Portland Trailblazers @ Milwaukee Bucks

Total: 229

Spread: MIL -13

 

Trailblazers

Injuries

Without Damian Lillard this year, Portland is a difficult team to figure out. C.J. McCollum leads the team in usage (27.9%) while Anfernee Simons -- who went through shootaround -- is second (24.9%). What's interesting is in the 24 minutes Carmelo Anthony played, he had an ELITE 37% USG and will remain in the starting lineup. He's still only 3.9K over on DK and is a lock-and-load with a likely increase in minutes and all the injuries around him. Kent Bazemore and Rodney Hood are other wing plays that could push 30 minutes and flash production.

With Hassan Whiteside questionable, Nassir Little and Skal Labissiere are in line for the biggest bump in usage/playing time. Little exploded for 35 fantasy points his last time out and that was WITH Carmelo Anthony . Labissiere has averaged 17.4 MPG pver his last six games but considering Portland actually has zero front court depth with Zack Collins hurt, Labissiere is in line for big minutes if Whiteside sits. Whiteside did not go through morning shootaround for what it's worth. If Whiteside plays, he could man handle Brook Lopez on the interior and on the glass.

Bucks

Injuries

It's something to potentially keep in mind as we approach lock, but this is a back-to-back for Milwaukee as they played on Wednesday night. Portland allows the fifth most fantasy points per game and Milwaukee has a one-on-one advantage at every position except shooting-guard according to DvP. Eric Bledsoe played three minutes less on a back-to-back that Milwaukee had earlier this year so that's worth monitoring. He did, however, only play 25 on Wednesday, likely in preperation for tonight. George Hill played 27 minutes on the Bucs last back-to-back, which was 12 minutes more than the first game, so maybe saving on Hill at point-guard is the move. Donte Divencenzo continues to be productive and give us around 25 FP, so fire him up with confidence.

Both Sterling Brown and Pat Connaughton are GPP fliers as both could play 20 or so minutes on a back-to-back. Brown is already averaging 21 minutes over his last five games while averaging 20 FP. Giannis Antetokounmpo could go for 100 FP here because who's going to stop him? Rodney Hood ? Carmelo Anthony ? He might not even need a full compliment of minutes for a slate breaker. It's probably a bad idea to fade him tonight. Brook Lopez is another Bucs player who saw fewer minutes than he's averaging and again, likely because of the B2B. Maybe he plays a full compliment here and he could be avoiding Hassan Whiteside defense, but maybe a sneaky Ersan Ilyasova plays small ball center against a smaller Portland front-court as well.

 

New Orleans Pelicans @ Phoenix Suns

Total: 233.5

Spread: PHX -4

Pelicans

Injuries

Jrue Holiday saw a massive price bump with all of the Pelicans injuries, but now that they're starting to get healthy, his price has decreased to one I'm comfortable with paying on this two-gamer. I'm prioritizing other options to spend up on, however. Lonzo Ball may be playing, but he's coming off the bench and is expected to be limited, so we can avoid him tonight. JJ Redick will likely continue seeing 30 minutes as he is spreading the floor at an absolute elite level. He's currently shooting 46% from three-point territory this season and 47% over his last four games across nearly 35 MPG. His price has barely moved across the industry.

It took Brandon Ingram no time at all to take back the Pelicans lead scoring role as he hoisted 20 shots and scored 21 actual points across 34 minutes after a four-game absence. He's SO cheap on DraftKings it's criminal. He's playing more of his natural small-forward position as the Pelicans continue to start Kenrich Williams at power-forward. Speaking of Williams, he's grabbed 10-plus rebounds in four-of-five games. Over his last five games, Williams has averaged 35 minutes and 27 fantasy points per game. Nicolo Melli continues to see extended run with all of the front-court injuries NOLA has had, playing 27-plus in three straight. Defintiely making my player pool tonight. We're back in on Jaxson Hayes if Okafor sits again. Okafor makes for an interesting GPP option on a two-game slate if he suits up.

Suns

Injuries

This is as good as it gets for Phoenix. The pace of this game will be insane and the Pelicans allow the ninth most FP/game this year. If Rubio plays, he's elite as they come considering the Pelicans are btottom of the barrel against the position. If he sits, it's likely that Jevon Carter starts and Tyler Johnson comes off the bench and they split time at point-guard. We LOVE point-Booker, so if Rubio sits it's not the worst thing in the world. We saw 50 FP last time out as Rubio didn't play the second half of that game. He has a 33% USG and averages 1.49 FP/min without Rubio this year. 

Another player who benefits tremendously from Ricky Rubio sitting is Kelly Oubre who has a 28.5% USG and 1.1 FP/min. Someone I was all over on Tuesday's four-game slate was Cameron Johnson and Johnson went for 32 FP across 26 minutes. Johnson has now seen 24-plus minutes in three-of-four and they are running smaller lineups with Aron Baynes off the floor. Dario Saric has been very safe with the exception of the last game against the Kings and Frank Kaminsky has scored 25 FP in three-of-four games.