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I am not particularly thrilled with the point guard options tonight. Assuming Tyreke Evans sits out again, I will likely roll with Norris Cole ($5,800) has been admirable for the Pelicans this month. He’s been thrust into 30+ minutes a night, while returning valuable games for his owners. He’s notched 43, 20, 38 and 33 DraftKings points in his last four. He’s now taken 10+ shots in six straight games, while racking up a handful of assists and rebounds along the way. He’s not sexy but he can score in multiple categories and will get the dream matchup with the Lakers. Only two teams in the league have allowed more points to opposing PGs than LAL.
Speaking of better matchups, Patrick Beverley ($4,900) is going to face the worst defense in the league in general and against point guards in the Phoenix Suns. In the six games since returning from injury, Beverley has averaged 26.6 DK PPG which would be a tidy 5.4x value tonight. However he has flashed a bit of upside, scoring 29+ in three of those games, which is the magic number he would need to hit 6x value. He’s a ballhawk on defense who can rack up the steals against the Suns who have turned it over 16.8 times per game this season, second worst in the league.
The Suns are going to be very difficult to figure out the next few weeks as they are now under interim head coach Earl Watson. In the first game under Watson’s stead, Archie Goodwin ($5,900) played 45 (!!!) minutes. No, that was not an overtime game, Goodwin literally played all but three minutes. Goodwin has a week where he looked like Russell Westbrook (averaged 34.3 DK points in a four game stretch priced under $4K), then fell off the face of the earth. Now under Watson, he turned those 45 minutes on Tuesday night into 41 DraftKings points. He’s going to be volatile because those minutes are unpredictable as the Suns figure themselves out, but you have to love a matchup with Houston and a guy with plenty of upside.
Another thin position out of Small Forward and it’s Carmelo Anthony ($8,500) who has been flying under the radar around the industry. After missing two games due to injury, he’s roared back with 45.5 DraftKings points per game over his last three. He’s shown us his upside with 50+ DK point games in four of twelve while taking over 16 shots per night. What’s really impressive is his willingness to crash the boards, hauling in 34 rebounds in the most recent three game stretch. That’s the first time this season he’s notched 10+ rebounds for three straight games. On paper it’s not a particularly great matchup, but he gets the Pistons on the second half of a B2B and scored 42 DraftKings points on them in their only meeting this season.
Converging trends here for Ersan Ilyasova ($5,500). Coming off a nice 30 DraftKings point game in which he dropped 16 real points against Brooklyn. That’s the fourth time in ten games that he’s cracked the 30 point mark. He’s always one to threaten 30 minutes on a nightly basis and earns his keep when he gets hot. That’s exactly what he did in the first and only meeting with the Knicks this season, providing a 19-6 line, courtesy of a 8 for 15 shooting night.
If you haven’t noticed, this Knicks/Pistons game could provide plenty of fantasy goodness, so I am sticking with Robin Lopez ($5,100) as a value center option. He is coming off a drubbing of his brother Brook, for a 17-12 line and 42 DraftKings points. He’s volatile, but Lopez is earning his time for the Knicks, averaging over 27 MPG over his last 17 contests. Lopez has scored 30+ DraftKings points in ten of the eighteen games he’s played at least 29 minutes this season. As with most players, there is a direct correlation between his minutes and production. He cannot fill it up quickly, so he needs that time on the court to reach value. It’s likely he threatens 30 minutes tonight in a matchup with the Pistons who he beat for 35.3 DraftKings points in their only meeting this season.
That’s all folks! Be sure to follow me on Twitter for more player analysis as news and injuries break closer to tip-off! Commentary based on DraftKings strategy and scoring.