Minnesota Timberwolves @ Cleveland Cavaliers ( -13.5 ) – O/U: 201

With all the hoopla going on around Cavs’ camp, I fully expect them to block out all the noise and come out firing on all cylinders for this game. We can break down everything from Andrew Wiggins returning to the team that drafted him first overall, and then flipped him for the guy he’ll see tonight, Kevin Love. For me, the main storyline of this game is the Cavs trying to get it right. This is supposed to be the team that would run right over the entire Eastern Conference, but after getting run out of their own gym Saturday night on national television, expect a major ass kicking.

LeBron James was phenomenal on Saturday night, and while it wasn’t enough to get his team the win, look for him to be the catalyst of Cleveland’s success against the T-Wolves. It’s expected that Tayshaun Prince will be the guy that tries to limit LBJ’s production, but can anyone really do that? Expect “The King” to show everyone whose castle this is.

Kyrie Irving has the potential to have a decent night, but we have plenty of point guard options to choose from. I don’t think you need to take a major risk like that for a somewhat egregious price. I’m not the biggest fan of Kevin Love tonight either, and sure, this is a revenge game but I don’t think the matchup suits him to be the top power forward on the board.

For Minnesota, the 13.5-point spread scares the living bejesus out of me, but we’ll try and find a grain of salt somehow. Sometimes FanDuel takes forever to put the appropriate price tag on players, and in today’s instance, that applies directly to Shabazz Muhammad. At $4200, we’re looking at a guy that’s averaged 34 minutes in the last two games and exceeded the 5x value that goes along with his price. This game should get out of hand rather quickly, and it’ll be Muhammad getting the garbage time run.

Boston Celtics @ Washington Wizards ( -1 ) – O/U: 212.5

This is the main game I’m targeting on tonight’s slate, and for good reason. Both teams play at a frenetic pace and take a look at what Vegas thinks, as this game has both the lowest spread and one of the highest totals of the evening- fantasy riches like a maaafucka. The two teams faced off just over a week ago in DC, and the Celtics escaped with a narrow two-point victory.

Both teams actually defend the point guard position quite well, but I still think one, or even both of these guys, can be extremely valuable to your lineup tonight. My money is on John Wall, mainly because he’s got a hand in everything that happens with this offense. Wall also has a distinctive height and reach advantage over Isaiah Thomas, and while that’s not always the determining factor in each matchup, this is daily fantasy- anything goes. The price is certainly up there, but it’s worth the rest of your lineup eating Ramen.

The point guards aren’t the only ones due to get busy in this game. Opposing centers have gone buckwild against Boston of late, and I’ll throw more money on Marcin Gortat, especially in a scenario where we can pair him up with Wall. Brad Beal and Otto Porter still aren’t 100% healthy, so this places more of an emphasis on Gortat in Washington’s offense. Beal has been restricted to around 25 minutes per game upon his return to the lineup, while Porter is looking to make a return tonight. If you want cheap exposure to the Wiz, Nene has been a pleasant surprise of late. Boston is vulnerable down low and this could be a great opportunity for him to have his biggest fantasy output of the season.

Washington has had an odd set of circumstances in their last few games, but I think this is a pretty straight forward play with Wall, Gortat, and even Nene if you need some salary relief.

Boston certainly has fantasy value in bunches tonight with IT2 and then guys like Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Amir Johnson. Surprisingly, Marcus Smart has been quite productive of late and he’s even in play as well. If you’re wondering why there’s a lack of words of Boston, well, their situation is a lot more set in stone as opposed to their counterparts this evening. Granted, the C’s are on the back-end of a back-to-back tonight, but they did take on the Sixers last night which was much more of a glorified scrimmage that they sold tickets and to.

Orlando Magic @ Memphis Grizzlies ( -6 ) – O/U: 191.5

If you’re a fan of the Orlando Magic, pour yourself a nice tall glass of Ireland’s finest and get ready for this one. Hopefully you are indeed from Orlando, where you have cool shit to do like drink mad beers at the Around the World Tour, and not watch this game tonight.

