Fantasy Basketball Top Plays and Fades, Saturday February 2

ORLANDO, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 19: Derrick White #4 of the San Antonio Spurs sets up the offense during the game against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center on December 19, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. 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 Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) Fantasy Basketball Top Plays /

Welcome into the Saturday edition of Fantasy Basketball Top Plays and Fades! We have a sprawling 11 game slate tonight so let’s not waste time and get right down to it!

I was pretty surprised when I saw there was 11 games on the slate tonight but it makes sense since Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday. This slate is going to have some challenges to it and there’s just so many directions to go. The premier game of the night Golden State vs the Los Angeles LeBron’s, but I’m not sure if that’s the premier fantasy game. Sure, there are a lot of plays from that game but there’s plenty of other spots. In fact, we start in a game that could go a little overlooked and a play that will almost certainly be low-owned in our Fantasy Basketball Top Plays!

As a special thank you to our Fantasy CPR readers, we have teamed up with FantasyDraft to bring you a $50 NBA DFS FREE ROLL for tonight’s slate. Only 250 spots – so get in now!

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays – Point Guard

Top Play – Derrick White, Spurs

White is coming off arguably the best game of his career and perhaps the most impressive facet of his big score was he only played 24 minutes. That’s on the lower end for where he’s been lately and he should be able to get closer to the 30 minute mark that he’s been accustomed to seeing. White is having a very nice season so far and he draws one of the best possible matchups for a point guard tonight.

New Orleans is the fourth worst team against the position and they just bleed fantasy points. The pace they play at creates opportunities all over the place and the nice thing with White is he does a little bit of everything. He’s not huge in the assists and rebounds categories but that could be less of a concern tonight. The assists especially could climb as the Pelicans are the sixth worst across the league. White comes at a very reasonable price in a great spot.

Honorable Mention – Ben Simmons, Sixers

Fade – Darren Collison, Pacers

Usually Collison is a perfectly fine option for safety and maybe that’s still the case tonight but I won’t be all that interested since I don’t see much of a ceiling. Collison matches up against the Miami Heat and even though they’re on a back to back, it’s a little harder to see Collison playing that well in this spot.

The Heat are a solid defensive team and that extends to defending the point guard position. They are seventh best and they also only allow the eighth fewest assists, which is a significant portion of Collison’s game. Even without Victor Oladipo on the floor, Collison still doesn’t have a usage over 20 percent or a FPPM over 1.0. He’s a pass for me tonight.

Honorable Mention – Eric Bledsoe, Bucks

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – JANUARY 19: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on January 19, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. 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 Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays – Shooting Guard

Top Play – Luka Doncic, Mavericks

If you’ve been reading this article since its inception, you likely could have guessed my basketball crush Doncic was going to be in this spot. Fanboy in me aside, Doncic is expected to play tonight as the Mavericks take on the Cavs in Cleveland and I want to have an awful lot of him. The opportunity and production we have seen from him when the Mavericks haven’t had the recently traded players on the floor appears to be massive.

We do have to keep in mind that the sample size is just 92 minutes. However, Doncic has been an absolute monster when DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, J.J. Barea and Dennis Smith off the floor this season, Doncic owns a 34.8 usage percentage and 1.54 FPPM. If that production would hold form, Doncic is massively underpriced. I don’t expect there to be any issues with his ankle injury that held him out of last game and Cleveland isn’t a good defensive team. I’m all in tonight as long as he is active.

Honorable Mention – James Harden, Rockets because Chris Paul is expected to be out

Fade – Donovan Mitchell, Jazz

This would change if something were to happen with Rubio during the day. There have been trade rumors circling around him these past two days and the Jazz may have a decision to make. This incredible nugget of info comes from Stefano Vacarino and it illustrates the difference when Rubio is off the floor.

https://twitter.com/BigMoneyPlay/status/1090724887424090112

It seems clear that team is better with Mitchell running the show, but he doesn’t right now. We’ve seen that since Rubio has come back, the production for Mitchell has come down but the price really hasn’t yet. He does draw a soft Houston defense that is on a tough travel swing, but it’s hard to buy into Mitchell at this current price tag. With a slate that is loaded with so many great plays, Mitchell carries too much risk for my liking.

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 24: Darius Miller #21 of the New Orleans Pelicans dribbles past Markieff Morris #5 of the Washington Wizards during the second half at Capital One Arena on November 24, 2018 in Washington, DC. 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 Will Newton/Getty Images) /

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays – Small Forward

Top Play – Darius Miller, Pelicans

Did I ever think that I would be writing up Darius Miller of the Pelicans at some point this year? Not really since the last relevant Darius was kicking around with Hootie and the Blowfish sometime in the 90’s but here we are. New Orleans is missing about half of their team right now and none of these players are likely to see the floor again before the trade deadline. That leaves Miller as one of their few healthy bodies, leading to big minutes.

