Tastefully curated M-F by LineStar fantasy experts.

This week's surprises continue today, with a refresh to our website! Now featuring player-specific inline projected ownership and Vegas odds. This update was to bring it closer to where our apps are. Tomorrow, we've got another great surprise for subscribers, stay tuned! 

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Guards

Elfrid Payton, ORL [@CLE] (DK: $6.4k, FD: $6.7k)

Elf has been on a roller coaster ride of minutes played over the last week so he's only a tournament play tonight. Elfrid's ceiling in the 40's for this low of salary is hard to ignore on a small slate. He can certainly burn you, as his floor is below 20 fantasy points, but getting a cheap player with a high ceiling in this high scoring game is hard to pass up. As a bonus he may even get to matchup against Derrick Rose for a bit tonight, who personally lays down a red carpet to the hoop for his opposition.

Eric Gordon, HOU [vs MIN] (DK: $6.3k, FD: $6.8k)

Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green are suspended for two games for an odd locker room incident with the Clippers. James Harden is probable to play today but supposed to be limited to 25 minutes, so there should still be plenty of time on the court that Gordon can help fill tonight. He got a nice salary drop and certainly has a chance to provide some value tonight in the 2nd highest scoring game of the night. Vegas has this as a 222.5 point total with only a 5.5 point spread in favor of the Rockets, making this is a very juicy game to target tonight.

Isaiah Thomas, CLE [vs ORL] (DK: $5.7k, FD: $5.7k)

For less than $6k today you can get a piece of the highest scoring game on the slate at 226.5 points, though it does have a large 11 point spread in favor of the Cavs. Thomas played 32 minutes in his last outing and looks like his restrictions are being lifted. He's knocking off rust each game and if he can hit more shots he could be in line for a good game as he shot the ball 21 times last game. Orlando is ranked 23rd against starting point guards and play a bit worse on the road.

Forwards

LeBron James, CLE [vs ORL] (DK: $11.3k, FD: $12.5k)

This is a bit of the Westbrook rule here, with Harden on restricted minutes LeBron is the highest salaried player by almost $2k and has the highest ceiling of any player. If he goes off he's going to be highly owned enough that it'll be near impossible to cash without him. Other than the blowout potential it's a great matchup against the Magic who are ranked 30th versus starting small forwards.

Thaddeus Young, IND [@POR] (DK: $5.3k, FD: $5.8k)

This is more of a cash game play, as Young's ceiling is not very high. With Myles Turner out Thadd Young's usage and minutes have crept back to where they were earlier in the season when he was consistently scoring around 30 fantasy points. At this salary in a small slate, a solid 30 fantasy points is all you're looking for. It's a good matchup against Portland who are ranked 25th versus starting power forwards allowing 32 fantasy points a game.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, HOU [vs MIN] (DK: $3.2k, FD: $3.5k)

He played 26 minutes in his return from injury 3 days ago, so it appears he's ready to return fully to action. Tonight he is going to help filling a void left by Ariza and Green. It's a tough matchup versus the Timberwolves but it's also a high scoring game that he should be seeing a large chunk of minutes in at around the minimum salary.

Centers

Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN [@HOU] (DK: $9.1k FD: $9.2k)

Towns must love playing against the Rockets as he scored 60 or more fantasy points in each of the 4 games played against them last season. On paper the matchup is not good as Houston is ranked 2nd versus starting centers, but they are significantly worse when playing at home. In a high scoring and close game, you're going to want pieces from both sides of this matchup and Towns should be one of those pieces.

Jusuf Nurkic, POR [vs IND] (DK: $6.4k, FD: $6.5k)

His price has finally dropped enough to make him a playable option in a tournament once again. He's burned enough people over the last 2 games that he probably won't be highly owned and he draws a nice matchup versus the Pacers who are 19th against starting centers allowing 31 fantasy points per game. There is no question he's an extremely volatile player with minutes being a big question mark but in a tournament that ceiling in the 40's is very appealing.

Al Jefferson, IND [@POR] (DK: $3.4k, FD: $4k)

If you're looking to save salary at center today, Al Jefferson is probably the way to go. He's consistently seeing around 17 minutes per game with Turner out and will hit big one of these games when Sabonis gets into early foul trouble. Jefferson has actually been playing quite well, scoring more than a fantasy point per minute while he's been on the court in some rather tough matchups.

Injuries 🤕