Fantasy Basketball Top Plays and Fades, Monday December 31

DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 20: Tyus Jones #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves at American Airlines Center on October 20, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Fantasy Basketball Top Plays /

Welcome into the Monday edition of Fantasy Basketball Top Plays and Fades! The New Year’s Eve slate gives us another five games to sort through who we need to target.

If you’ve been annoyed at the chalkiness of the last few slates, this one might not be for you. There’s only five games and two look very sketchy for fantasy purposes while one stands out above the rest as a great game to target. It makes for an interesting GPP night but might be a little frustrating for cash. Let’s dig in and see what we have in store this evening with our Fantasy Basketball Top Plays.

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Fantasy Basketball Top Plays Point Guard

Top Play – Tyus Jones, Wolves

This will definitely be contingent on both Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague being out again, but provided they are, Jones is a great play on this slate. He cleared 30 DK points and his price only rose $100 on DK. New Orleans gives up the third most DK points to the point guard position and play at one of the fastest paces in the league.

Jones doesn’t do anything all that special but he does a little bit of everything. Given some additional scoring opportunities from the added minutes and pace, Jones feels about as safe as a backup player can for 28-32 points tonight. He’s too cheap for his role in the offense without Teague and Rose given that he played a whopping 36 last night.

Honorable Mention – Elfrid Payton, Pelicans and if he’s on a restriction, Kyrie Irving

Fade – Steph Curry, Suns

This fade is mostly just for cash games because there’s a fairly decent chance that Curry doesn’t see his full run in this game. The Warriors are 10 point favorites as we sit and Devin Booker is questionable. If Booker sits, that would likely balloon to over a dozen points.

That’s dicey for players over $9,000 even though the Suns give up the seventh most DK points on the season. What is interesting is the Suns actually defend the three pointer relatively well. They’re not below average in field goal percentage or attempts faced per game, so in theory Curry could have a “tough” time getting to value. It’s enough to leave Curry as a secondary play at best for me.

Honorable Mention – Austin Rivers, Rockets

DENVER, COLORADO – DECEMBER 18: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks plays the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on December 18, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays Shooting Guard

Top Play – Luka Doncic, Mavericks

Maybe you’re tired of hearing about the rookie for the Mavericks at this point but I can’t help it seeing the role he’s taken in the Dallas offense at this point. I was very leery when Dennis Smith Jr came back into the lineup but so far, those fears have proven to be unfounded. In the two games that we have at hand, Doncic has scored 34 and 25 real points while adding in a total of 10 assists and five boards.

There’s no mistake who runs the offense and the funny part is Doncic has seen his price drop by $600 over on DK. He draws the same matchup he had last night and I struggle to find a reason why he doesn’t have a safe range of 35-45 DK points tonight. When a player that talented is touching the ball close to 80 times a game, the $8,000 range is more than a fair price.

Honorable Mention – James Harden, Rockets – He is virtually unfadable despite the “difficult” matchup because he owns a 49.3 percent usage rate and 1.88 FPPM without Chris Paul and Eric Gordon on the floor.

Fade – Jrue Holiday, Pelicans

Nikola Mirotic is still out for this game but Elfrid Payton is likely not. That means the the workload in the back court is now going to be split up a little bit but Holiday is still priced like he’s the only man there. The number would say that Holiday hasn’t taken a dip in usage of FPPM with Payton on the floor but it’s also fair to point out that the sample size is pretty limited so far because of how much time Payton has missed.

Generally, when a player comes back from an injury that could shift roles in an offense, I want to see how things play out before diving in. I took the same approach with the Mavericks and even though I missed out on a couple big games from Doncic, I fell comfortable with the process I used. The price is simply too high for me to want to pay for Holiday tonight especially when Harden is sitting at the top of the pile.

Honorable Mention – DeMar DeRozan, Spurs

HOUSTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 25: Hamidou Diallo #6 of the Oklahoma City Thunder shoots between Gerald Green #14 of the Houston Rockets and Danuel House Jr. #4 asPatrick Patterson #54 looks on at Toyota Center on December 25, 2018 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays Small Forward

Top Play – Danuel House, Rockets

Ok, so the term “top play” is being used a little loosely here. Instead of writing up Kevin Durant or Paul George, this is a “top value play”. Yes, House isn’t a big name and likely won’t appear on a lot of list tonight but if you want to spend up to get Harden or a stud that you like, there has to be a value play somewhere. With the loss of Eric Gordon, the Rockets will need to replace a significant chunk of offense.

