15-game mega slate? Sunday night to prepare? No problem. There are TOO many guards that I like on this slate, so I’ll definitely be putting multiple lineups out there. There’s at least a few stars that are ridiculously low in pricing, so I have them as locks. 

While I think every game has at least one player whose pricing I like, I am not much a fan of the Wizards/Hornets mid-off (except one important play!), the Suns/Sixers defense-fest, nor the lop-sided Blazers/Heat affair (unless Damian Lillard plays). You’ll definitely need to eliminate some games from your pool with fifteen on the schedule, so these are some really good candidates. 

Any of the spend-ups on this slate are valid, so I’ll be ignoring those and leaving it up to you to choose. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Kevin Durant should all be able to produce. If you can fit one of them in your lineup, feel free to do so.

Injury Report

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Tonight’s Props

Thrive Contest Plays of the Day

Tyrese Haliburton O7.5 ASTs (80 PTS) – He’s hit the over in seven out of nine games this season and it’s silly to think he won’t do it again. Fire this up and take the free win.

Dejounte Murray O11.5 REB+ASTs (85 PTS) –Another free space, but we take these. Murray has fit in next to Trae Young about as well as he could have. He should have a fantastic season.

Jayson Tatum O25.5 PTS+ASTs 90 PTS) – I feel like I’m being boring, but we all know that the Grizzlies like to push the pace. I’m banking on that leading to a big Tatum night and he should beat this by a healthy margin. Who on the Memphis side is going to stop him?

Nikola Jokic O33.5 PTs+ASTs (100 PTS) – Okay, the secret’s out. Jokic might be my favorite high-priced option on the slate. But I’ve been targeting the Spurs at the center position all year and there’s no reason to let up now. I just hope the Spurs can keep it competitive. 

Tonight’s Games Picks

NOP (-5)

CHI (-4.5)

NYK (+4.5)

DEN (-7.5)

Writer’s Record: 0-0 ATS

DFS Pillar Plays 

De’Anthony Melton

Position: PG/SG

Salary: $5,300

Melton is underpriced as long as James Harden is on the sidelines. He managed nearly 40 DK points despite shooting just 4-for-18 from the field in their last game. The floor is more than there, and the ceiling is sky-high here. Until they price him appropriately around $7k, eat away!

Scottie Barnes

Position: PG/SF

Salary: $7,200

Here’s another guy with a “dud” where he still beat the heck out of his price tag. He’ll be better than 8-for-19 from the field, and better than 2-for-7 from distance against the Bulls, who don’t defend the perimeter well at all. He’s also a player who can hit the triple-double bonus for you in a game like this, which is very nice at just a shade over $7k. I almost put Fred VanVleet here, but the small forward eligibility was super important to me. You’ll see why. I think Fred is worth the shot as well in this game.

Darius Garland

Position: PG

Salary: $6,900

Starting to see a trend here? Yeah, I like a lot of guards. This price point for Garland is criminal though, assuming he plays. He is worth at least a thousand dollars more than this, so take advantage and laugh all the way to the bank.

Russell Westbrook

Position: PG

Salary: $6,500

Okay, I have a point guard problem. However, this matchup with Utah just smells like a classic triple-double performance from Russ. His move to the bench, as predicted, has been a godsend to his fantasy (and real-life) value. Let Russ cook on the bench and he’ll be quality on this Lakers team. Give him a matchup that gives up a bunch of points like the Jazz, and we’re cooking with gas!

Klay Thompson

Position: SG

Salary: $5,700

Hey, not a point guard! Thompson is starting to look like his old self, and we need to take advantage before his price-point skyrockets. There’s plenty of opportunity for production against the defenseless Sacramento Kings. Klay should have a field day and should be priced about a thousand dollars more expensive than this!

DFS Value Plays (<$5000 Salary)

Rui Hachimura

Position: PF

Salary: $4,000

I’m sure more value is going to open up later in the day, but at the moment guys $5k and lower are kind of slim. I liked Rui last game at this same price tag without Bradley Beal, and Beal should be out yet again. So why not? A matchup with the Hornets is perfect for a value play like Rui, so even though I called this a mid-off earlier, I actually think Rui could hit value here with a 24-30 point performance. 

Collin Sexton

Position: PG/SG

Salary: $4,600

We were all over him last slate when he was $4,700. A price drop? Yeah, we’re all over this again. Of course, it’s going to be hard for me to fit him into my guard-heavy lineups, but this is the second half of a back-to-back, so look to see if old man Conley sits. If so, I think Sexton is a lock.

Precious Achiuwa

Position: C

Salary: $4,200

Everyone is going to be all over Christian Koloko, but the problem here is that most of those people probably didn’t watch the game like I did. Koloko fit their gameplan perfectly by providing some rim protection in their “trap-Demar-heavy” approach (and trap-Vucevic-heavy), but assuming that Zach LaVine is back in the lineup, they won’t be able to deploy this nearly as aggressively. I expect Precious to play more than Koloko in this one as the Raptors play the defense more straight up, and that’s my hot take.

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