Fantasy Basketball Top Plays and Fades, Wednesday January 2

Welcome into the Fantasy Basketball Top Plays and Fades for Wednesday! We finally have a bigger slate than five games so let’s get right to work for tonight’s slate!

I hope everyone had a great new year and I’m ready to bring you this article every day until the end on the NBA season! It seems like we’ve had a five game slate every day for eternity but tonight brings us nine with a ton of potential injuries and scenarios. I’m making a small adjustment to today’s article in that Honorable Mentions might have a couple of options if certain scenarios play out. Let’s jump in for tonight’s Fantasy Basketball Top Plays!

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays – Point Guard

Top Play – Spencer Dinwiddie, Nets 

This game in and of itself is one of the more attractive on the slate and I have a ton of interest in Dinwiddie tonight. He’s been the better player that D’Angelo Russell for a portion of the season and even though the minutes were down this past game, that had more to do with Shabazz Napier going ballistic off the bench.

The Pelicans are one of the worst teams in basketball against the point guard position, giving up the third most DK points. Dinwiddie has seen his scoring rise from by almost five full points this season and there’s little reason to think he shouldn’t have a great game again tonight. Brooklyn just needs to stay within shouting distance here and Dinwiddie should see close to his normal minutes once again, which approach 29 minutes a night.

Honorable Mention – Terry Rozier if Kyrie Irving is out, Elfrid Payton – Pelicans

Fade – Lonzo Ball, Lakers 

Nothing brings me more enjoyment than putting Ball here because I’ve felt like I had to play him most nights this past week and I don’t really like playing him at any point. Now that we have more games, a bad matchup and his price has gone up, the recipe is perfect for avoiding him tonight in almost all formats. Ball was lucky to draw the kings in two games since LeBron has been out with an injury and he gets the opposite of that tonight.

The Thunder are one of the better defensive teams in the league and Oklahoma gives up the second fewest DK points to the position overall. Ball does have potential every night because he can bring every facet of the game to the table, but I don’t expect that to be the case this evening.

Honorable Mention – Ben Simmons, Sixers(unless Embiid sits on a back to back)

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays – Shooting Guard

Top Plays – Malik Monk, Hornets 

It might seem weird to be dipping down that low to find a top play but the expectation is that Jeremy lamb will miss this contest with a hamstring injury. That should benefit Monk in a pretty major way and he draws a soft defense in the Mavericks on the opposite side. Monk stepped in for 24 minutes this past game when Lamb was injured and immediately shot the ball 14 times, six of which came from three-point land.

The Mavs are giving up the 10th highest field goal percentage on three-point attempts and the fifth most real points to the shooting guard position. With the Hornets offense needing another shooter without Lamb, Monk is going to see some volume here and is well worth his cheap price tag across both sites. He’s an excellent way to pay up for a stud player tonight.

Honorable Mention – Bradley Beal, Wizards(far too cheap on DK but fairly priced on FD)

Fade – Evan Fournier, Magic 

This could be interesting because I think that if Nikola Vucevic is out, some might want to play Fournier but I will not be one of them. Witch Vucevic off the floor so far this year, Fournier is third in usage but sixth in FPPM. Even Jerian Grant is right there with Fournier and he’s far cheaper. I would also look at Terrance Ross before Fournier, among others.

The matchup with Chicago might intrigue people because they are such a poor defensive team and that makes sense. Even in a solid spot with a main cog of the offense out, there’s better plays across the landscape tonight and I can’t see myself using him at all.

Honorable Mention – Dennis Schroeder, Thunder

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays – Small Forward

Top Play – Paul George, Thunder 

Is this the easy way out? Possibly, because there are some really nice value plays at this position for both sites. While I may elect to spend down, George is the top dog among the high spends in a spot against the Lakers that is ripe for the taking. With LeBron off the floor, there’s nobody that can really defend George and he should have a field day against a Lakers team that is up to third in pace and gets bullied in the interior.

George is actually just a hair cheaper than has been customary lately but hasn’t really missed a beat coming back from an injury that cost him a game. His minutes went right back to normal and he’s maintaining his 30+ percent usage rate on the team. The discount from Russell Westbrook makes him extra appealing in one of the most popular games on the slate.

