone that can do that. Even if Butler is in the lineup tonight, that shouldn’t affect him as he had 63.2 FD points on Monday with Butler playing.
Steven Adams (OKC): $7,500 at WAS
Adams is properly priced tonight. He isn’t glamorous, but definitely is productive. Last night, he only scored 5 real-life points but still managed to have 35.4 FD points. This is a projected to be a high-scoring game that will be close. I like Adams going against a retuning Dwight Howard, who is probably not 100% and is definitely not what he once was. Adams has earned 40+ FD points in three of his six games this year. He also has four double-doubles on the year.
Boban Marjanovic (LAC): $3,600 at ORL
I doubt that I will end up playing Boban but he is enticing. The problem is that unless he is named the starter, no one has any idea when Boban will do Boban things. Last night, he did Boban things. He had a double-double in 22 minutes while earning 38.7 FD points. That was the first time that he has played more than 20 minutes all year. He has three games where he has gone over 7X value. Two of those games have been in the last week when he earned 33.3 FD points (9.0X) on Sunday to go with last nights 38.7 (10.8X) performance. There are not many good value options at Center tonight so Boban stands out a little bit. FanDuel throws out the worst score so if you really want to gamble and don’t want to roll with a higher-priced Gobert against Marc Gasol or an inconsistent KAT against the Warriors, then you could consider Boban.
Jamy Bechler is an NBA fantasy contributor for FantasyPros. His DFS twitter is @WinningDFS101, and his website is www.FantasyFocusFootball.com. When he is not playing DFS, Jamy is an author, host of the “Success is a Choice” podcast, and is a leadership trainer, working with businesses and teams across the country (including the NBA). Even though he offers his advice on players and contests, after additional information and consideration, he may end up using different players and strategies than what he recommends.