Goooood afternooooooooon, Vietnammmmmm! Sorry. It was only a matter of time before that military reference came out. Anyway, we have a short 5-game slate to discuss but before we dive in, I want you to pay attention to the news. There are a lot of things rumored to be happening today. First and foremost, the CLE starters rumored to be sitting.

PF looks to be a tough spot to roster tonight with confidence. If LBJ or Kyrie sit, this could open up Kevin Love as your primary option. Small Forward isn’t a great spot tonight for value, either. It feels like either pay up or punt. Due to the rumors, I’m not rostering LBJ w/o confirmation he will start and get a normal allotment of minutes. If JR Smith sits, this can open up Shumpert as a punt play for cap relief. And, this is just the circus surrounding the Cavaliers tonight. It’s of paramount importance that you watch the late news if you decide to play this slate of games. If Shumpert or Bogdanovic or even a Calderone open up late, this is the kind of news that can cause total roster rebuilds to maximize value and get points in bigger spots your cap wouldn’t allow you to reach. Watch slack. Watch Twitter. Be thinking of your pivots……and ask questions…….as you construct your LU.

This is actually quite the learning opportunity for you if you are newer to NBA. This type of slate allows us to really discuss some of the why’s and which’s that make off-the-wall names great plays. Think about what you are going to ask, and have some reasoning ready to back it up. We can all discuss this as news breaks and really dig in and teach and learn together. This is perhaps the best feature of the DFS Army, and today looks like a fun opportunity to showcase our community to our newer members. Now, with that said, let’s look into the positions and plays we like most as of right now……

**Hidden tip at the end of the article for those that read that far……..**

POINT GUARDS

Do I really need to talk about Russell Westbrook here? I think we all know there is a pretty hard floor of 45 pts and a ceiling of 70. I think we also know he is a triple-double waiting to happen this year. Not a great matchup vs UTA and not a great pace to the game, but Westbrook is as matchup proof as you can get. You know what, let’s just end this right now, too. Insert about the same stuff I said and just swap out the name with Kevin Durant.

Another thing about PGs tonight, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM has a positive matchup. Some better than others, but every single one of them have a positive matchup tonight.

George Hill – $5500/$5000 – He’s in a great spot tonight with the cherry red camaro matchup. Not a bad Vegas total at 207 either considering we don’t have any gargantuan games to look forward to.

Kyrie Irving – $7000/$6800 – This is a “sit” alert. If he doesn’t sit, he is definitely in play. His upside can be second-to-none and he has a solid floor. But, I want you to note that if Kyrie does in fact sit, his backup Dellivadova is your auto play. At his price, I’m almost hoping Kyrie draws the rest day.

Jose Calderon – $3800/$3500 – We all know Derrick Rose’s defense isn’t top notch. Calderon draws the starts and is dirt cheap. He isn’t giving you 70 pt upside, but he is in a great spot. I wouldn’t even be opposed to you double punting the PG position if you can tell me EXACTLY why and who you are targeting as a result. PG is deep tonight for the slate, and it offers the most flexibility from top to bottom for sure.

SHOOTING GUARDS

Some of the news to watch revolves around CLE here. JR Smith is a great play anyway, but if one of the “big 3” sits JR becomes a “fade at your own risk” play. If for some reason JR sits, too, then…….Iman Shumpert becomes a solid play at min salary.

Rodney Hood -$5300/$5100 – Can be focal point of offense and we know OKC is still somewhat struggling to cover the wings. Roberson will be a good defender, but lately he hasn’t received the minutes due to getting aggressive and into foul trouble. Until this gets shored up, it’s business as usual for targeting the OKC SG defense.

Monta Ellis – $6500/$6100 – NOP is banged up and brutal right now. We should be taking advantage at every opportunity. Again, short slate gives us a golden chance. He is projected at 30 pts, which is 5X right there.

CJ McCollum – $6900/$6700 – The minutes run is substantial with McCollum lately. It’s a matter of whether his shot falls. If it does, you hit value. If it doesn’t, he’s a bit of a risk. The matchup eludes to him having as good and opportunity as he can get.

SMALL FORWARDS

Spend up or punt the hell out of the ball here. You just don’t have any in-between options tonight. Kevin Durant would be my top play. LeBron is next (I just don’t see him sitting. I’m expecting Kyrie to sit before LBJ). Paul George deserves a mention here due to salary, recent play, and matchup. I’m not going to fault you for spending up here on FanDuel in both spots. (Chop recommended for cash plays) I will also toss Gordon Hayward into this mix tonight. Roster any two of the four. You can even get away with this in tourneys, but note that LBJ will likely be the highest owned. You can get plenty creative enough in other spots to roster a unique enough LU to succeed.

SF will also be laden with recency bias with Mirotic going bonkers and Babbitt actually performing somewhat, your own % will be hidden in these guys. If you can’t trust the latter, just spend up for the former and move on. Here are a couple others we like….

Fading Melo…..32 and just not showing well last night. It is of my opinion that Melo has “checked out” of the season at this point.

POWER FORWARDS

Kristaps Porzingas – $5900/$5400 – CHI front court play! Had a nice game last night, and I don’t think this is chasing points given they play again tonight. We’ve seen the upside when Porzi gets heated up, and add in the rebounds given up by CHI and we have a solid play again.

Myles Turner – $5000/$4700 – Higher ceiling than a player like Ibaka, Turner is in a decent spot vs NOP tonight. Hasn’t dudded in 6 of last 7 games. He’s a pretty consistent 25 pts with ceiling in the low 30s.

Kevin Love – $6400/$6600 – Again, this seems like it might be chasing some points due to last night’s performance, but with the rumors of Kyrie or LBJ sitting, watch the news. If one sits, Love draws a nice bump which makes him a great play. If both sit, he’s an autoplay. Even if all play, Love is underpriced and can still easily pay off his salary.

CENTERS

Fade Enos Kanter despite the “revenge narrative.” DO NOT BUY INTO THE HYPE! This is still very much like RBBC in NFL. If Adams plays well, OKC runs with the hot hand and Kanter sits. It just doesn’t make a ton of sense. You are best to reserve these guys for GPPs only……and if you are a gambler.

DeAndre Jordan – $8100/$7700 – This is my first play on either format. Hammer game, 50 pt ceiling easily, paced up. On a limited slate, he’s a great play at center.

Robin Lopez – $6000/$5600 – Should be higher owned than last night. I was surprised to see he wasn’t more chalky, but CHI again……it goes w/o saying.

Omar Asik – $3800/$4100 – NOP is so beat up, Asik hits the radar. He’s cheap and he should see plenty of minutes. However, this is NOT for the faint of heart.

**Bonus tip – We are now approaching the 10 game left mark in NBA. Do NOT take much too seriously at this point in the season. Don’t think you suck. Don’t think you are missing something. This is perhaps the most unpredictable time of year because we don’t get news accurately and things change last minute like you’ve seen. However, you can add in the coach’s minds in who wants what draft pick and who wants rest up for playoff runs, and this just adds in a crazy factor you can’t see coming even with a lot of experience. Be VERY judicious with your bankroll at this point and don’t try and chase season’s losses when these crazy variables are all too prevalent.**

GOOGLE SHEET’S

Boomer’s Baller’s Template – DraftKings

Boomer’s Baller’s Template – FanDuel