Honorable Mention – Demarre Carroll, Nets and Dario Saric if Robert Covington has to sit(on DK only)

Fade – Trevor Ariza, Wizards 

It felt weird to type that since Ariza has been on the court a ton since he’s been traded to Washington and he’s in a fantastic spot against the Hawks tonight. This fade comes with the caveat that if Otto Porter were to sit again, Ariza comes off the list. Porter is listed as probable so I don’t expect him to sit after practicing yesterday and that should put a cap on the minutes Ariza sees to some extent.

Without the monster minutes, Ariza isn’t that great of a fantasy option because he just falls into value base on court time. In addition, he’s also approaching $6,000 on DK which is a little tough to swallow. Based on the information we have, I won’t have Ariza in my lineup tonight.

Honorable Mention – Nicholas Batum, Hornets

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays – Power Forward

Top Play  – John Collins, Hawks 

I know I’ve written Collins up a couple of times already but this spot is simply too juicy to pass up. The game features two bad defensive teams that play at a top 10 pace and we’ve targeted the interior for Washington all year with a high level of success. Not only are they in the bottom six of points in the paint allowed but they cap it off with giving up the second most rebounds in the paint as well.

Collins ranks sixth in paint touches, fourth in paint points and 14th in rebounding chances per game. As if things couldn’t get any better for him, Dewayne Dedmon is doubtful and in the last game without him, Collins logged over 37 minutes. If he sees that type of run in this game, he could well approach 50-60 DK points and would be a worthwhile spend.

Honorable Mention – Anthony Davis, Pelicans if he can suit up and not get scratched 45 seconds before lock on his game. No, I’m not salty about Monday night. Why do you ask?

Fade – Blake Griffin, Pistons

The Detroit big man is coming off a very nice game last night and came very close to a 30/10 game. I played him a little last night and while he was good to me and the price looks great again, you have to consider the factors around him tonight. For one, he’s traveling on back to back night which isn’t the easiest thing.

Secondly, Memphis is a huge pace down game for just about anyone  and that’s especially true when they play at home. Griffin played his normal allotment of minutes last night even though the Bucks were in control for most of it. Even with the ball in his hands as much as Griffin has it, there’s better spend on tonight’s slate given all the circumstances around Griffin.

Honorable Mention – Larry Nance, Cavaliers

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays – Center

Top Play – Joel Embiid or Deandre Ayton 

So there’s a couple of factors here. One, I think Steven Adams might be the best points per dollar center on the slate and will likely have a lot of him. I didn’t want to write-up two Thunder players so just know that he’s an outstanding play. Instead, I’m going to talk about what we have in Phoenix tonight. If Joel Embiid is cleared to play on a back to back spot, I’m tarting my lineups with him and building out.

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The Suns have gotten hammered by centers all year because Ayton cannot defend, especially post ups. That might be one of the elements that Embiid does best and when he saw the Suns earlier, he dropped 33/17/1 and kicked in a block with three steals. He will smoke Ayton if he plays. Conversely, if Embiid is out, I’m all in on Ayton. His minutes have come back up and the Sixers have nobody to defend the rookie in any capacity. Amir Johnson would likely have three fouls in the first two minutes and it could go downhill from there.

Honorable Mention – Adams and Julius Randle if you want to attack the Nets down low without spending on Anthony Davis(or still hate him) and Willy Hernangomez if spending down

Fade – Marc Gasol, Grizzlies 

I’m not excited for the Pistons but I’m also not really looking to use any Grizzlies here and that includes Gasol. Andre Drummond is second in the league in paint touches and is a rebounding monster. Gasol is going to have his hands full all night long and I tend to think these two mostly cancel each other out. They likely both double-double but there’s also not much chance at a ceiling game here either.

Drummond leads basketball with 24 rebound chances a game so it’s hard to envision either player having a big game. With how loaded center is, Gasol just isn’t worth spending on when players like Adams, potentially Ayton, DeAndre Jordan and even Hassan Whiteside are cheaper.

Honorable Mention – Andre Drummond, Pistons

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