An 11-game Monday slate is capped by the 28-1 Warriors hosting Sacramento. Stephen Curry $10700, Draymond Green $9300, Klay Thompson $7300 and Andrew Bogut $4200 are extremely well rested — just two games in nine days — while the Kings somehow lost at home last night to the short-handed Blazers.
Off an embarrassing 29-point defeat in Portland, the Cavaliers will regroup against the rapidly-setting Suns, who have shaken up the coaching staff and are without Eric Bledsoe (knee) indefinitely. Brandon Knight $7600 will be up against Kyrie Irving $6500 and Phoenix has nobody capable of stopping LeBron James $9800.
Another huge loss to injury is Blake Griffin (quad) which means more FG attempts for Chris Paul $9000, DeAndre Jordan $7200 and J.J. Redick $5100. Washington is trying to replace Bradley Beal (leg) with Garrett Temple $4900 and Ramon Sessions $4200, so Redick could be the best value.
The most lucrative contests at DraftKings close at 7:00 Eastern and include the entire slate. There are also Turbo pools at 8:00 and Late events at 9:00 that span just three games each.
Plays of the Day
The $250K Sharpshooter is only a $3 buy-in (FREE with your initial deposit at DK) where the top 19,550 finishers (from up to 95,833 teams) win cash. First place is worth $20,000 cash. Enter before it fills; you can make unlimited lineup changes (even after the deadline) until each player’s game begins.
The 76ers visiting Utah might be insignificant in real life, but it’s full of DFS angles. Ish Smith $4800 is back in Philly and new assistant coach Mike D’Antoni makes any point guard better. Jahlil Okafor $6300 (knee) is doubtful and Nerlens Noel $5600 rose to the challenge in Phoenix. PG-eligible Isaiah Canaan $4200, now the starting SG, scored 22 points in the Sixers’ first road win of the year.
Rudy Gobert (knee) remains out indefinitely and Derrick Favors $7400 (back) is questionable for the Jazz, who also lost Alec Burks (broken leg) on Saturday. Gordon Hayward $7200 and Rodney Hood $4700 are the only scorers left. Raul Neto $3200 and Joe Ingles $3200 suddenly matter, and if Favors can’t go, Trevor Booker $4300 and Jeff Withey $3300 are the best big men.
New Orleans at Orlando will be fun. Anthony Davis $10500 is always the top-rated PF and I’m not sure how the Magic can stop him. However, Nikola Vucevic $7400 is averaging 23 points and nine boards over his last five, and the Pelicans are 29th defensively.
The injury bug also bit Dallas with Deron Williams $6300 (hamstring) still questionable; J.J. Barea $5000 has been superb in two spot starts. Coming on strong is Chandler Parsons $5200, whose minutes are way up and whose salary will soon follow. Khris Middleton $6100 is in a groove and Greg Monroe $6700 will try to muscle up against Zaza Pachulia $5600, but the Mavs are the better team.
My hometown Raptors face a difficult test in Chicago. Kyle Lowry $8300 can attack Derrick Rose $6000 and DeMarre Carroll $5300 will try to keep Jimmy Butler $7500 from taking over. However, Pau Gasol $7600 will be a load for Bismack Biyombo $5500 and Jonas Valanciunas $5600, who won’t be 100% after missing 16 games with a broken hand. Nikola Mirotic $5100 snapped out of a long slump with 23 points on Saturday and Taj Gibson $5300 might neutralize Luis Scola $5100.
Once again, there aren’t enough ultra-cheap guys with upside to couple with the expensive superstars. My sample lineup starts with Davis, Vucevic and Hayward, leaving just enough cap room for five potential bargains in the $4200-5600 range.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Stephen Curry $10700 | Ish Smith $4800 | Isaiah Canaan $4200 |
| SG | Klay Thompson $7300 | Khris Middleton $6100 | J.J. Redick $5100 |
| SF | LeBron James $9800 | Gordon Hayward $7200 | Chandler Parsons $5200 |
| PF | Anthony Davis $10500 | Nerlens Noel $5600 | Trevor Booker $4300 |
| C | Pau Gasol $7600 | Nikola Vucevic $7400 | Andrew Bogut $4200 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.