I’ve got a complete fade on Orlando, and I recommend you do the same. Memphis certainly isn’t the defensive powerhouse they once were, but are slowly regaining some respectability on that end of the court. Not to mention, Orlando is an absolute dumpster fire in the month of January, posting a 1-9 record. The 191.5 total indicates that not many Magic tricks will be going down this evening. If you wanna go against me, Aaron Gordon is cheap and I’m pretty sure Scott Skiles is finally trying to carve out a significant role for him. Last game he got his first start, and had three fouls in the first five minutes. I’m not trying to say he’s awful, that was just the reason he didn’t do a lot more.

Memphis on the other hand, is ready to pounce on the Magic and have a solid night. For a while this season, Orlando was actually pretty solid on defense, but it seems like Scott Skiles has run them downright ragged. Mike Conley has an outstanding matchup against Elfrid Payton, but then again, doesn’t everyone? Orlando is 20th in the NBA against opposing PGs, and while it’s not the most attractive setting with the 191.5 total, it is one that should pay off on the value. I don’t mind some of the more affordable guys on Memphis either, there’s just not one that I prefer over the other.

Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls ( -7.5 ) – O/U: 190

A little bit of narrative is coming your way as Dwayne Wade is from Chicago, so we might see a bit of fireworks tonight. Add in the fact that Miami is basically down to the ball boy on the roster, and we have lot of opportunity tonight- the biggest thing we look for in DFS competition. In 21 career games played in Chicago, Wade has averaged 37.1 FanDuel points. While that may not be an accurate barometer of present day D-Wade, it’s not a bad tidbit to digest.

Hassan Whiteside is out for this game, so Chris Bosh will see an uptick in usage. Beno Udrih and Luol Deng are both active tonight, so that hurts the value of Tyler Johnson and Justise Winslow. Throwing one of those cheaper options opens up a lot of value elsewhere in your lineup, especially has they go against a Bulls team that is 26th in the NBA giving up fantasy points as a whole- 27th against PGs, 24th against SFs.

On the flip side, Chicago takes on one of the best defensive teams in the league, but they’re not at full strength. Derrick Rose has turned it up of late, and he has a great matchup against Udrih who should see a ton of minutes tonight. I don’t mind the play at all, but as is always the case with D-Rose, praying is heavily involved with the play. Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler are guys that I don’t mind but I think there’s better options elsewhere.

Houston Rockets @ New Orleans ( -5 ) – O/U: 216

It’s not immediately known at this time whether Dwight Howard will be back, but if he’s not, then Clint Capela should be ready to feast upon a Pelicans’ defense that has given up the second-most fantasy points to opposing centers this year. James Harden, whom I can’t believe I didn’t lead this segment off with (that’s how bad the Pelicans are against centers), will have a tougher matchup than usual since he’ll be pitted against Tyreke Evans. As I talked about Friday on the podcast, Trevor Ariza has been doing big things without D-12 in the lineup, so give that a look as well.

If you haven’t heard, Anthony Davis is pretty good at basketball. The recipient of a $145 million contract extension in the offseason hasn’t been fully paying off value on his DFS salary of late, but he’s still producing efficiently. It depends how the chips fall with who’s in or out of the lineup tonight, but regardless, AD should have a Golden Corral Buffet feast type of night this evening.

Houston gives up loads of fantasy points so there’s got to be more than one guy to target from New Orleans. Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday, Norris Cole and Ryan Anderson are all guys I’d consider overlooked plays this evening. More often than not in DFS, it’s not who you are, but who you’re going up against. The Pelicans have the highest projected team total this evening.

Detroit Pistons @ Utah Jazz ( -2 ) – O/U: 193

This is a game that I have zero interest in playing tonight. Both teams are very good on the defensive end and play extremely boring basketball. With plenty of options to choose from, I’m gone!

Atlanta Hawks ( -5.5 ) @ Denver Nuggets – O/U: 205.5

Atlanta has dropped two straight on their current west coast road trip, but I think they break the skid in a big way tonight in Denver. The Nuggets are the third-worst team in the NBA defending three-pointers, so guys like Kent Bazemore and Kyle Korver could be nice value plays.

