Monday features eight NBA games, all included in 7:00 contests at DraftKings. They also offer Late-only play, spanning just two games at 10:00 Eastern. My lineups will look similar in both — as many Clippers as I can afford.
Chris Paul $10300, Blake Griffin $10600, DeAndre Jordan $7500 and J.J. Redick $4700 are more consistent than Matt Barnes $4300, who has rarely been better than he was in Milwaukee on Saturday. If you use those five, you have only $12600 left to fill the other three spots, which is not impossible. The Pistons are no match, though Josh Smith $7900 might have another big line in defeat.
LaMarcus Aldridge $10200 vs. Tim Duncan $9100 is must-watch, I just can’t pick a winner. The Blazers are glad to be home after a 3-2 trip East, and Damian Lillard $8300 will be hard to stop. Cory Joseph $4600 is solid value if Tony Parker $7000 (hamstring) doesn’t play — that’s just one important situation to monitor. It’s a lot harder to turn a profit in daily fantasy if you don’t stay on top of real-life developments. In case you missed it, Tiago Splitter $3000 has returned from a calf injury that cost him 20 games and can earn that puny salary (and then some) if he gets 20+ minutes. Manu Ginobili $4900 is also affordable.
DK allows you to make some lineup changes even after contests have started. In a 7:00 league, players are locked when their games actually begin. With any players from those two late games, you can mix, match and react for another three hours. For example, if you used Parker and Splitter then TP is a late scratch, it’s easy to switch to Joseph and Ginobili until 9:59. There are plenty of other options in the early games; today’s sample lineup and Short List cover the entire night.
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LeBron James $11500 went from questionable with a sore knee on Friday to 41 PTS, 5 REB and 5 AST in a road loss and has rested since. He may not need to be that spectacular against the Hornets, as Kyrie Irving $8900 and Kevin Love $8800 can take more of the scoring load. Al Jefferson $8200 is kind of hit-or-miss this year, so I’ve stopped using him. Possible bargains in this one are Gary Neal $3500, who gets a permanently green light when Charlotte is trailing, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist $3600, who might return to the starting five now that his foot is healthy; he played an effective 28 minutes on Saturday.
Boston at Philadelphia could be high-scoring, or Rajon Rondo $8600 might keep Michael Carter-Williams $9500 from yet another triple-double. Jeff Green $6900 is the safest play in this relatively meaningless affair. Robert Covington $5700 was a fantastic buy in three of his last four games (you’re welcome) but his salary has jumped 58%, to merely reasonable. Tony Wroten $5300 doesn’t start, but he usually produces.
Roy Hibbert $7500 and David West $6300 match up well against the Lakers’ bigs. C.J. Watson $5000 had 23 PTS and 5 AST as the starting PG on Saturday and Rodney Stuckey $5500 is priced right. Kobe Bryant $9700 passed Michael Jordan last night on the all-time scoring list but he is not superhuman. Assuming some fatigue for L.A. in this road back-to-back, a disastrous year for the 7-17 Pacers might improve a little tonight. I’m still on the Carlos Boozer $5300 bandwagon as the focal point of the second unit — 22 PTS, 13 REB in 27 minutes vs. Minnesota — just leery of a team-wide letdown this evening.
The Suns got crushed in Oklahoma City last night. Can they bounce back at home? Goran Dragic $7800 (back) was a surprise scratch, so Gerald Green $4800 started and Eric Bledsoe $8500 moved from SG to PG, with Isaiah Thomas $5800 also gaining minutes. Markieff Morris $6700 is reasonably priced and brother Marcus Morris $4500 could surprise. For Milwaukee, Larry Sanders $4900, Jabari Parker $5000 and Giannis Antetokounmpo $5800 are all capable of big games at a small price.
As columnist Chris Bernucca explains, the Hawks are flying under the radar. A day of rest and home court is their best possible matchup against Chicago. Derrick Rose $7300 was one of the few Bulls who didn’t feast on the shorthanded Heat last night, so Jeff Teague $7500 is a possibility. Because this East playoff preview may be an intense defensive battle, I’m looking elsewhere for individual stars.
After squeaking out an OT win yesterday in New York, the Raptors face a young Orlando team that is much more dangerous with Nikola Vucevic $8400 in the lineup. He had 18 PTS and 11 REB in his return on Saturday after missing six games with a back injury. Jonas Valanciunas $6000 will need to be at his best. Kyle Lowry $10100 is the likely difference-maker, but if you like the Magic to upset or just keep it close, Tobias Harris $6800 and Evan Fournier $4800 are priced favorably.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Chris Paul $10300 | Jeff Teague $7500 | C.J. Watson $5000 |
| SG | Eric Bledsoe $8500 | Rodney Stuckey $5500 | Gary Neal $3500 |
| SF | LeBron James $11500 | Jeff Green $6900 | Matt Barnes $4300 |
| PF | Blake Griffin $10600 | Markieff Morris $6700 | Marcus Morris $4500 |
| C | DeAndre Jordan $7700 | Larry Sanders $4900 | Tiago Splitter $3000 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.