FanDuel NBA Lineup Advice: Monday (2/11)

It’s the beginning of a new week full of new opportunity and hope! What makes this a great Monday? A plentiful nine-game slate to work from for your NBA DFS needs. Including nine players who are valued at $10k or more. There are plenty of solid matchups to work from and with so many games this evening there will also be plenty of opportunity for variance to separate your lineup from the rest and make sure you finish in the green! Tonight the point guard and small forward positions are absolutely stacked so fitting the right players into your lineup at the elite price points will be pivotal.

That’s where this article comes in, the goal of this article is to highlight the players who seem to have the best chance to take your lineup to the top. Players listed here will be my focus based on matchup, recent play and trending. While you may not be able to fit all the players into your lineup I want to arm you with enough knowledge and evidence as to why these players should be worth consideration. I’ll list two players for each position with the exception of center, which will have one. Keep in mind to stay up-to-date on all the latest news when it comes to injuries or late scratches which plague NBA DFS. Let’s get right to it now and as always good luck!

Check out today’s NBA Slam from FanDuel

Point Guard

Chris Paul (HOU): $7,800 vs. DAL
Paul is still kind of working back into form and his current salary is reflective of that. I’m a big proponent of taking a guy of this caliber at this price point. Paul will need 39 FanDuel (FD) points at least to validate his selection into your lineup, which is a feat he’s accomplished now in three straight games as his workload continues to ramp up. Over the past three games, he’s averaged 17 points, five rebounds and eight assists per game leading to 42.1 FD pts per game average over that stretch. Dallas has struggled against opposing point guards as well ranking 24^th in the league defending the position giving up an average of 47.5 FD pts/gm to opposing point guards. Paul still ranks second on the Rockets in usage percentage behind only James Harden and is also second by a large margin in assist percentage (37.7). Paul is savvy enough to take advantage of this matchup especially as Dallas works to figure out their new lineup after shipping out Dennis Smith Jr. Look for Paul to continue his recent play and exceed the 40 point FD mark exposing this matchup after having last night off to rest. He should be fully healthy and ready to go this evening.

Russell Westbrook (OKC): $12,100 vs. POR
Of the elite plays tonight at the point guard position I’m focusing in on Russell Westbrook and I know that may not seem like a stretch, but his high price point may scare some off. Of all the players valued over $10k though, he’s right at the top of the list of the ones I’m getting into my lineups tonight. Westbrook draws a matchup with Portland which Vegas is predicting to be a shootout with a healthy 231 point implied total between the teams. So he has the matchup piece covered, now let’s discuss how he’s on a streak of nine straight triple-doubles and how that all started against this same Portland team back on January 22. That game he went for 29 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists resulting in 60 FD points. For me, the differentiating factor with Westbrook and the other players at this price point is his floor. In that nine-game stretch of triple-doubles only once did he finish with less than 50 FD points, and he exceeded the 60 FD point level four times. Of the highest priced options he remains one of the safest, mainly because he leads the Thunder in usage rate and as a team, they are second in the league in overall pace. I’m always a huge fan of the team leader in usage rate, on a team that ranks in the top 5 in pace especially in a game with an implied total of over 230 points.

Shooting Guard

Zach LaVine (CHI): $7,800 vs. MIL
LaVine has been playing very well of late and has now logged three straight games with at least 39 FD points in each game. He will look to continue that trend against the Bucks tonight, who rank 16^th in defense against opposing shooting guards giving up an average of 40 FD points per game to the position. It also doesn’t hurt that he ranks 10^th overall in the league in usage percentage amongst all players, which definitely says something about his opportunity to produce fantasy value. He will continue to be the focal point of the Bulls offense who will try to keep pace with Milwaukee tonight. With the spread being set at nine and a half points its very likely LaVine will be involved early and often as he’ll have to do everything he can to keep the Bulls in the game. He’s gone three straight games scoring at least 26 points and is one of the hottest players in the league, so choosing him in lineups tonight would be to ride the wave.

CJ McCollum (POR): $7,600 @ OKC
Going with two mid-priced options at the shooting guard position tonight to highlight the fact there may be some value to be had here. CJ McCollum has the type of upside where he could reach the 50+ FD point realm providing great value, but his floor is also relatively low as evidenced by last night’s 25 FD point display against the Mavericks. Tonight though McCollum gets an opportunity to be involved in a potential shootout against a Thunder team that ranks 26^th against opposing shooting guards. This game carries a 231 implied total, meaning there will be plenty of points to go around and that’s where McCollum makes his hay. He also had some success against this Thunder the last time they played posting a 31 point, three rebound, and three assist stat line resulting in 38.1 FD points. His best chances for success usually come in games with a high implied total as his scoring is the bulk of his fantasy production. He does rank second on the team in usage behind only Damian Lillard, but the Blazers will need his scoring to keep pace with the Thunder tonight.

