Ricky Sanders breaks down tonight’s 8-gamer for GPP action!!
Players are based on DK pricing/positions. Plays noted with (FD) are notably good plays on FanDuel. Please read the entire article, as the rankings are explained in the bottom half (along with what news can radically shift these rankings).
PG
- Jrue Holiday
- Terry Rozier
- Fred VanVleet
- Ja Morant
- Malcolm Brogdon
SG
- Derrick White
- Paul George
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Malik Monk/Devonte’ Graham
- Caris LeVert
SF
- Khris Middleton
- Pat Connaughton
- Jaylen Brown
- Anthony Edwards
- Bogdan Bogdanovic
PF
- Bobby Portis
- Kyle Anderson
- Domantas Sabonis
- Jayson Tatum
- Marcus Morris
C
- Bismack Biyombo
- Moses Brown
- Karl-Anthony Towns
- Brook Lopez
- Ivica Zubac
DraftKings:
Top Stud over $8K: Karl-Anthony Towns
Top Value under $5K: Bobby Portis
DK Core: Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis, Karl-Anthony Towns
FanDuel:
Top Stud over $8K: Karl-Anthony Towns
Top Value under $5K: Bobby Portis
FD Core: Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis, Karl-Anthony Towns
Slate Notes:
Key News to Watch:
Darius Garland – Honestly, this does not change much other than more available minutes for Collin Sexton, Isaac Okoro and probably Dylan Windler. In a game environment that should speed up the Cavaliers, Garland’s absence would leave Sexton playing 36-plus minutes in a game where there should be plenty of additional possessions comparatively to the norm. He would become a top five point guard (PG) play easily but the rest of the Cavaliers value would remain relatively unmodified.
Rudy Gobert – As was the case last time, Rudy Gobert is questionable and him sitting would lead to Derrick Favors becoming good chalk as the starter at center. Considering Gobert played the last time he was questionable, it would be surprising for him to sit on Monday.
Kevin Porter Jr. – Listed as questionable, Kevin Porter Jr. had been a major part of the offense recently, but has taken a backseat over the course of the past few games. His absence would just solidify the usage that will run through the John Wall/Christian Wood duo. Over the course of the team’s last two games, Wall leads the team with a 36.1-percent usage and Wood is second at 25.9-percent. Getting healthy has hurt Porter Jr.’s value anyways, so he is not in consideration, but the main Rockets certainly would be (especially if Porter Jr. were to sit).
Key Games:
Indiana Pacers @ Milwaukee Bucks – No Giannis Antetokounmpo leaves the rest of the Bucks roster entitled to try and make up for the slack. In other words, sizeable usage and rebounding rate boosts are coming for the remaining rotation players. In limited samples without Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis lead the team with 1.3 and 1.28 DK fantasy points per minute (FPPM) with Pat Connaughton (1.1) and Jrue Holiday (1.03) not far behind. Holiday is starting to get healthier and Eric Bledsoe used to dominate in these setups last year so there is no reason to overanalyze the small sample gap from Middleton to him in terms of production. All the players popping into optimals are playable although it is probably not worth going too crazy with Bucks (because the field is going to do the same). I would say use a maximum of four Bucks in any lineup and run those lineups with three-plus Bucks back with a Pacer to maximize correlation. Of all the Pacers, Domantas Sabonis is the safest and my favorite, as Antetokounmpo sitting eliminates some of the most difficult individual matchups for him throughout. Instead, he’ll post up more against Portis, who is not known for his defense (to put it nicely).
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Minnesota Timberwolves – News that is going to overlooked on this slate is the absences of Al Horford and Luguentz Dort. Of course, the masses are going to be interested in Moses Brown now, but that is not what I am talking about. Dort and Horford are amongst the best defenders on the Thunder roster so their absences ease the matchups for the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. In nine games without Malik Beasley this season, Edwards owns a ridiculous 32.7-percent usage rate and Towns is not far behind at 28.8-percent. This month alone, Edwards is averaging 26.1 points per game (PPG) and Towns is not far behind at 24.7 PPG. The offense should run through those two once again tonight. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the top run-back option on the Thunder but Brown is hard to overlook on a per-dollar basis. Brown has started three games for Horford in the month of March and has finished with 33, 51 and 23 DK fantasy points in those three games respectively. In a fast-paced matchup against the Timberwolves, his ceiling is closer to the 20-16 performance he dropped versus the Bulls if all goes right. Playing three-plus players from this game will be contrarian given all the public focus on the Bucks.
Slate Edges: Terry Rozier (and I really like Bismack Biyombo on DK as well)
