Writing this on Tuesday night, and the lineup I ended up playing tonight is still doing well. Hopefully my cold streak will end tonight. In the meantime, I’ll go ahead and look ahead to tomorrow’s slate of games and give my “Dunks and Passes” for tonight.
It’s still a working title, but let me know what you think. Basically a Dunk is a player in the second tier or lower that I like to have a good night, based on match ups or someone who is just hot. A Pass is a player that might be expected to have a good game, but I feel won’t because of matchup or maybe it’s the second game of a back to back.
I’ll also give my “Dunk of the Night” and my “Pass of the Night”. The Dunk of the Night will be the player I feel the strongest about and his potential to have a good game. Of course my Pass of the Night will be a top tier or second tier guy that I feel will have a bad game.
Keep in mind, the Dunks are mostly value plays, I’m not suggesting you put all these guys in your lineup. These are the guys you put in your lineup that allow you to afford more expensive options, like Lebron or Curry. Some of these I’ll hit on and some of them will miss. Usually I build my lineup by starting with 2 or 3 guys I really like and build down. Another approach is to take the top tier guy or guys at a shallow position and take your value plays at positions where there is more depth. So keep this in mind when your setting your lineups.
DUNKS
Point Guards
D.J. Augustin– Okay, 2 games as a starter and I’m ready to admit I was wrong on him. I didn’t think he would be this good. Even after his first game, I wasn’t willing to buy in, but now I’m ready. He is listed at 6K, and he is sure to rise into high 6’s low 7’s if his production continues.
Temper expectations a little for his season outlook, as he did play 2 bad defensive teams in Toronto and Cleveland. With that said, he gets the 76ers next. The 76ers aren’t as bad as everyone thinks they are defensively, but they are by no means good either. I’d expect him to have another good game.
Isaiah Thomas– Over his last 4 games he is averaging over 1 FDP per minute played, and he is getting 30 minutes a game. In case you’re not good a math, that’s an average of 30 FDP. He is a couple hundred less then Augustine, and has a longer proven track record.
Shooting Guards
Aaron Afflalo– He is getting a ton of minutes, and though you like to see a little more consistency from him, at his price, he is a really good play versus the Pels. They struggle at defending the guard position. Afflalo should be in the high 20’s low 30’s.
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Eric Gordon– Well everyone jumped on board the Gordon train, and was happy for a few games, he has come back to earth a little in the last 2 games. I think this game will have a lot of scoring, as Denver likes to get up and down the court, so Gordon will be needed to score and he will.
Small Forwards
Trevor Ariza– I don’t really love any of the value plays at small forward tonight. Being forced to choose one, I’ll go with Ariza. Having not played since the 25th, he’ll be well rested. He could get you 25 FDP tonight, and at $5,300 that’s good value.
Power Forwards
Patrick Patterson DUNK OF THE NIGHT– I played him in my lineup last night and was rewarded with 27 FDP and he is going for $4,600. You can’t beat that. He also gets the Kings, the 26th ranked defense and the Raptors are at home. Get him in your lineup.
Ryan Anderson– Anderson is a guy that when he is hot, it seems like he will never miss again. When he is not, it can get ugly. He has been hot the last 2 games, and he back to his comfort zone coming off the bench. Fire him up and watch him fire up the shots. Potential 30+ FDP tonight.
Center
Tyler Zeller– Two good games back to back and the Timberwolves on the schedule. Center is such a crapshoot, I could go with a number of guys on any given night, but you never know what you’ll get. Zeller is a good price and has a good matchup. Roll with it.
PASSES
Point Guard
Jarret Jack PASS OF THE NIGHT – I had a really hard time picking my Passes for tonight, since a lot of the top tier players have great match ups. Point and case, at the point guard spot I had to go with Jack. He is typically a third tier player, and has been used heavily in lineups for value. His price has risen because of this, and is now no longer a value at $6800. Tonight he has a tough matchup with the Hawks, one the better defensive teams, and maybe the 2nd beat overall team in the NBA. I don’t expect Jack to be able to do anything early in this game, and the Nets may get blown out, so he’ll get rest towards the end.
Joe Johnson Another third tier player that has been used heavily. Johnson is more of a value play based solely on volume. He isn’t that good anymore, but he is pretty much all they have. For the same reasons I don’t like Jack, I don’t like Johnson. Shooting guard is very top heavy tonight, but if your looking for value at 6K and under, I like JR Smith, Wesley Matthews, Bradley Beal, and Aaron Afflalo more.
Small Forward
Gordon Hayward– I’m not a fan of his even in a good matchup. He has burned me too many times. The Clippers aren’t a horrible matchup for him, they have a middle of the pack defense, but if you take the frustratingly inconsistent play plus the blowout potential, that equals a player to be avoided. There are better options. Rudy Gay is $100 more and a much better play.
Power Forward
Kevin Love– Kevin Love has health concerns still. Though he has been able to play through them, I still don’t trust it. I myself have had back issues, and even ended up having back surgery, and I know it can flare up at anytime. Couple that with a matchup versus a top 5 defensive team in the Blazers, he’s not somebody I’m willing to risk spending $8,800 on.
Center
Al JeffersonHe is back in the starting lineup, and received more minutes in his last game then be had in the 3 previous games, but I still don’t trust it yet. He could get you 22 and 10, or be could get you 9 and 6. Those were his exact totals the last 2 games. The 9 and 6 looked better on Fanduel because he got 7 blocks! I’d avoid him at his $8100 price tag.
That wraps up the Dunks and Passes today. Hope this helps you set your lineups for tonight.
A short recap from last night picks, I hit on a few and missed on a few. If you stayed with Wall last night you should be happy, and my 2 options for replacement, Irving and Knight, also had good nights. Rajon Rondo was on my Pass list, and that worked out. I was dead wrong on Klay, but in my defense, Jimmy Butler missed this game.
I was also wrong on Rose, to an extent, be ended up scoring 30 points, but he had11 turnovers! Other then his 7 rebounds he didn’t much for the peripherals, recording only 1 assist and no steals.
That’s its for today. Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog on the main page, and follow me on Twitter @geofflambert77
Good Luck!
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