There’s a 10 game slate on the NBA schedule tonight, so here’s a list of some your best fantasy plays on this fine Saturday.
Tonight, there are a couple games that are liable to end up in blow outs – Golden State/Sacramento, Denver/San Antonio, and Cleveland/New York. There are also two games that should be low scoring and won’t provide fantasy players with much benefit – Memphis/Minnesota and Charlotte/Utah. I wouldn’t game stack those two matchups, but they shouldn’t be completely avoided either.A good fantasy player won’t reject a game just because of the possibility of a low-scoring output. But the way to win a big tournament would be to attack those games that can be a blow out and hope that the players that one chooses run rampant and that others in the tournament stay away from them.
To win, you need to be different and choose players who most will avoid because of a bad matchup, a low projected score or a game that cold be a blow out. I personally will be attacking the Cleveland/New York, Golden State/Sacramento, New Orleans/Washington, Milwaukee/Phoenix and Orlando/Atlanta games tonight.
There are some injuries or players who have an illness, such as Zach LaVine, Kemba Walker and Joel Embiid. If they sit, see who the backups are who are going to benefit from the extra minutes available.
But without further ado, ere are the best plays for February 4 2017.
Point Guards
John Wall vs. the Pelicans
This is the year of John Wall. The man has been on a mission to prove he is an elite point guard in the league. Tonight, he gets the Pelicans in a game where things should be high scoring, as the New Orleans will have a tough time defending the All-Star caliber guard. Wall will get a ton of shots in this game and should be able to feast on the Pelicans defense. If his teammates are hitting their shots off of his assist, he has the chance for a 30 point and 15 assist night. Not many players in the league have that type of upside. If you are looking to spend up on point guard, Wall is a solid choice.Steph Curry vs. the Kings
There is a chance one of the Golden State players sits tonight and Steph Curry has been the one who has been receiving the extra rest. Curry has been on a tear lately by dropping 56 Draft Kings points or more in the last three games. The last time these teams played, Curry dropped 30 points and had 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals for 48 Draft Kings points. If this game stays close, Curry has a shot at 50 or 60 DK points.
Kyrie Irving vs. the Knicks
The last time these two teams played, Lebron James and the Cavs were flipping bottles on the MSG floor on the bench. The game was a blowout – a 126-94 Cleveland win – and Kyrie Irving still played 30 minutes and scored 28 points and had six assists. Those numbers are good even with the game being a blowout. This means he has a good fantasy floor of about 35 points tonight which means he is a safe play for tournaments and has the upside to help you win for sure.
Goran Dragic vs. the 76ers
Goran Dragic has been on a role lately and has a really good fantasy floor over the last three weeks. He has shown to have a fantasy ceiling of 54 points. Now the 76ers have been better on defense this year, but if Joel Embiid sits tonight, that means the defense won’t be as good and Dragic is a guard who attacks the basket. Dragic is cheaper than the other options and can give you potentially the same amount of Draft Kings points.
Shooting Guards
Bradley Beal vs. the Pelicans
Bradley Beal is a one trick pony because the only thing he can do is score. The Pelicans guards are not good defensively and Beal can take advantage of that by shooting and make a bunch of threes. Beal does play lazy defense, which means he can pick off some steals that can help his score. This game has a high projected score of 218 and that means a lot of possessions and points for the Wizards.Kentavious Caldwell-Pope vs. the Pacers
This Detroit and Indiana game has a sneaky over/under of 211, making it a matchup you can attack while others avoid it. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is pretty consistent but he can have the occasional fantasy dud. Although two games ago he put up 55 Draft Kings points. Pacers shooting guards are pretty bad defensively and Pope can take advantage of that. He has a good price on DK and he’ll help you fit in the other studs at other positions. Plug him in your lineup and he can give you good numbers across the board.
Small Forwards
The small forward position is absolutely loaded tonight. In fact, the top seven highest priced players are gearing up. I would advise playing at least two of them, if not three.Here’s the rundown – Lebron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony and Gordon Hayward.
All of them have good matchups and should put up good fantasy numbers tonight. Lebron, Durant and Hayward have the best matchups on paper. I would build my teams around Durant and Hayward tonight, but I wouldn’t avoid adding James, who plays well against the Knicks and co. Load up on small forwards tonight and be confident in whoever you select.
Power Forwards
Paul Millsap vs. the Magic
Paul Millsap has put up duds in three of the last four games, but this would be the time to pick him. He is too good of a player to keep up this recent trend of bad games. Daily fantasy players go off of the players recent games usually, but this is the time to pick him and get Millsap at a low owner percentage.Dario Saric vs. the Heat
Dario Saric can be in for a big work load tonight with the possibility of Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid sitting out. When he has been given the minutes this year, he’s produced. Miami is the best team defensively against power forwards and it looks like a bad match-up on paper, but with his minutes upside he’s worth the risk. He’s also at a cheap price and can move down to small forward where Miami isn’t as strong. But his matchup on the site will scare away DFS players, so I’ll be putting Saric in most of my lineups tonight and hope that Noel and Embiid sit out.
Centers
Anthony Davis vs. the Wizards
The biggest problem with Anthony Davis is the fact that he can leave any game with an injury. Washington is very poor against centers, especially ones with the talent of Davis. This game will be fast paced and that suits his skill set. He’ll pull Marcin Gortat out of the post and hit some jumpers. Then after a while he’ll likely start to post him up and wear him down inside. Davis is an elite option tonight, so put him in your lineups and watch the points skyrocket.Dwight Howard vs. the Magic
The Dwight Howard revenge tour continues tonight. Howard is one of the players who play better against his former teams. He showed that last game against Houston when he dropped 62 Draft Kings points. He is cheap compared to the other centers on the slate, but has one of the highest upsides. Orlando is very weak against centers and Howard will want to show the Magic that they messed up when trading him away. Again, he might be highly owned but sometimes the chalk plays of the day are the ones you need to win.