We all know the struggles that Denver has faced down low this season, but they have been getting a little better lately. If you want to “roll the dice” on Paul Millsap or Al Horford, everyone else and I certainly won’t mistake you for crazy.

I’m starting to wonder why Atlanta doesn’t roll out Dennis Schroder out more often. Granted, I have a little more vested at stake than most, because I predicted that he would be the best player of the 2013 Draft – yes, the same one which included Victor Oladipo, Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams. I’m well aware, and you could make the argument that I’m clinically insane, but all this guy is looking for is the opportunity. Last game, Hawks’ coach Mike Budenholzer gave Schroder that opportunity, and let him play in the final minutes over Jeff Teague. Schroder’s playing time is trending in the right direction, so keep an eye on this situation.

I’ll never be able to figure out the rotation for the Nuggets, nor do I plan on ever trying. Their best player Will Barton isn’t a significant part of the rotation anymore, and it really makes no sense whatsoever. So that means it’s time to strike up my monthly, “He must have slept with the coach’s wife” theory. I mean really, there is no other plausible explanation.

Not that it’s a bad thing, but that leaves us with Danilo Gallinari to basically fend for himself in this offense. Kenneth Faried is a game-time decision, and I’ll surely like if he’s out for Gallo’s sake.

Charlotte Hornets @ Sacramento Kings ( -6.5 ) – O/U: 211.5

The point guard battle in DC tonight isn’t the only one on the slate that we should be keeping an eye on. Kemba Walker and Rajon Rondo is a marquee matchup and should be treated as such. This is probably the perfect opportunity to roll one of these guys out there with everyone sure to have high ownership on the Spurs/Warriors game. Let everyone else waste their money on that game, and you be the smart one with your money. This game will have plenty of offense, especially in areas other than point guard.

Let’s start with Sacramento and DeMarcus Cousins; this guy is on another playing field right now and it’s not even close to who the best center is on the slate tonight. Going against Spencer Hawes is one thing, but already being the best center in the league with type of matchup is another. Boogie, across the board, don’t even think about going anywhere else.

Omri Casspi is finally back to normal after missing a few games earlier in the month. While he’s only paid off on 5x value in one of his last six games, this is a great chance for him to get back on the good foot.

For Charlotte, Marvin Williams is a guy that’s never going to wow you on the fantasy scoreboard, but this matchup should assure him of hitting the 5x value threshold tonight. Sacramento is bad everywhere on defense, and at times like these, you have to take advantage of a suppressed price. This is one of those times.

Nicolas Batum is out for tonight and Jeremy Lamb is heading in that direction as well. If that’s the case then, Jeremy Lin is going to make for a great play. PJ Hairston is worth a look as well.

San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors ( -4.5 ) – O/U: 210

This is a tempting game to roll out tonight on the DFS landscape, but I don’t necessarily know that I’ll be doing such. We have two of the better defensively efficient teams in The Association on the same court, and sure it’ll be a great watch, but it’s just not the game of the night for DFS purposes. I won’t be fading the game altogether, but I will certainly limit my exposure.

For the Spurs, I think it’s only worth mentioning Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili. The up-tempo style that the Warriors run best suits these two guys, more so than LaMarcus Aldridge. I am somewhat worried that Kawhi could end up seeing Draymond Green, which would basically make me fade off him and go straight to Gallinari in Denver. There’s no real way to determine this yet, and I’m sure there will be a ton of switches as well when this game really starts to pick up. All in all, I think Ginobli is the play here.

Golden State has more of a set offense that they run out there, but more importantly, a coach who isn’t the antichrist of DFS. Stephen Curry is the one guy who I feel 100% safe about in this game, with his matchup and pure talents. Klay Thompson could see a lot of Danny Green at the start, which would hinder his overall value, but that could change if the chef gets going in the kitchen.

I don’t think it’s worth rostering Dray tonight, based on the Spurs being in the building. Typically, he thrives in up-tempo games and I don’t see it going that way tonight. I’ll be spending up for AD with my rosary beads in hand.