Tonight brings a 9 game slate starting at 7p.m. ET.
The “Droppin Dimes,” article will go over my favorite plays for the slate. It will consist of three to five core plays along with a few additional plays and a few value plays. You won’t always see the highest-priced players or the most obvious plays. Players listed first at each position are my favorite and a good start to build a lineup around.
(Note: All pricing and fantasy points are based on DraftKings but can be used for all sites.)
Keep an eye on the injury status of players as they can be ruled out right before lock.
Game/s to Target:
Pacers/Hornets- more on the Pacers side as they get the pace bump and better matchup, but both sides are viable.
Raptors/Kings-both teams in the bottom 10 in defensive efficiency.
Lakers/Celtics– sneaky game
NOTES:
FPPM= Fantasy Points Per Minute, FPPG= Fantasy Points Per Game, PPG=Points per Game, Value=Projected points/salary(This will differ depending on the site).
**The Warriors are resting some players today- Steph Curry and Draymond Green are the key ones. This opens up two starting spots an a ton of usage, Good place to start when looking for value.
***Model likes the Pacers
Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics ($5500)
Smart has picked up some usage since Jalen Brown has been out hitting 28 or more FPs with a ceiling of 42.5 over the last 5 games. Also, Smart always steps up in big games where plays against opposing Superstars(Russell Westbrook, James Harden just to name a few). This is a pace up matchup where the Celtics pick up over 4 possessions and a plus matchups against the Lakers rank 30th against opposing PGs. A good spot for Smart to have a big game and even better spot if Dennis Schroeder can not suit up tonight. A 6-8 times return is viable.
Also consider:
Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Terry Rozier
Value:
Patty Mills- price has not moved and still playing over 30 minutes and 30 plus FPS in 2 of the last 3 games, Also, not Durant tonight; Gary Payton II
Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors ($6100)
As I mentioned above, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Otto Porter are all out tonight. Take these players off the court and Jordan Poole gets a +13% boost in usage for a total of 38.7%(Elite). He is already taking double-digit shot attempts per game and scoring in double-digits most night. This is a plus matchup for the Warriors and the game should run at a fast pace giving Poole the opportunity to take over 20 shots and put up a 25-30 pts performance while adding some peripheral stats.
Also consider:
Gary Trent Jr.,Talon Horton-Tucker
**Dennis Schroeder is questionable, but in play if he is a go- 2nd highest usage on Celtics with Brown off the floor.
Value:
Damion Lee, Chris Duarte- if he sits then TJ McConnell
Bruce Brown, Brooklyn Nets ($4200)
The Nets have ruled out Kevin Durant for tonight which gives a boos to a few players. One of those players is Bruce Brown. This means more shots, more rebounds for the rest of the team. Brown has been playing well over the past 2 games exceeding 30 FPs in that timeframe. He is a good rebounding guard with the ability to score and pick up assists each nigh while adding a few steal(fills the stat sheet). Tonight, the Nets get a plus matchup against the one of the worst defenses in the league. A good opportunity for Brown to hit 30 plus FPs in 3 straight games.
Also consider:
Caris LeVert, Andrew Wiggins, Will Barton
Value:
Frank Wagner– price is coming down, but he has back-to-back 30 plus FP games; Terrance Ross, Josh Richardson
Nemanja Bjelica, Golden State Warriors ($3200)
Bjelica has been productive when on the court and we saw this last night where he played 23 minutes and dropped 29.3 FPs. In most cases this season where he saw 20 or more minutes Bjelica exceeded 20 or more FPs. Coming in at 1.1 FPPM on the year and projected for around 25 minutes with the possibility to hit 30 make him an excellent value play. He is ranked as the top value on my model coming in with around an 8 times return and could see close to 10 as this is a plus matchup.
Also consider:
Kristaps Porzingas, Domantas Sabonis
**Jason Tatum is viable if Schroeder sits.
Value:
Juan Tuscana-Anderson, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, James Johnson
Miles Turner, Indiana Pacers ($6400)
The model likes the Pacers players as they have the best matchup on the board tonight going against the Charlotte Hornets who run at one of the fastest paces and rank in the bottom 10 in defensive efficiency. The Hornets have been getting smashed by Centers this year- the reason why I liked Daniel Gafford the other night. He went for 38 FPs in only 25 minutes. Turner is having a solid season playing close to 30 minutes a game and exceeding that in closer games as of late. He has exceeded 50 FPs on multiple occasions this year and is in a spot to drop a 50 burger tonight.
Also consider:
DeAndre Ayton, Nikola Jokic
Value:
Isaiah Stewart, Khem Birch, Isaiah Hartenstien
CORE PLAYS
Nemanja Bjelica
Bruce Brown
Marcus Smart
Dimes Play(GPP Play of the Night) Under 5k Player with low ownership and upside
**In Discord closer to lock- waiting on news.
**Options to help build lineups- Take these core plays and enter into optimizer with your favorite setting(rating, FBrating, FBprojections, FunkProjections, ownership or ratings). OR use this article to help you build a lineup with some of your favorite plays. The Dashboard is also a great tool to help build lineups- It contains a good variety of stats and projections from multiple sources.
Good Luck!