Injuries and illnesses are a fact of life in pro sports. In deep traditional fantasy leagues, if you drafted Emmanuel Mudiay (ankle) you play a man short until he returns. In DFS, his temporary replacement Jameer Nelson $4200 could pay off handsomely.
Likewise, Bradley Beal (leg) is out indefinitely, which opens up minutes and touches for several Wizards. Garrett Temple $3500 started on Friday and Sunday but is the option of last resort with the first unit. Gary Neal $4000 and Ramon Sessions $3800 are both getting extended run off the bench; each has taken a turn as the hot hand.
Other recent role changes include Alec Burks $5100 (21 PTS in 37 MIN) taking over at PG for the Jazz and a major shakeup in Memphis, where Zach Randolph $6400 is coming off the bench. Z-Bo played a solid 26 minutes but his double-doubles will be less frequent. Matt Barnes $4300 was excellent yesterday and Jeff Green $4600 played 45 minutes as the Grizzlies lost by three in Miami. Dave Joerger plans to give the smaller starting five extended run. Courtney Lee $3900 remains at SG because Tony Allen (knee) is out; Mario Chalmers $4000 will back up both guard spots.
The highest-scoring matchups should be Houston at Denver and New Orleans at Portland. There are Late leagues (9:00 EST) that use players from only those two games. DraftKings also has Turbo play at 8:00 spanning five games.
Plays of the Day
Contests that cover all ten NBA games close at 7:00 and offer the largest payouts. The $250K Sharpshooter is a mere $3 buy-in (FREE with your first deposit) where the top 19,550 finishers (from up to 95,833 teams) win cash. First place is worth $20,000. Enter early; you can make lineup changes until each player’s game begins to take advantage of breaking news.
Damian Lillard $8800, John Wall $9700 and Chris Paul $8100 are all solid choices as a premium PG. Kyle Lowry $8900 disappointed yesterday as the Raptors did not take the Sixers too seriously. Jrue Holiday $4500 was rested on Saturday after four nice efforts; he and Jameeracle are excellent value.
James Harden $10800 is the clear standout at SG if cap room is no object, DeMar DeRozan $7100 is on fire and Wesley Matthews $5600 finally appears to be 100%. Burks and Rodney Hood $4400 were both outstanding in last night’s overtime loss to OKC.
The Raptors have nobody capable of defending Paul George $9900. He’s too big for Terrence Ross $3900 and too quick for Luis Scola $4900; they may need James Johnson $3200 more minutes than usual. While PG-13 is recommended, there are other solid SF like Kawhi Leonard $8600, Porter and Danilo Gallinari $6900. Until their salaries adjust to reflect the new roles, Green and Barnes offer the best bang for the buck.
Anthony Davis $10600 tops the PF list over Blake Griffin $9100 but as the other Pelicans get healthier, the big fella is no longer a one-man offense. Kenneth Faried $5900 is my choice, with Scola also interesting against his previous team.
The battle between Andre Drummond $9300 and DeAndre Jordan $7200 will be fun to watch. When they met in L.A. a month ago, the kid (18 & 19) had slightly better numbers than the veteran (10 & 16) but the Clippers prevailed. Dwight Howard $7200 figures to out-muscle the Nuggets and Ian Mahinmi $5100 is a potential bargain at a top-heavy position.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | John Wall $9700 | Damian Lillard $8800 | Jameer Nelson $4200 |
| SG | James Harden $10800 | Wesley Matthews $5600 | Alec Burks $5100 |
| SF | Paul George $9900 | Danilo Gallinari $6900 | Matt Barnes $4300 |
| PF | Anthony Davis $10600 | Blake Griffin $9100 | Kenneth Faried $5900 |
| C | Andre Drummond $9300 | Dwight Howard $7200 | Ian Mahinmi $5100 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.