Sunday brings a six-game main slate at 6pm ET. Let’s jump in.
Point Guard
Stud
The PG position is difficult in the main slate, as the two highest-priced options in Kyle Lowry and Isaiah Thomas have negative matchups against the Magic and Heat. Of the two, Lowry is safer: He’s projected to play 36.6 minutes, which is about three minutes more than Thomas’ projection. Because of the small slate, Lowry is projected for a chalky 36-40 percent ownership on FanDuel, where he owns an 81 percent Bargain Rating.
Value
Goran Dragic is currently the No. 1 DraftKings and FD PG in the Phan Model, and he owns position-high Projected Plus/Minus values of +5.45 and +6.35. He’s been excellent this season and is coming off an impressive game in which he dropped 47.7 FD points against Chris Paul and the second-ranked Clippers defense. He has a nice +2.18 Opponent Plus/Minus versus the Celtics and is projected for a chalky 26-30 percent ownership.
Leverage Play
Sergio Rodriguez certainly isn’t a sexy play, but he has an elite +3.65 Opponent Plus/Minus against the Brooklyn Nets, who rank third worst in defensive efficiency, allowing an awful 109.2 points per 100 possessions. Sergio has had some big 30-point FD games lately, and they’ve come against below-average defenses in the Pelicans and Nuggets. He’s currently the No. 2 PG option in the DK and FD Phan Models and is projected for 17-20 percent ownership.
Shooting Guard
Stud
Like Lowry and the top PG options, DeMar DeRozan should be chalky in this slate despite his -1.14 Opponent Plus/Minus against the Magic. That said, he dropped 50.75 FD points last game against a top-10 Hawks defense and now has 40-point fantasy outings in four of his last six games. DeRozan has easily the position’s highest projected ceiling at 55.1 FD points, but he’s projected to be an uber-chalky 41-plus percent ownership.
Value
Evan Fournier is currently the No. 1 SG in the Phan Model for FD, where his $5,900 price tag comes with a position-high +3.94 Projected Plus/Minus and an 86 percent Bargain Rating. His opponent in DeRozan isn’t a great defender, but he still owns a poor -1.95 Opponent Plus/Minus, likely because of the energy it requires to chase around DeRozan on defense. Fournier is an excellent value today and is projected for 32.4 minutes and a 26.43 usage rate.
Leverage Play
Avery Bradley is currently the No. 1 SG in the DK Phan Model, as his $6,000 salary is too cheap. He leads the position with a +2.15 DK Projected Plus/Minus and also owns a 98 percent Bargain Rating. The Heat don’t offer a great matchup in terms of defense or pace, but Bradley crushed value against a similarly slow Spurs team with an even better defense two games ago, putting up 54.0 DK points on the road. He’s a nice pivot off of DeRozan in tournaments.
Small Forward
Stud
Kawhi Leonard has been quietly excellent lately, exceeding salary-based expectations in each of his last seven games and going for at least 39.0 FD points in each of his last five. He has a nice +1.83 Opponent Plus/Minus against the Pelicans, who have allowed a mediocre 104.2 points per 100 possessions this season. He’s not a secret, however, as he’s projected for 41-plus percent ownership on FD, where his $8,300 salary comes with a +4.40 Projected Plus/Minus and an 81 percent Bargain Rating.
Value
Jae Crowder is currently the No. 1 SF in the Phan Model for FD, where his $5,500 salary comes with a +5.39 Projected Plus/Minus and an 81 percent Bargain Rating. He’s been uninspiring lately — he has between 20 and 31 FD points in each of his last 12 games — but that’s fine for cash games: His salary gives him a reachable expectation of 22.01 points. He doesn’t have much upside in tournaments, but he should be able to reach value in his 34.5 projected minutes.
Leverage Play
Bojan Bogdanovic leads both sites with Projected Plus/Minus values of +4.35 and +5.54 on DK and FD. He’s currently the No. 1 DK SF in the Phan Model, despite owning a low 24 percent Bargain Rating. He’s a streaky player and relies a lot on shooting for his DFS production, but he has a nice 39.4-point projected DK ceiling and a +0.81 Opponent Plus/Minus against the 76ers, who have allowed a below-average 105.5 points per 100 possessions this season.
Power Forward
Stud
Anthony Davis easily has the position’s highest salaries at $10,800 DK and $11,800 FD. He’s a tough player to deal with in this slate, as he has a massive 64.3-point projected ceiling on FD but a brutal matchup against the Spurs. Plus, he’s projected for an uber-chalky 41-plus percent ownership. He has shown upside even in difficult matchups: Just three games ago, he put up 50.1 FD points against Draymond Green and a top-five Warriors defense. Brow certainly isn’t a value, but he’s a terrifying fade.
Value
As usual, the PF position sucks in this slate. Trevor Booker leads the position with a +2.98 Projected Plus/Minus on FD, where his $5,800 salary comes with a 75 percent Bargain Rating. He has a poor -1.55 Opponent Plus/Minus against the 76ers, but he also has sneaky upside: He relies on rebounds for DFS scoring, and Philly has been poor in that regard lately. Stud big man Joel Embiid is a brutal matchup down low for all Brooklyn big men, but he’s posted single-digit rebound games in his last couple of outings.
Leverage Play
LaMarcus Aldridge has disappointed somewhat this season, but he’s down to $6,200 on FD and has a nice +2.40 Opponent Plus/Minus against the Pelicans, who have allowed 104.2 points per 100 possessions on the year. Aldridge is currently the No. 1 PF in the Phan Model for FD, where he comes with a +1.12 Projected Plus/Minus and an 86 percent Bargain Rating. He needs only 25.08 fantasy points to pay off value and is projected to play 29.5 minutes and use 23.49 percent of the Spurs’ possessions while on the floor.
Center
Stud
Hassan Whiteside is currently a top-three option in both the DK and FD Phan Models. He owns the position’s highest projected ceiling at 69.0 DK points and he’s expected to exceed value by 3.95 points. He has a mediocre -0.31 Opponent Plus/Minus against the Celtics, but he had 53.75 DK points against them just a couple weeks ago. He’s now posted 42-plus DK points in each of his last four games and is an excellent option in all contest formats, especially on DK, where his $8,300 salary comes a 90 percent Bargain Rating.
Value
Joel Embiid could have qualified for ‘Stud’ categorization, as he’s an elite play against the Brooklyn Nets, who own the league’s third-worst defense this season, allowing a miserable 109.2 points per 100 possessions. He’s struggled recently, scoring fewer than 30 FD points in three of his last four games. Still, it’s hard not to love him against the Nets: He’s currently the No. 1 option in the Phan Model for FD, where his $6,800 salary comes with a position-high +5.39 Projected Plus/Minus and a 93 percent Bargain Rating. He has an outrageous +7.06 Opponent Plus/Minus, which really tells you all you need to know.
Leverage Play
It is actually Nikola Vucevic who earns the No. 1 center spot in the Phan Model for DK, where his $6,200 salary comes with a position-high +5.35 Projected Plus/Minus and a 95 percent Bargain Rating. He has a nice +1.64 Opponent Plus/Minus against the Raptors, who have struggled defensively this year, allowing a poor 105.8 points per 100 possessions. Vooch had a massive 50.5-point DK outing against the Nets last game, which should drive up his ownership today. It looks like a slate to pay for multiple centers.
News Updates
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