It is officially February, and we are getting closer to the All-Star break which is a few weeks away. Tonight’s slate started as a 9-game slate and the Pistons/Wizards game has been postponed, so we are looking at 8 games. There are only a handfule of key players with questionable tags and DK has most players priced fairly. This slate does not have a ton of value.
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NOTES:
IF/THEN
- Joel Embiid– Questionable. If he sits out, then look to Tobias Harris who plays well against the Magic. James Harden gets a bump and Paul Reed and Montrezl Harrel become good value.
- Desmond Bane– Questionable. If he sits out, then Ja Morant gets a nice boost along with Dillon Brooks. Tyus Jones would see an increased role and he always has upside with increased minutes.
- Wendell Carter Jr.- Questionable. If he sits our then Bol Bol, Mo Bamba and Mo Wagner would see increased minutes. I already like Mo Wagner (Dime Play).
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NBA Dashboard is also another good source to help build lineups.
The “Droppin Dimes,” article will go over my favorite plays for the slate. It will consist of three to five core plays along with some additional plays and some value plays. You will not always see the highest-priced players or the most obvious plays. The article will be the building blocks to help construct lineup/s.
NBA Dashboard is also another good source to help build lineups. Check it out here – DailyAmbush: NBA Dashboard
The Dashboard will provide projections, player ratings along with matchup and other statistics for both Ambush and me (under FB Model). The dashboard feeds the optimizer allowing users to create lineups using (Avg FPs, Ratings, FB Projections, FB Ratings, projected ownership and GPP score). This is a good tool to utilize, and it gives the user a lot of ways to mix it up.
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(Note: All pricing and fantasy points are based on DraftKings but can be used for all sites.)
CORE
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LOGIC:
Point Guard: De’Aaron Fox is in an excellent spot tonight going against the worst defensive team as whole and 29th against opposing point guards. Add in that Fox has been playing well as of late posting 45 plus FPS in four of the last five games. He is also taking a ton of shots as of late pushing 24 plus over the past two games. Ranked #1 on the Daily Ambush Dashboard. This position was a decision between Fox, Shai Giilgeous-Alexander and D’Angelo Russell who are in a good spot as well.
Shooting Guard: This was a tough decision as pricing is fairly accurate tonight and especially at this position. Mikal Bridges stood out due to him playing 40 plus minutes most night with Booker out. Also, he has stepped up his scoring along with a few other offensive categories. The upside has been there with five straight 40 plus FPS games in the last 10 with one exceeding 50. Love this matchup against the Hawks who run at a much faster pace and have mediocre defensively this year. Anthony Edwards, Jaylen Brown and Josh Giddey were other candidates.
Small Forward: Eric Gordon picks up 13% usage (28% total usage) with Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr off the floor. Minutes have been consistently over 30 and he has hit 28 or more FPS in six of the last eight games. You will not see a player with a 28% usage rate around 5k often. KJ Martin and Harrison Barnes were other candidates.
Power Forward: This is more of a gut call as Andrew Wiggins has not played well since returning to the court. This has also reduced his price to under 6K the lowest it has been in a while. Wiggins has played well against his former team, and I expect him to step it up some since the game is in Minnesota. I like his chances to exceed value at his current price. Jabari Smith Jr., Cam Johnson and Keegan Murray were other candidates.
Center: This was a decision between three players- Precious Achiuwa, Rudy Gobert and Alpheren Sengun. I decided on Achiuwa because he has been playing extremely well and seen nice bump in minutes as of late. Alos, he gets an excellent matchup against the Jazz who rank 25th in overall defensive efficiency. Achiuwa has hit or exceeded value in six straight games. I do think all three of the players listed do very well tonight and it is a good night to have two centers in a linuep.
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Additional Plays to Consider
I listed some additional plays in the core logic as also considered in each position.
A few other plays
- Stephen Curry
- Ja Morant
- Jayson Tatum
- Josh Hart
Value
- Tre Jones
- Malik Monk
- Sanyo Aldama
- Patty Mills
- Seth Curry
Dimes Play
Moritz Wagner– playing well over the past two games with 20 plus minutes off the bench. In both of those games Wagner has exceeded 20 real points and 30 FPs. He should continue to see more time with recent play and has massive upside.
**Options to help build lineups- Take these core plays and enter into optimizer with your favorite settings (rating, FBrating, FBprojections, 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!