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THIS SLATE IS A GPP SLATE ONLY. IF YOU WANT TO PLAY H2H CASH GAMES, FINE, BUT DO NOT MAX ENTER ANY DOUBLE UPS OR MULTIPLIERS ON A THREE-GAME SLATE. LIMIT YOUR BUY IN'S AND JUST WAIT FOR FRIDAY'S SLATE TO RISK IT ALL.
Toronto Raptors @ San Antonio Spurs
Total: 216.5
SAS -1.5
Toronto Raptors
Starting off at guard, we have an interesting dilemma going on. Kyle Lowry returned to shoot around this morning and has been upgraded to questionable. If he plays, it kills Fred VanVleet at his current price tag and I'd consider him only if he somehow wasn't placed on a minutes restriction. If Lowry doesn't play, VanVleet is fine althought point-guard is probably the deepest position on the slate. We're only playing guys like Danny Green and Norman Powell if Lowry sits. Powell has played 22 and 23 minutes over his last two games, so he'd be a value option if Lowry is in fact out.
Kawhi Leonard is just too cheap on DraftKings and is coming off a masterful offensive performance in which he scored 45 actual points. He's in play even if Lowry sits, but is an elite play on this slate going up against DeMar DeRozan . Oh, by the way, how about some revenge on Leonard's mind? DeRozan has a 111 DRtg on the year. Pascal Siakam is coming off back-to-back double-double's including a career high 28 actual points in his last game. San Antonio ranks 19th in defensive efficiency so this is an ideal matchup for him and the rest of the Raps. Serge Ibaka has played 30-plus minutes in four of his last five games and could be too athletic for Jakob Poeltl if he starts again. Greg Monroe has played 18 minutes in back-to-back games and if the Spurs start Poeltl again, Monroe could be viable.
San Antonio Spurs
I think we're finally seeing the version of Derrick White we'd hoped for before the season began as he's now scored in double figures in three straight games including 22 actual points his last time out. Over his last four games, White is averaging 28.4 minutes and 30.6 fantasy points per contest. He's still under 5K and is an excellent value play here. At the same time, Bryn Forbes is excellent value as well. Forbes has trumped White's minutes of late playing 38 against Boston the last time out and averaging 33.4 over his last four games. White notches more peripheral stats while Forbes relies upon his scoring more than anything. That said, Forbes has scored in double figures in each of his last seven contests, so the consistency has been there.
DeMar DeRozan has been in really good form lately, but he's going to draw Kawhi Leonard defense here. Do we want that problem? Do we really need it? I don't think so. There is only three games on this slate, so I'm not crossing him off my player pool, we just have to realize what he's up against tonight. He is, however, averaging 45.3 FP/game over his last four. Davis Bertans played 30 minutes against Boston with Rudy Gay out. The thing is, Rudy Gay has been upgraded to probable. If Gay plays, his minutes have fluctuated and cannot really be trusted. If making multiple lineups, I'd consider throwing him in one or two. Talk about entering a game in good form, look no further than LaMarcus Aldridge . Aldridge is coming off back-to-back 30 actual and 50 point fantasy outings and has averaged 47 FP/game over his last four, which is 10 points higher than his season average. If for whatever reason Jakob Poeltl starts again, even with Gay back, he's an option as well.
Denver Nuggets @ Sacramento Kings
Total: 227
DEN -2.5
Denver Nuggets
If the last four games doesn't describe Jamal Murray as a DFS roster in a nutshell I'm not sure what does. Murray has gone for 19, 45, 69 and 22 fantasy points respectively in the four. The thing is, this is a spot we load up on point-guard when you note that the Kings rank 26th versus the position and that the Kings rank second in pace, so the Nuggets will maximize their offensive positions here. Murray only played 18 minutes against the Kings in their first meeting and went for 30 FP. We saw Monte Morris ' minutes creep back down to 22 with the return of Gary Harris , which takes him out of consideration. Speaking of Gary Harris , if we get news he's going to play somewhere around 25 minutes, I'd be willing to take a shot on him in a GPP. Anything less, I don't have much interest despite his cheap price tag. Malik Beasley continues to shine as he scored 42 FP in his last outing and is averaging 33.4 over his last four games. The most important part of his recent success is the fact that he's playing 28-plus minutes per night. In play as long as Harris is limited.
