NBA DFS Playbook: February 5

We got more of the same from Paul on Thursday as the Phoenix point guard doesn’t appear to be showing any signs of slowing down. He continued his hot streak by scoring 18 points against Atlanta to go along with 12 assists on Thursday. Paul continues to play close to 40 minutes on a nightly basis and I’m going to keep riding this train. 

I really wanted to believe in Westbrook with LeBron James out, but 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists from Thursday just isn’t going to cut it at the price. The potential and track record is there, but based on what we have seen from Westbrook on the majority of nights this season, I’m going to just leave it here for GPP lineups only. 

It was a very one-dimensional night for Booker on Thursday against Atlanta, he only had three assists and one steal, but the guard did score 32 points. It was the second straight 30-plus point game for Booker who is averaging 33.3 points in his last five. 

Over this recent stretch Ball has really kicked it up a notch and he is coming off a 38-point performance against Boston on Wednesday in which he also added nine assists and six rebounds. That was the second 60-plus DK point performance out of his last five and he is averaging 52 DK points in that stretch. With 7.7 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game, Ball provides a nice floor to go along with the uptick in offense. The caveat is there though that it’s a tough matchup against Miami but Ball’s skill set should supersede a good amount of that. 

It was the third straight poor shooting night for Haliburton on Thursday who scored just 10 points on three of 11 shooting as he continues to take on a larger role with De’Aaron Fox sidelined. Once again, there is the possibility that Fox does return, but it ultimately doesn’t change much for me. Haliburton has gone from 38 points to 10 in the stretch of four games, and the fact he is averaging 7.7 assists in his last five games does give him some floor, but at the price it’s more of a GPP option tonight. 

SGA being sidelined has truly done wonders for Giddey’s usage, production and value as of late. Even at his elevated price, we are still getting a minimum of 5x return as Giddey is coming off a 14 point, 10 assist, seven rebound performance that would have looked a lot better if he didn’t turn the ball over six times on Wednesday and then a 16-point seven rebound effort last night. Giddey has proven to be a three-category contributor who is now scoring in double figures on a consistent basis as well. 

Barrett has become a large part of the Knicks offense, and in his last three games he has taken 51 shots. The problem though is that Barrett only made 17 of those shots, but he is going to keep shooting tonight. 

Simons continues to take on a large role in Portland offensively, 101 in his last six games (entering actino Friday), and he makes enough of them averaging 19.2 points per game in the stretch to be a viable option. He has also taken advantage of his time running the point for Portland averaging 5.2 assists. The trade of Norman Powell could free things up even more for Simons offensively now. All Simons did on Friday was continue that success by scoring 19 points for the second straight game to go along with four assists and five rebounds. 

The Knicks aren’t coming into Los Angeles in the best shape and Monk is in the perfect position to take advantage of that. He is coming off 21-point, seven rebound, seven assist performance against the Clippers on Thursday and that level of offense has been commonplace for Monk these days. 

With SGA sidelined, let’s ride with Mann. While we never want to chase, the role and the minutes are there and the price certainly is right after he scored 29 points on Wednesday. Mann did take a step back last night as he only scored nine points, but it came on 17 shots so we are still hopeful when it comes to the volume and upside and he also has a favorable matchup tonight against Sacramento. 

All Bridges has been doing as of late is playing and scoring a ton. Bridges has eclipsed the 40-minute mark in each of his last five games and after scoring 24 points on Thursday, it’s three straight games of at least 24 points with eight rebounds in each of them. Bridges is shooting 58% from the field in his last six games and it’s hard to argue with his price either. 

New York isn’t exactly in the best situation as of late, but we can’t put any blame on Fournier who has been lights out from downtown as of late. In his last five games, Fournier has made 20 three-pointers while shooting 47.6% behind the arc and 52% overall. The majority of Fournier’s production will come from his offense, but for the price, it’s hard to argue and he’ll likely be busy tonight trying to keep up with the Lakers. 

Oubre is an erratic shooter, and tonight’s game against Miami might not work for him from a game script perspective, but we can’t ignore the 39 points he put up two games ago against Indiana. If everything is working for Oubre we are looking at some upside, but if not, it’s going to be a snowflake game so this is GPP only. 

If we are looking for value, Allen is generally a pretty good place to look since he generally gets close to 30-minutes a night and usually takes around five three-pointers so we get some upside. All it takes for Allen to give us a 5x return is to hit a few early shots. With that being said, the six rebounds and six assists he put up on Tuesday were a nice touch. 

I’m not looking for much here from Jerome based on the price, but he is averaging 10 points per game in his last three while taking 26 shots over that stretch along with four assists and just under two rebounds per game. Jerome continued the solid offensive production last night by scoring 11 points, but what really caught our attention was the eight assists. 

After playing on Thursday, it doesn’t appear that there should be any concern with Butler and his toe injury. With Miami comfortably ahead, Butler wasn’t needed for more than 25 minutes of action, and he was quite efficient scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds. There’s no way to forecast an 80 DK point effort like we saw from Butler a few games ago (37 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) but we’ll never argue with that upside. 