These past two games have seen Miller on the floor for over 35 minutes in both and I would expect that to be the case again. In the split with all of the injured/resting players off the floor, Miller owns a 18.7 percent usage and a 0.88 FPPM. That doesn’t seem like anything special because it really isn’t but when you combine that with the minutes, he gets you to where you need to go. San Antonio actually gives up the 10th most DK points to small forwards so the spot is good on top of everything else.

Honorable Mention – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks

Fade – Josh Richardson, Heat

Miami is another team that I think many DFS players would like to see make a trade before the deadline because when everyone is healthy, you can’t play basically any of them. They have so many bodies that some players just randomly get selected to not play at all and there is not standout within their rotations. Richardson is one of the players that gets dragged down, averaging only a 24.1 percent usage on the year with a 0.91 FPPM.

Even those pedestrian marks have seen a dip down to 21.1 percent and a tiny 0.80 FPPM over the past month. The aforementioned Miller is besting that mark right now and comes considerably cheaper. The matchup against the Pacers isn’t the best either as they have allowed just the eighth fewest DK points to small forwards. Indiana is also playing at the sixth slowest pace since the Oladipo injury, which means this game could be very ugly.

Honorable Mention – Brandon Ingram, Lakers

SACRAMENTO, CA – NOVEMBER 10: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Sacramento Kings stands on the court during their game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Golden 1 Center on November 10, 2018 in Sacramento, California. 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 Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays – Power Forward

Top Play – Marvin Bagley, Kings

We’re all about the young bucks tonight and I’m not sure I understand the rationale here with DK(you can say that multiple times about them the past couple days). Bagley put out a monster performance against the Hawks last game, posting a 17/12/2 game for over 35 fantasy points on each site. For that, DK lowered his price by $100. It might seem repetitive to go to Bagley two games in a row but he’s in another great spot at a great price.

The Sixers have given up the seventh most points to power forwards and will be without Wilson Chandler tonight on top of that. Chandler might not be anything special but it’s still a starting player that the Sixers can’t deploy. Despite the presence of Joel Embiid down low, Philly has given up the fifth most rebounds to power forwards and this seems like a spot where Bagley can double-double off the bench again.

Honorable Mention – John Collins, Hawks

Fade – Kyle Kuzma, Lakers

I suppose there is an outside chance Kuzma isn’t a Laker by tip-off, though that’s probably a stretch given the reports of how a potential Anthony Davis trade is going for the Lakers. Even if he plays, Kuzma is not someone that I’m interested in tonight and I don’t believe you should be either. He only played 23 minutes in a game that went to overtime last time out and that was after only being on the floor for 28 minutes the last time he was active.

That combined with the fact that Los Angeles is saying he’s playing hurt are a rather large alarm bell for me. With LeBron back in the lineup, the Lakers aren’t relying on Kuzma to do as much of the scoring. Kuzma is closer to a one dimensional player than I like to target if the minutes are risky on top of it and he will have to deal with Kevin Durant or Draymond Green on most possessions. It’s just not a good mix of factors.

Honorable Mention – Kenneth Faried, Rockets(price is out of hand)

NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 23: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts to a call in the second half against the New York Knicks during their game at Madison Square Garden on March 23, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays – Center

Top Play – Karl Anthony-Towns, Wolves

Denver is traveling as I’m writing thins after a big home win against the Rockets and this seems like a prime spot for a let down to me. Part of that let down is going to come at the hands of Towns, who is well rested and ready to go after Nikola Jokic played 31 minutes last night. If there’s any fatigue or sloppiness on Denver’s part, Towns is going to take advantage of it.

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Foul trouble is a slight concern in this spot as Kat racked up four fouls in 28 meetings in the first meeting but he also scored 22 real points in that game. That’s not the most surprising thing as Denver is seventh in paint points allowed on the season. You can get to them inside at times, and KAT is dominating the usage since Jimmy Butler is gone. Other might be a bit flashier tonight, but Towns might be one of the better players overall for tonight.

Honorable Mention – Joel Embiid, Sixers

Fade – DeMarcus Cousins, Warriors

Unless we get word that Boogie can come out and play 30 minutes, I can’t bring myself to play him tonight. It’s going to take some discipline because the matchup is spectacular against the Lakers, who give up the fifth most DK points to the position. Still, the price is coming up too quick for a player that has yet to see the floor for more than 25 minutes.

If he was the lone wolf on the team, I’d be willing to play him because Boogie has always been a usage and FPPM monster. Since he’s sharing the ball with the rest of the Warriors squad, it’s hard to see how he gets close to 6x value on either site. Even when the price is more palatable on DK, Boogie is likely to settle at a 4x value given his current minutes and production that we have to go on. That’s not something I want on an 11 game slate.

Honorable Mention – Jahlil Okafor, Pelicans as a price play too

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