Coming off the break, I think we are ready to rock and roll. Last night’s warm-up slate was interesting enough showing both rusty players and how to officially get “Popped.” Tonight’s slate of 14 games……..yes, that’s FOURTEEN games……..is a monster of a slate. So many choices with lots of sensible plays, Keith and I are going to help you see through the muck and dilution to target your focus on what we feel are the best of the best at each position. Of course, cheat-sheets follow to give even more playability to the slate. But, what follows is the cream of the crop.

One caveat: This slate is so large, most people’s bankroll can’t handle a huge player pool and hundreds upon hundreds of LUs to cover it all. There will be players we have NO exposure to that go off. With trades, there will be players vacating roles, players with larger roles (I.E. Reggie Jackson), players stepping into roles (I.E. Tobias Harris, Markeif Morris), and players that haven’t had roles stepping into a place they might have a role and we just don’t know what it is (I.E. DJ Augustine). This makes for very interesting tourney options.

POINT GUARD – Rajon Rondo ($9000)

Rondo might have the highest floor of any PG not named Westbrook or Curry. Tonight, he matches up really well vs DEN. Rondo’s peripheral stats allow you to ensure a level of production even when his shot isn’t falling. His minutes are secure, as he is averaging over 32 min/gm. SAC has an implied pt total of 111 tonight, and they play the fastest pace in the league. Averaging a line of 12.5-5.5-15.3 over his last four games, Rondo is always a threat to put up a triple-double making him an elite cash option tonight…..but great in either format.

SHOOTING GUARD – Devin Booker ($5400)

Booker draws the defensive efforts of one James Harden tonight. Nuff said. This is the kind of matchup to target. HOU just leaks fantasy points. He possesses 35 pt upside. His minutes are also there, as is the fact he likes to shoot the ball as much as possible. PHX may not be a great team, but they are implied to score the 11th most points on the slate at 103 and play at a slightly faster pace than usual. We know Booker is set up to contribute tonight.

SMALL FORWARD – Justise Winslow ($4000)

With the unfortunate news Chris Bosh has another blood clot, this opens the door for MIA to play smaller. Enter more run for Justise. The fact that Whiteside is suspended also gives another boost to our boy Winslow. His price is the lowest it’s been in a month, which becomes your buying opportunity in a nice defensive matchup vs ATL. For $4000 and 30+ minutes, you have yourself a great play here. Don’t overthink it.

POWER FORWARD – Zach Randolph ($6600)

The Grizzlies are projected at 104 pts tonight……6 points above their average. With the Marc Gasol injury, Randolph’s usage rate goes up, but with Jeff Green leaving, MEM simply has nowhere to turn. He will be even more active on the boards, and he’s almost a lock for a double-double with this kind of usage. Zebo is averaging 8 rebounds per game and 25+ PPG over the past month…..with room to grow. By some sources, there is realistic 50 pt upside here with a nice floor.

CENTER – Brook Lopez ($8200)

Going against his brother, whom he absolutely dominated last time out, Brook Lopez sports almost 60 pt upside like the more expensive options, is darned near as consistent an option, and comes at a much lower price tag where a huge slate like this dictates using every dollar as wisely as possible. Not to mention fellow Army member, Al Walsh, will be at the game…..so duh. We have to run Lopez out there, right? His price is dropping of late, but his floor and ceiling remain high. Another player averaging 8 rebounds/game and 25+ points.

BONUS PICKS…

GPP OF THE NIGHT – Danilo Gallinari (SF – $7200)

Averaging over 37 min/gm and has attempted at least 12 shots in 14 of his last 15 games. Gallinari draws the pours SAC defense. He has a built in floor because he contributes with both rebounds and assists, averaging 21-4-2 as a foundation. This translates to 32.5 FD pts per game, but he can get white hot at any time.

STUD OF THE NIGHT – Stephen Curry (PG – $10800)

Curry vs Lillard in fast paced, up tempo game. We all know Curry has upwards of 80 pt upside and can literally make it rain from anywhere on the floor. POR is expected by Vegas to keep this one relatively close, which bodes well for Curry again across a whole game rather than 3 quarters.

VALUE OF THE NIGHT – PJ Tucker (SF – $4800)

With the departure of Markeif Morris, Tucker is one of the many benefactors in PHX. But, he’s also one of the safest. Tucker’s minutes are much safer and his production is more consistent than others priced similarly. 40 projected minutes at $4800 from a guy that can fill a stat sheet? Yes please. The last time he faced the Rockets (Feb 4), PJ had 13-9-2 with 5 steals in just 32 min for 32.8 fantasy pts……at the same $4800. Parlay that previous outing with an even better situation (Morris gone) and we have a lot of value with Tucker.

FADE OF THE NIGHT – James Harden (SG – $10800)

FOTN is always going to be a big play that could backfire. By it’s nature, we hang our balls out there with this pick. Of the 5 most expensive players, Keith simply likes the others better tonight. In Harden’s last game vs PHX at $11000, The Beard dropped only 37.8 FD pts. We know his track record is sketchy when Howard is also on the floor. The other expensive price tags just don’t have this type of concern on this slate.

Another interesting set of days is coming up. Tomorrow only holds 4 games. There will be no cheatsheets or write up. Sunday is Keith’s designated “off day,” and hell…..I need one too. Keith and his expecting wife are heading to OKC to watch the Thunder play live Sunday, so that should be a lot of fun for him. Me….I’ll be relegated to watching from my recliner and hoping he holds up a sign that says, “I’m married to her, but I love ChoppoDong!” I mean loyalties are loyalties. There is also promise of a #DFSArmy sign in the making. Hopefully, we all get some national tv airtime!

My point is there will be a couple days of low content. However, if you look at the schedule, we will more than make up for it going forward. With nothing less than 5 game slates until March 3rd, we plan to pound the content for our VIP Insiders straight through. Again, we wanted you to know so there is no confusion. Bringing value to you Insiders is the name of the game here, and we can only do that by communicating our plans with you to avoid any confusion. The All Star Break was a rough stretch, but things will normalize fairly soon here.

As always, Keith will be available in the Slack VIP Channel to update you on injury news, and how to pivot if need be….make sure to join in the conversation. He’s always open to answering questions, but if you are going to ask if you should play “Player X” over “Player Y” make sure you check the rankings on the cheat sheets before asking unless news has come out that could possibly change the situation. Thank you!

Cheat Sheets are condensed….remember, there will be players that are not on this sheet that go off. The goal here is to not overload you with a lot of combinations. Obviously, with 14 games tonight, it’s going to be bigger, but these are the plays I feel are the best for their price. Sure, I can put in 15 PG’s and 10 PF’s. And then say, “the winning lineup was on the Sheet” but that doesn’t help us. I’m giving you options at every price point, so you can build every type of lineup. I feel the last two months of the season, we will have better success by choosing from a smaller pool. LET’S MAKE THAT MONEY!!!

NBA Cheat Sheet

NBA Cheat Sheet DK PDF

NBA Cheat Sheet FD PDF

Now, attack that slate, put together some LUs, and head to the PX for some weekend rations cause it might be a long one…………..soldiers DISMISSED!