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Fantasy Basketball Top Plays and Fades, Thursday February 14

By Adam Strangis

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 02: Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder reacts to his alley oop dunk during a 107-100 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on January 02, 2019 in Los Angeles, 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 Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 02: Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder reacts to his alley oop dunk during a 107-100 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on January 02, 2019 in Los Angeles, 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 Harry How/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 21: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks celebrates after the Hawks scored against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena on October 21, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Hawks defeated the Cavaliers 133-111. 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 Jason Miller/Getty Images) Fantasy Basketball Top Plays /

Welcome into the Thursday edition of Fantasy Basketball Top Plays and Fades! After the monster slate last night, we have just three games to take us into the All-Star Break.

Since it’s such a small slate, the format is going to be condensed a little bit today. Instead of every position, I’m just going to touch on some of the plays that I really like and some that I don’t. I can’t realistically say that I’m fading anyone with three games, but there are players I’m not that enthused to use so let’s jump into our Fantasy Basketball Top Plays!

As a thank you to our Fantasy CPR readers, our friends at FantasyDraft have hooked us up with a $50 FREE ROLL for today’s three game slate – make sure you get in and give this site a try if you haven’t already!

Fantasy Basketball Top Plays

Dennis Smith Jr/Trae Young, Knicks and Hawks- I really like the idea of stacking these two young guns and watching the fantasy points rack up. I almost always have some exposure to a point guard against Young because he’s still carrying a -8.5 defensive rating.

The flip side represents Young being potentially unleashed with minutes because Jeremy Lin is no longer in Atlanta. In the first game without him, Young played 38 minutes against the Lakers. I love that because Young can fill the stat sheet and carries plenty of upside. The price tag is incredibly high for Young but it’s a small slate, I’m perfectly fine with it.

Paul George, Thunder – This should be of little surprise because George is one of the top plays on any slate, let alone a three gamer that finds him facing off against the Pelicans. What does this man have to do to hit $11,000 on DK? George just went scorched Earth on the Blazers, who have struggled against wings all year. New Orleans has struggled with this style of player for a couple of years and if the game stays close(big if), George could see another 65-70 DK points tonight.

E’Twaun Moore, Pelicans – You need some salary relief on this slate if you’re looking to run the guard combo and George together, and Moore seems like a pretty decent route to take. The Thunder are around middle of the pack as far as three-point percentage goes, but with all the toxicity going on in New Orleans, Moore might actually continue to play minutes and by default take some shots. He was back up to 26 minutes this past game and is under $4,000 on DK.

Kevin Knox, Knicks – We’re going right back to the well with teams against Atlanta. Knox is basically a rookie version of Tim Hardaway Jr right now. Since the time of the big trade with the Mavericks that sent THJ to Dallas, Knox is second on the team in usage at 25.2 percent. It hasn’t translated into a big fantasy number yet because…well, like THJ, if Knox isn’t scoring he’s just running around on the court. There are no peripheral stats to be had, but a game against the fast paced Hawks and a sub $5,000 price tag help push him into a solid play tonight.

*Note – Kevin Knox played low minutes so that’s something to keep an eye on today

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DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 21: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans sits on the bench late in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center on November 21, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets defeated the Pelicans 117-97. 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 – The Fades

John Collins, Hawks – The Knicks on paper look terrible against bigs in the paint but 30 minutes of DeAndre Jordan change that calculus significantly. One of the weak spots for Collins can be personal fouls and with Jordan actually averaging more touches in the paint than Collins, we could see the downside. The upside still is there because these two will be butting heads in the paint so much, but Collins is generally a little expensive for me.

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Anthony Davis , Pelicans – The Pelicans just got absolutely waxed by the Magic on their home court. In the past 83 minutes since returning from injury/being sat on the trade deadline, Davis has taken a grand total of 32 field goal attempts. After the Magic loss, he criticized the team for lack of effort but I sort of doubt those comments land considering he’s basically out the door.

The situation is toxic and I can’t play him tonight unless it’s a deep GPP. I will say I never though I would see the day that Davis is $9,000 on DK at all. Still, here we are and I think there is still a major risk even at the lowest price AD has possibly ever been.

Cody Zeller, Hornets – I think Zeller might get some love as a cheap punt, which I understand. There’s some possibility that since he has to guard Vucevic in the paint, maybe he falls into production. I’m just not buying that and I’m going to find other places to spend down. The Magic are 10th against centers for DK points and fourth best in real points given up.

Steven Adams, Thunder – You can’t sucker me in anymore, Big Kiwi. For a few weeks, I’ve continued to notice how low Adams price has dropped and wanting to play him. Fortunately I’ve resisted the urge because the consequence of Paul George being an MVP candidate and still having Russell Westbrook as the number two is there’s nothing left for the big man.

He’s dropped all the way down to 0.80 FPPM, which is now fourth of the starting five. That’s right, Jerami Grant has slightly edged him out and the only player that trails Adams is Terrance Ferguson. That’s not great company and with George and Westbrook continuing to rack up points and boards, Adams can’t get anything going. We just saw Nikola Vucevic destroy in this spot but I won’t be using Adams at all tonight.

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