Lineup Targets

Point Guard: Luka Doncic ($11,300)

We’ve been waiting for Luka to start heating up and that time may be here. Porzingis’ return to the lineup will give Luka less usage, but give him another option on the floor to help open things up. Combine that with Richardson, Finney-Smith, and Brunson all out, expect to see Luka play big minutes and put up big numbers tonight. His $11,300 salary on Fanduel is tough to swallow, but when he’s one of the top guys tonight, it will be worth it.

SG: CJ McCollum ($9,200)

I love this Portland-Sacramento matchup tonight. Both teams tend to run at a high pace, have electric guard play, and don’t have great wing defense. This will lend itself to big nights from the likes of McCollum, Lillard, Fox, and Hield. In this case, I will be targeting McCollum, who is the top priced shooting guard on the slate. At $9,200, McCollum isn’t cheap, but he is projected to score 46 points tonight in this great matchup. There is upside for McCollum to get to 60 fantasy points tonight if things break right.

SF: Brandon Ingram ($8,800)

How can you not love Ingram here? It sounds like Lonzo, Bledsoe, and Zion are all out, leaving all of the usage to Brandon Ingram. If it is confirmed that Bledsoe is out, you have to get Ingram into your lineups. Ingram has been a stud this year and with the usage he will be getting tonight, is a steal at $8,800.

PF: Julius Randle ($9,100)

As long as Tom Thibodeau is coaching this team, I will be rostering Randle. His price has obviously been increasing this year, but his production has warranted this. Randle is averaging 37 minutes a game and should have another high-playing time, high-usage night.

C: Karl-Anthony Towns ($10,500)

You can only roster one center on Fanduel and KAT is projected to score over 17 more points than anyone else at the position. While you will have to commit to paying up for him to fit him in your lineup, there’s a good chance it pays off. Next to Luka, I believe KAT is one of the best plays of the night.

Value Plays

Point Guard: Patrick Beverley ($4,000)

Rostering Beverley is always a risky proposition, but if you are spending up, he may be a cheap alternative to get you by. At $4,000, you just need Beverly to muster 20 points to be worth 5x his value. With both Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe being out for the Pelicans, Beverley should have an easier matchup to take advantage of and will be a solid option.

SG: Buddy Hield ($5,000)

I am admittedly one of the biggest Buddy Hield fans around. I end up rostering him almost every day in hopes of getting him in a blow-up spot. As I mentioned with McCollum, I expect this to be a fast paced game and to be a good spot for all of the starting guards in this game.

SF: Josh Hart ($4,400)

For the same reason I love Ingram, I think Hart could be a good buy. He’s likely starting tonight and will be one of the main points of the offense (because there’s really not any other options). I like Hart as a value play on this slate.

PF: PJ Washington ($6,500)

$6,500 is a little high for a typical value play, but I have Washington projected as the 4th highest scoring power forward tonight, behind just Giannis, AD, and Randle. Washington probably won’t put up a huge game tonight, but he is consistent enough that you should be able to expect him to get around 30 points tonight.

C: Brook Lopez ($4,500)

Lopez is one of three centers that project to return 5x value tonight (Robinson and Kanter). There is blowout potential for Milwaukee tonight again Detroit, but Lopez should be able to put up solid numbers in the paint while playing solid minutes. I’d expect around 25 fantasy points for Lopez tonight.

Fade the Hype: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis hasn’t been playing a consistent amount of minutes this year. With the previously mentioned blowout potential in Detroit, I could see Giannis not playing many minutes down the stretch. At $11,000, I don’t want any part of that.