Welcome to another edition of Def Pen’s daily fantasy breakdown series. Today I will break down two top plays at each position as well as give my optimal lineup of the night, I will be using FanDuel’s scoring system as well as their lineup format as that is my personal preference. For tonight’s slate, the most important thing to note is the countless injuries to star players.
PG:
- Kyrie Irving $9,000: With Kevin Love already ruled out for the foreseeable future, Kyrie has been seeing a lot more usage in the offense. If LeBron James (questionable) is held out of this matchup, expect Uncle Drew to put on a show tonight with an already enticing matchup against a weak Bucks defense.
- Cory Joseph $4,400: Lowry has just been ruled out with indefinitely and is expected to undergo surgery on his wrist. With this news breaking CoJo becomes one of the best value plays of the night.
Other Notable PG Plays: Isaiah Thomas $9,300, Stephen Curry $9,300, Dennis Schroder $6,500
SG:
- DeMar DeRozan $8,500: The Knicks allow the 7th most FanDuel points per game to opposing shooting guards. Along with this with Lowry out, the offense is run more through DeRozan so expect a bump of 10-15 fantasy points and a larger usage to be put on DeRozan for the time that Lowry is held out.
- Giannis Antetokoumpo $10,900: Giannis is averaging 54.9 FanDuel points over his last three games played. Although Giannis isn’t a true shooting guard, the Cavaliers allow the 4th most FanDuel points per game to opposing shooting guards, I would expect that number to balloon after tonight’s game.
Other Notable SG Plays: James Harden $12,100, Dion Waiters $7,200, Seth Curry $6,000
SF:
- Carmelo Anthony $8,200: Coming off of a 46.2 FanDuel point performance Melo is one of the cheaper priced guys who can hit 40-50 on any given night. If Kristaps Porzingis is held out of another matchup expect more shots to go to Melo. Despite the Knicks being in total disarray, Melo has still been able to put up fantasy numbers.
- Andrew Wiggins $8,600: Wiggins has been putting up superstar-caliber numbers ever since Zach LaVine went down for the season. With a matchup against the reeling Sacramento Kings, it would be smart to get some Timberwolves in your lineup tonight.
Other Notable SF Plays: Paul George $7,800, Robert Covington $7,100, Kevin Durant $10,300
PF:
- Michael Beasley $5,500: Khris Middleton has already been ruled out of this contest for rest purposes, so expect Beasley to get the start tonight. While Beasley isn’t the most consistent player, he’s another one of those guys who can go off on any given night and put up a lot of points, with only him and Giannis to run the offense expect Beasley to fill it up tonight.
- Willie Cauley-Stein $5,200: Although he had a rough outing last game, I expect WCS to keep getting more usage with Demarcus Cousins gone and for him to take advantage of this opportunity. WCS has shown flashes of being a viable big, going up against his old buddy from their Kentucky days in Karl-Anthony Towns I expect Stein to really show up tonight.
Other Notable PF Plays: Dario Saric $7,000, Draymond Green $7,200, Serge Ibaka $5,900
C:
- Karl-Anthony Towns $10,600: KAT is probably my favorite play of the night personally. He’s coming off a 67.9 point FanDuel effort and going up against the Kings, not much to not like here tonight.
- Myles Turner $6,500: Myles Turner is one of the cheaper fantasy viable options tonight at center. His price and his matchup make him one of the top plays of the night for me as the Rockets are allowing the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing centers.
Other Notable C Plays: Willy Hernangomez $5,900, Greg Monroe $6,400, Hassan Whiteside $8,700
As always with NBA Daily Fantasy make sure that you keep up with injuries/other breaking news before the lineups lock. If you have any questions or want my updated lineup, feel free to contact me on Twitter.
All stats courtesy of RotoWire.
My Personal Lineup of the Night (note: subject to change based on news):
