Thursdays are usually a bit slower in the Association, but tonight they’re trying to fit in a full schedule before the All Star Break. For DFS, that will be the central point for new as well. We’ve already seen teams start to rest their players in preparation for the break and that, coupled with a few teams absolutely ravished by injury/protocols, sets up a lot of value to build around. Keep an eye out for news to unfold and stick with me on twitter @fantasynav for the latest updates to the slate and be sure to check out today’s NBA Spreadsheet with projections. You can find it here.
Guards
Top Play | De’Aaron Fox | Sacramento Kings PG| $8,900
De’Aaron Fox couldn’t be in a better spot tonight. He’s squaring off against a Portland team that is allowing the 2nd most points to the position this year, in the game that has the highest total on the night. Over his past 6 games, Fox is averaging nearly 20 shot attempts but making barely over 40% of those shots. A pillow-soft matchup against the Blazers should see more of those shots going in and puts Fox’s 60-point upside firmly in-play.
Mid-tier | Kyle Lowry | Toronto Raptors PG | $8,400
The math here is pretty simple. With Fred VanVleet, OJ Anunoby, Paskal Siakam all still on the sideline due to health/safety protocols, Kyle Lowry essentially has ALL of Toronto usage available to him. He is coming off a 40 point game last night where the blowout score limited his time on the court in the 4th quarter. Lowry also carried sneaky-low ownership last night, given just how many bench players were vaulted to the starting lineup. He’s projecting similarly tonight, making him one of my favorite plays in the mid-range.
Value |Eric Bledsoe | New Orleans Pelicans SG/PG | $5,400
Eric Bledsoe has been one of my go-to players over the past few games. Over his last 5 games he’s averaging nearly 32 fantasy points and over 36 minutes per game. Take a spin through the mid-5k range on tonight’s slate and find me ANYONE else who is seeing that type of opportunity. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Bledsoe offers one of the safest floors on the slate and is routinely sub-5% owned. He’ll be a cornerstone of my build tonight.
Forwards
Top Play | Zion Williamson | New Orleans Pelicans PF/C | $9,300
Zion Williamson has really heated up over the last two weeks. He’s averaging better than 51 points over his last 5 games and is 1 board away from a double-double in 3-straight. More than anything, its been his ability to contribute assists that has taken the biggest step forward over this stretch of games; where he’s nearly doubled his assists per game to 5.2. Zion could easily fall under 10% ownership and carries a legitimate 50-point floor tonight.
Mid-tier | Norman Powell | Toronto Raptors SG/SF | $7,000
Again. VanVleet, Siakam, Anunoby are all out again tonight. Norman Powell was one of two Raptors saw more than 25 minutes last time out and he punched the clock for a full 38 in the blowout. In his 46-point effort he went 14-for-20 from the field (5/8 from deep) and was clearly the focal point of this offense. If this game can somehow stay close, he can easily flirt with 60-point upside and is the type of free square you have to start your build with.
Value | Will Barton | Denver Nuggets SF | $5,500
This one profiles very similarly to the Eric Bledsoe play above. The 2nd unit for Denver has been decimated and that has seen Barton’s time on the court balloon up to nearly 30 minutes per game over his last six. He is consistently in the mid-teens for scoring, but the story of his night will come down to how active he is on the boards. If he can get north of 5 rebounds, I expect him to readily deliver 6-7x value tonight; as he has in each of his last 3 games.
Centers
Top Play |Â Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets C | $10,900
I am usually a bit weary about rostering the most expensive players on the slate but there is a TON of value out there tonight and I’ll happily make an exception for Joker. Averaging 27.3 points, 11 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game on the season; the guy is basically a walking triple-double. He is coming off of back to back 75+ point outings and tonight’s matchup against the Pacers grades out to be a pretty neutral spot for the big man. I expect this game to stay relatively competitive and for Joker to flirt with 7x’ing his enormous price tag for a 3rd straight game. Lock him in!
Mid-tier | Enes Kanter | Portland Trail Blazers C | $7,400
I’ve said it all season and tonight is no different. You play bigs against the Kings. Full stop. They’re the 3rd most favorable matchup against the position and this game carries the highest total on the slate. Kanter has been consistently underpriced and routinely overlooked as of late and I expect his slight price increase will keep his ownership to the single-digits. Look for Kanter to have more success kicking out for assists tonight, which puts his ceiling game firmly in play for me.
Value | Robert Williams | Boston Celtics C | $4,600
With all of the premium talent at the center spot tonight, it might be difficult to fit Williams into a build, but I love him as a punt play nonetheless. He is averaging 1.5 points per minute over his last 3 games and 35.5 points per game on the season when he can break the 20-minute mark. I know we’re not in the business of predicting blowouts but considering this decimated Toronto team just got boat-raced by the Pistons; tonight sets up as one of the better spots for Williams to get some extra run and to deliver elite value and salary relief.
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