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Injury’s to Monitor
Lebron James is questionable per usual, he should play. CJ Mccollum and Brandon Ingram are still out as well as Malcolm Brogdon and Josh Giddey/Lu Dort. John Collins and Mo Bamba are questionable as well. Chris Duarte and Jalen Suggs are also questionable. Dillion Brooks is getting very close to returning, I doubt it’s going to be today but he should be back at some point this week. We are going to find a good amount of value with some of these guys out and if the questionable players sit we will find even more.
Guard
Trae Young is looking like the best play at the guard position today. Get’s a solid matchup against Indiana who isn’t exactly great at defending scoring guards. If Collins is indeed ruled out it should only force Trae to shoot more and do more all around. I think your other must play here is Devonte Graham. He got a price bump as expected but he is going to be in the same role as he was on Friday with Mccollum ruled out again. The other enticing thing about him and all Pelicans in general is they get a smash spot matchup against the terrible Rockets. If Chris Duarte is ruled in he is a great play tonight. Coming off a solid performance last night, he should only build more off of it. If Jalen Suggs is ruled out, RJ Hampton becomes a very interesting play. He could slide into the starting five and even if he doesn’t he will still see significant playing time. At a $3500 (DK) price tag, it doesn’t take much to pay that off. Devin Booker is coming off a bad game but gets a good matchup against the Lakers. I like going back to him here as this could shoot out between him and Lebron.
Forward
Assuming Lebron James plays, he makes for a great pay up here. If the Lakers is going to sneak into the playoffs its going to be because Lebron is having big games. Jaxson Hayes is coming off a decent performance and got a salary increase to go with it. He saw 35 minutes last game and I don’t expect that to change all too much tonight. Houston is really bad at giving up FP to forwards so the matchup doesn’t get much better than this. His price is very affordable as well $4200 (FD) and 4700 (DK) so you can easily fit him into your lineups. Coming off the same team, Naji Marshall is coming off of big minutes as well with the injuries surrounding the Pelicans. We even saw him start, I’m not positive he starts tonight. That being said, if he does I really like him here. For tournaments, I really like Austin Reaves as a value play. He has seen over 27 minutes in his last five games. If Malik Monk (Q) sits, he could be forced into an even bigger role here. Make sure you pay attention to Lakers news going forward. I like going back to the well with Aaron Wiggins here. I don’t think you should expect the same ceiling game he just had but he is clearly capable of getting points and other peripherals.
Center
At center the most obvious play for me is Jonas Valanciunas. He burned a lot of people in his last outing which might keep his ownership in check tonight. Again, the Rockets are absolutely atrocious against big men. He should have a big night rebounding and putting up points. The other great option here is Joel Embiid. Gets a solid matchup against Orlando who aren’t particularly great against big men. Also, Philly just got embarrassed the other night and I think they’re looking to make a statement here tonight. For tournaments I really like Christian Wood and Deandre Ayton. Both have solid matchups against their respective opponents. I slightly prefer Ayton for the cheaper price tag.
Main Lineup Musts: Devonte Graham, Trae Young, Jaxson Hayes, Jonas Valanciunas
Written by Spike (Follow @MichaelWellspe1 on Twitter)
