There aren’t a ton of huge names or match-ups to go around with today but as always I have found the few sparks in tonight’s card that will help you cash. With tonight’s card I have focused a little more on past performances as this trend has been rock solid so far this season and I’ll look for it to continue throughout this evening as well. Remember, check all starting line-ups prior to tip-off. Guys, these plays today are money so use wisely. Here’s some value plays I’ll be inserting into my DraftKings line-up for Monday Night’s $50 NBA Steps Freeroll.
***MONDAY NIGHT FREEROLL ALERT!!!***
Ty Lawson PG Denver Nuggets ($7,100) Ty has been on a fantasy production mini-tear and there’s no way that I won’t be taking advantage of that. For those of you who know (or don’t) Lawson is the type of player who, when he’s on a roll, you start him. Ty has been returning his value two-fold as of late and has turned that proverbial corner. On Saturday Ty scored 26 points (11-15 FG, 4-5 3Pt) capped off with 6 assists and 4 steals in that massive win against the Kings. Lawson is now averaging 22 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 block and 3 steals in his last 4 starts. I love Lawson in this spot tonight against Indiana and also the fact that in those last four games he has been logging in an average of 40 minutes of playing time. Start Ty as he’ll easily grab you 28-30 fantasy points at the bare minimum, anything after that is gravy. Projection: 20 pts / 7 ast / 5 reb / 2 stl
***VALUE PLAY OF THE NIGHT***
Randy Foye SG Utah Jazz ($4,700) I can remember once upon a time (like in the early part of last month) Randy Foye , the scourge of the NBA was literally on the bottom of every daily fantasy site’s list. The times have changed my friends and Randy is no longer residing in ‘Scrubville’. He’s moved on up along with George and Weezy and we’ll use that to our advantage. Actually (and I never thought I would have said this a month ago but…) Randy becomes our first ‘History Repeats Itself” play and he is my VALUE PLAY of the night! Foye goes up against the Houston Rockets tonight and I’ll be expecting the same stat line this evening, if not better. Foye registered 20 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 block and 3 steals in that last meeting. The funny thing here though is that during his last game against the Rockets, Randy hadn’t even hit his stride yet, regardless, he’s there now. Foye’s price is low, very low. Randy will bring in twice his value tonight as he has only gotten better since the last time these two faced off. Projection: 17 pts / 2 ast 3 reb / 1 blk / 3 stls
Paul George SF Indiana Pacers ($7,500) George has honored us by becoming our second “History Repeats Itself” play of the day. I know George is a quasi-beast but he holds more value in this match-up tonight than any other player this evening at the SG position. Paul has been on fire and faces a team that he has already done damage to and it’s my belief that trend continues into tonight. In his last meeting against the Nuggets Paul accumulated 22 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal. People, that’s 40 flippin’ fantasy points – 40! George will mirror-image those stats again tonight as there is no one on this Denver team who has an answer on how to stop the carnage that Paul will create. Projection: 24 pts / 5 ast / 8 reb / 1 blk / 3 stl
Thaddeus Young PF Philadelphia 76ers ($5,700) I knew that it was only a matter of time before Young started throwing up more shots ala Westbrook. Thad pulled this same scenario on me last year, around the same time too, if I recall correctly. Young’s production has been steadily rising due to the fact that he’s attempting more shots and with that, is making more shots. We look towards Thad to come in at third in our “History Repeats Itself” plays. The 76ers host the Loveless-Grizzlies and Young has their number. On the 26th of last month, Thad gave the Grizzlies a present in honor of the Christmas Holiday, as he railed them that night with great fantasy production. Young came away from that game having scored 13 points, 2 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 steals which by the way adds up to a nice tidy 29 points. Plus, keep in mind that like Foye above, Young hadn’t hit his full stride in that last meeting and has only gotten better since then. Projection: 15 pts / 2 ast / 8 reb / 3 blk / 2 stl
Omer Asik C Houston Rockets ($5,700) I’m going to let you all know right now that I’m not a huge fan of the center position selection tonight. Some very tricky match-ups tonight and being that this is daily fantasy, things are not always what they appear to be. Take Asik for example, he had a few great match-ups last week and failed to exploit them and then he turns around and blasts apart teams he’s not supposed to. He’ll have no trouble tonight though, as he will be going up against the same team that he picked apart last month. In that last meeting a few weeks back, Omer reigned supreme having scored 14 points, 2 assists, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and 1 steal. Hmmmm, 36 fantasy points. For the price tag that is attached to Omer (which considering his upside is low, low, low) you’d have to be nuts (no offense) to not start him. Low price and high ceiling makes a daily fantasy player healthy, wealthy and wise. Projection: 16 pts / 3 ast / 11 reb / 2 blk / 2 stl
**2nd Team**
Kirk Hinrich PG Chicago Bulls ($4900): 32 Fantasy Points
Andre Iguodala SG Denver Nuggets ($6900): 28 Fantasy Points
John Salmons SF Sacramento Kings ($3000): 27 Fantasy Points
Ed Davis PF Toronto Raptors ($4100): 31 Fantasy Points
Emeka Okafor C Washington Wizards ($6200): 37 Fantasy Points