Small Forward

Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL): $12,000 @ CHI
Along with Russell Westbrook, I’ll be trying to find my way to fit Antetokounmpo into my lineups this evening. With the Bucks being nine and a half point favorites tonight there may be some people scared off by the idea they may get up big early then rest Antetokounmpo. This isn’t a concern for me however simply because his usage rate (30.7) is over a full seven percentage points ahead of second on the team Khris Middleton (23.2). This indicates to me Antetokounmpo is always involved early and often regardless of matchup and will get his production even with the potential of a blowout. Furthermore, he offers a very safe floor finishing with at least 50 FD points in nine straight games. He’s also had a few days off after missing Saturday’s game against the Magic due to a knee injury, he’s not listed on the report for this evening, however. Milwaukee carries an implied total of 114 points going into the game tonight, so there will be plenty of opportunity for the Greek freak to make good on his high price.

Jabari Parker (WAS): $3,900 @ DET
Parker has been tearing it up in the two games since joining the Wizards. Now some of that may have to do with the fact they were against two of the worst teams in the league. However, production is still production. Tonight he gets a matchup with the Pistons, who rank number 1 against opposing small forwards so it will be the first true test for Parker. It is tough to ignore his production these first two games and his low salary makes him a very low risk, high reward type of player. In his first two games, he’s recorded 45.7 and 40 FD points respectively. What’s nice about him is that he doesn’t rely on just scoring for his production, he only scored seven points in his first game, but logged 11 rebounds, nine assists and three steals to buoy his production and still recorded 45.7 FD points in just 23 minutes of action. While he may not get to 40 FD points for a third straight game tonight, there is still some opportunity to be had in a game that has an implied total of 222 points and a close four and a half point spread. Also, keep an eye on Jeff Green who currently is listed as day-to-day. If Green were to be held out of tonight’s game then Parker becomes an absolute no brainer at this price. Even with Green however, Parker is worth the choice given his potential value and upside.

Power Forward

Kevin Love (CLE): $4,600 vs. NYK
Love appears in this list with the assumption he would at least see some complement of minutes tonight. This is one where you’ll have to keep an eye on all the way up to tip-off, but if he does play in any respect he’s worth a shot in your lineups. He gets a soft matchup with a Knicks team ranking 28^th in defense against power forwards, and can provide good salary relief while offering a lot of upside. Getting a player of this caliber at this price point can only be had upon return from injury, which is the situation here. Love’s only game action this season came on Friday where he played six minutes and recorded four points, one rebound and one assist. Basically, the point is if he sees any kind of substantial playing time he could pay-off big time tonight and at least get you to 5x value (23 FD points) making his selection worth it. Another cap-saving move here would allow you to spend up at the other positions.

Kenneth Faried (HOU): $7,400 vs. DAL
One of my favorite mid-level players on the slate tonight is Faried. He’s been the model of consistency since joining the Rockets and he’s been a very stable force in DFS in the 10 games he’s played with Houston. He’s finished with 30+ FD points in nine of those 10 games, the only game he didn’t reach that mark was the very first game with the team where adjustments are expected. He has scored in double-figures in every game with the team and has recorded a double-double in seven of those 10 games (four straight double-doubles heading into tonight). While the Mavericks are not bad against opposing power forwards ranking 14^th in defense against the position, it doesn’t seem to matter for Faried who posted a 16 point, 12 rebound performance resulting in 30.4 FD points against the Jazz who rank third in defense against opposing power forwards. Faried is a high-floor type of player that you know what you will get out of him and he doesn’t come at too high of a price. So in a lineup where you are maybe unsure about a couple players, choosing Faried would at least provide a stabilizing factor.

Center

Ivica Zubac (LAC): $3,900 @ MIN
Zubac is my choice for center tonight in a cap-saving move, but still getting a player that could provide some good production. Los Angeles seems keen on giving the young big man an opportunity to shine and see what he can do. In his first game as a Clipper Zubac posted a 12 point, nine rebound performance against a tough Boston team that ranks 10^th in defense against centers resulting in a 29.8 FD point outburst providing tremendous value for a player at this range. Minnesota is just slightly worse against opposing centers ranking 12^th, but I don’t think the matchup will matter much. It seems the Clippers want to see what they have in the youngster, he’ll likely start and see at least 25 minutes of action in a close but high scoring game with an implied total of 227 points. All signs point to Zubac providing another game of good value and it may be best to get in on the ground floor before any type of salary increase.

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Chris Berg is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @bergey13.