Paul Millsap is only $5,200 and saw his minutes rise to 22 in his last game while putting up 34 fantasy points in the contest. The Kings rank 22nd in DEFF, 2nd in pace and 26th in DvP versus power-forwards. Everything points to Millsap being an excellent tournament play, despite the fact he's likely on a minutes restriction still. Mason Plumlee continues to put up 20-to-25 FP per game and is viable on this slate as a last piece to your build. He, by no means, is someone I'm starting my builds with. Maybe my favorite play of the slate plays center for the Nuggets and that's Nikola Jokic . We just saw Jusuf Nurkic did to the Kings front court, and Jokic is even more skilled than that. Jokic is coming off a triple-double and has now eclipsed 50 fantasy points in back-to-back games. He put up FOURTY fantasy points against the Kings in their lone meeting in just.....wait for it....23 minutes. The Kings rank 22nd against centers and again I'll touch on this great pace up spot for the Nuggets, but its a +6.9 for the away team. Load up on Nuggets tonight.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings offense is generally fun to use, but it's hard to attack this Denver defense that ranks 10th in defensive efficiency. When you look for weaknesses in their defense according to DvP, the only two positions that stand out are at SF and PF, and they're not all that awful against SF either. The guards are not fun to attack. I'd make the best care for De'Aaron Fox who burned everyone the other night. He draws a nice individual matchup against Jamal Murray who has an 110 DRtg on the year and a 113 for his career. Fox also will be lesser owned because of how poor he played the last time out, so this is the perfect time to jump back on the bandwagon. I'm worried for Buddy Hield tonight due to the fact he'll see a bunch of Gary Harris defense here, but only a three-game slate so he's not the worst option. I'd be more likely to play Bogdan Bogdanovic than Hield for a slightly discounted price tag and that he's gone for at least 30 FP in three straight outings. Iman Shumpert isn't the worst final piece to a build as he's gone for 21-plus FP in three straight including a 43 point outing mixed in.
Nemanja Bjelica 's minutes go up and down more than a teeter totter but he played 36 in his last game and gave us 40 FP. I mentioned that the Nuggets can be exploited at power-forward, so this could be another nice night to use Bjelica. He's averaged 32 FP over his last four games. Marvin Bagley continues to miss time which has opened up more playing time for Justin Jackson . Jackson's played 24-plus minutes in three straight and is an interesting value option on this slate that nobody will likely roster. Willie Cauley-Stein has been FP/min guy over his last four games, but Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets rank in the bottom 10 in DvP versus centers, so we don't really need to go there.
Houston Rockets @ Golden State Warriors
Total: 224.5
GSW -8
Houston Rockets
Chris Paul and Eric Gordon aren't playing you say? Can I interest you in some James Harden ? What if I told you Harden has a 50-percent usage rate and averages 2.03 FP/min with them plus Carmelo Anthony off of the floor? Yeah, you should be intrigued. If you're playing cash games on this slate -- which I personally advise against -- you'd be remiss by not starting your builds with the bearded one. Harden has gone for at least 60 FP in six straight games and in nine of his last 10 overall. The one he failed to reach 60 (DK scoring)? He went for 58. He has scored 40-plus real points in four straight games as well so yeah, he's the top play of the slate. Austin Rivers is going to continue to log all the minutes despite not doing much. Still, at his price and with the minutes he's playing, it's hard not to roster him here.
The last time out, we saw Gerald Green nearly 50-percent owned in cash games at minimum salary and he produced giving us nearly 30 fantasy points. He took 11 shots, all three's, and made six, which is the type of bottle rocket performances we can get out of him. He's still uber cheap and will be popular here once again considering everyone for Houston is still out. The safer play is Danuel House Jr. House Jr. has given us 20-plus FP in four straight games and has averaged 28.1 minutes over that span while in the starting lineup. P.J. Tucker has only made two of his previous 20 shot attempts and is a guy shooting 39-percent from the three-point arc. Expect him to start making a few more shots which would put him firmly on my radar tonight. Over Clint Capela 's last four games, he's put up 41 FP/game and is averaging 16.3 points and 15.5 rebounds. He didn't have much success against the Warriors last year avergaing just 15 points and six rebounds in three meetings and put up less than 30 FP in their first meeting this year which wouldn't get it done at his evaluation. That said, center isn't the best position and Capela comes in to this game in good form. Fire him up in GPP's.
Golden State Warriors
There aren't many more frustrating teams to roster in DFS than the Warriors, but imagine how much worse it'll get when DeMarcus Cousins returns? Stephen Curry has begun to turn it on lately scoring 49-plus FP in three straight games and the Warriors have the highest implied team total on the board tonight. Picking the games that Klay Thompson goes off in is tough, but I feel more comfortable doing it with a smaller player pool such as this one than on a bigger slate, that's for sure. Twice in the last four games Andre Iguodala has gone up over 30 FD points, but has also scored less than 20 in the other two. He is a true GPP option that I'd play in a couple of lineups if building a plethora of them.
In three of his last four games, Kevin Durant has scored 43 or fewer DraftKings points. He only scored 30 against Houston earlier this year as well, so how do we trust him? The good thing is that his price tag continues to drop as it's down to 9.2K on DK. He's still the fourth or fifth best option of the slate which is saying a lot considering there is only three games being played. Not only is Draymond Green not scoring, but his peripheral stats aren't what they once were, which has caused his production and price to plummet. I'd be willing to take a shot on Green on this slate because it's smaller. I'm pretty much placing Green and Thompson in the same exact category. Kevon Looney isn't the worst last piece to a roster build, but I'm not going out of my way to play him. Jonas Jerebko . There...I said his name.