House has actually eked out a 0.65 FPPM in his time on the floor without Paul and Gordon, which isn’t something to write home about but someone on this offense other than Harden has to shoot the ball. He’s really only going to shoot the three ball and maybe fall into some rebounds. Given the present construction of the Rockets offense, it’s basically going to be Harden driving the bucket and kicking the ball out. If House can bury four or five, you should be golden with this pick. The Grizzlies defend the three well but it’s totally different when a team like the Rockets are on the other side. They attempt almost 43 a game, much more than the 17.8 Memphis typically sees.

Honorable Mention – Paul George, Thunder

Fade – T.J. Warren, Suns

Some might see his big points total from the Nuggets game and go back to Warren. I will admit I’d be more interested if Devin Booker does sit, but we might not know that before lock happens. The issue comes back to the blowout scenario because if the Suns can’t keep this close, it Maes sense for them to sit Warren early since he plays so many minutes.

It won’t exactly be the easiest defensive matchup for him either as he’s likely to see a ton of Draymond Green or Kevin Durant when he has the ball. The only way I’d want to be involved with that is if I thought Warren would shoot 25 times and get there on volume alone. It’s a sketchy situation in my view.

Honorable Mention – Harrison Barnes, Mavericks

DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 22: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors beats Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets to layup a shot at Pepsi Center on November 22, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. The Warriors defeated the Nuggets 118-105 to start the season 15-0. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays Power Forward

Top Play – Draymond Green, Warriors

I might be concerned with the blowout in the desert but that doesn’t mean I’m totally off Golden State. I think the price is still fair for Green given that he does play a little bit into the fourth when the Warriors are up big(generally speaking). I think that would remain the case regardless of the score because Green has missed a lot of time this year and is still settling into his groove on the season.

He should be able to bully the interior of the Suns defense here as they give up the ninth most rebounds in the pain in the NBA. Scoring isn’t a huge part of his game, but Phoenix also allows the ninth most points in the paint so if there’s a spot where Green could double(or triple) double, this is likely it. Given his spotty production lately, the price tag is also very reasonable.

Honorable Mention – Anthony Davis, Pelicans

Fade – Jaren Jackson, Grizzlies

I think this could be a tough game for the youngster. First, he’s going to see Harden driving to the hoop more than any other player in the NBA. With the amount of fouls that Harden draws, that’s not a good mix. Harden shoots over 10.5 free throws a contest to lead the NBA and Jackson can get into foul trouble quicker than you can blink.

In addition, the block upside might be quite limited. Houston shoots the most three’s in basketball as we mentioned before which likely won’t mesh well with that facet of the game for Jackson. His price is fair but seemingly a bit of an unnecessary risk for tonight.

Honorable Mention – Jerami Grant, Thunder

DENVER, COLORADO – DECEMBER 18: Deandre Jordan #6 of the Dallas Mavericks plays the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on December 18, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays Center

Top Play – DeAndre Jordan, Mavericks

This play comes with a caveat that Jordan went into yesterday’s game questionable with a knee bruise and there would be at least a chance he’s held out here. Should he be given the green light to play, he’s too cheap for his potential outcomes. Steven Adams is on the other side and not a player that I target against but this can be an exception. Both of these players are in the top eight in paint touches in the league, meaning we know exactly where on the court Jordan will be.

More from FanSided

Jordan is once again near the top of the leaderboards in rebounding chances per game and he’s converting 67.5 percent of them, tenth in basketball among players who average more than 20 minutes a game. Once he kicks in a couple blocks and hopefully squeezes out 10 points, Jordan is too cheap for his range of outcomes tonight.

Honorable Mention – Karl Anthony-Towns, Wolves

Fade – Clint Capela, Rockets

The Rockets big man has been playing well lately, with double digit rebounds in eight of his last 10 games. He’s also surpassed double digit points in seven of those 10 but I’m not all that interested because the Grizzlies are tough on opposing centers.

Not only do they allow the sixth fewest DK points, they also rank first in points given up in the paint. That doesn’t seem like a player that I’m looking to target on a slate like this when the price is relatively elevated over other centers. I’d rather play Marc Gasol, Deandre Ayton and Steven Adams before Capela tonight and trust the process will work out.

Honorable Mention – None

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