After some heavy volume shooting days, Bridges took just eight shots in each of his last two games. It shouldn’t be surprising that Bridges scored a combined 18 points in that stretch, but this has been a banner year for the forward offensively. Miami is a tough opponent, but Bridges can get hot in a hurry. 

While Barnes might not have much upside past the 40-fantasy point mark, he is also a steady contributor that will consistently finish in the 30’s. Go into expecting the 16.6 points and six rebounds per game he is averaging, and anything more is a bonus. 

It’s a common theme in these parts, but Johnson continues to score off the bench while playing a sizable role for the Suns playing close to 30-minutes a game. That continued against Atlanta on Thursday as Johnson scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 29 minutes of action. 

Playing time and shot attempts are not in short supply for Caldwell-Pope and he also fits nicely in just about every lineup. Caldwell-Pope has taken 40 shots over his last four games, but he’s made just 15 of them (38%) good for 10.8 points per game. At the price though, we are still close to 5x value. 

I feel like including Snell here is a requirement based on the price and the opportunity in Portland's offense. Snell took full advantage of his 36 minutes of playing time last night as he made five of 10 shots for 13 points to go along with eight rebounds. A repeat, and close to 10x value is very possible as I'm not sure why Snell won't see a similar workload, but it's also just as possible he hoists up a few bricks. It's hard not to use Snell tonight, but it's not a lock and load either in 100% of your lines. 

While Kispert might be not be especially exciting, he’s just about free and with Bradley Beal sidelined, he has carved out a role for Washington. The rookie is coming off an 11-point, six rebound effort against Philadelphia and we should get solid production in about 15 to 20 minutes tonight. 

Portland is a weak opponent and they played last night, so Milwaukee is in a favorable spot tonight. Of course, that means we have concerns of a blowout, but the matchup is also that good for Antetokounmpo and he generally doesn’t need much time to do his work. I mean how can you argue with him as he comes off a triple-double against Washington with 33 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists. 

It’s painfully obvious how bad things have been at times for Randle this season, but the potential for fantasy production is always there. The fact that it is a revenge game for Randle returning to Los Angeles against the Lakers also warrants some attention here. Even when things aren’t going great for Randle offensively, which is more often than not, he is still averaging 9.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. It’s been hard to expect more than 17 or 18 points, but there is always the possibility he goes for 30. 

With Beal out, Kuzma has been stepping up offensively and is averaging 24.5 points in his last four games. This is hot streak worth riding, albeit a little more cautiously that his price is rising, as someone has to score in Washington. While it’s the offense we are focusing on, Kuzma has also been solid contributor on the boards averaging 8.9 per game this season. 

It’s unclear how many shots Washington will get off the bench tonight, he only had four in 26 minutes last night, but with nine rebounds it was still good enough for the big man to flirt with a 5x return. Based on what we have seen from Washington, a few more shots will be put to good use, but at this price, it’s not something we are forced to bank on. 

To this point, Tucker’s knee injury hasn’t kept him sidelined in the last two games, and I would expect that to continue tonight. Tucker isn’t going to score 20 points like he did against the Knicks a few games ago, but the veteran has proven to be a solid offensive threat as of late while also coming through on the boards. 

Washington is still easing Hachimura back into action at around 20 minutes per game, but his price is as close to free as it gets. The forward hit double figures on Wednesday against Philadelphia with 11 points and the opportunity certainly is there for that to continue. 

Davis is working off back-to-back 30-point games and he has been a force offensively over the last four games once he worked his back into the swing of things for the Lakers. In his last two games, Davis has also been a force on the boards with a combined 32 rebounds as he is taking on a leading role in Los Angeles. 

We have to start with the matchup against Charlotte tonight and Adebayo didn’t disappoint against the Spurs on Thursday. Adebayo was the picture of efficiency with 18 points and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes as he continues to be a strong option. 

There is nothing wrong with targeting Portland tonight and we know that Portis is going to be involved offensively while also flirting with double digit rebounds. 

Robinson continues to step things up a notch and with that being said, the Knicks continue to give him all of the minutes he can handle while increasing his role. In fact, Robinson has been one of the bright spots for the Knicks and that was on display Wednesday as he scored 14 points while grabbing 11 rebounds. While he has shown ability as a shot blocker, just don’t go into it chasing his eight blocks from that same game. 

As much as we talk about targeting Charlotte with opposing big men, we should also give Plumlee his due as of late. Plumlee isn’t featured much offensively, but 64% from the field in his last four games (and for the season) he certainly is efficient. Last night he came through with 11 rebounds and eight points in addition to five assists as we search for a repeat tonight in a tough matchup against Miami. 

For the immediate future, Portland is going to be a source of value, and Elleby is one of those options. He also benefits from Nassir Little being out and turned in a solid performance last night with seven points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes of action. This is more of a play on Yahoo based on their positional eligibility, but Elleby provides some salary cap relief across all sites.