Tastefully curated M-F by LineStar fantasy experts.

Nice lil' 5game slate to get you in the zone. Here's some ideas...

Guards

Kyle Lowry, TOR [@WAS] (DK: $7.3k, FD: $7.4k)

Lowry's price continues to slide a bit making him an attractive play tonight. Fred VanVleet is out tonight as his wife just gave birth to their child. Without VanVleet out there, Lowry might have to log a couple of extra minutes tonight. The Wizards defense remains roughly the same without John Wall as Tomas Satoransky is a decent defender. This is slated as a close game with the Raptors being favored by 3.5 points with 214 total points. Lowry's average against the Wizards this season is a little deceiving as the November 5th game he was ejected early.

Dejounte Murray, SA [vs HOU] (DK: $5.9k, FD: $6.3k)

Since taking over the starting point guard job Murray's usage has actually gone down, but he's been much more efficient. He's averaging almost 6 assists a game, but still taking less than 10 shots a game. In this up-pace game he's likely going to need to take a couple of extra shots which can help get him closer to his ceiling. Houston ranks 24th against starting points guards, allowing 37 fantasy points a game. If Chris Paul remains out that will certainly increase Murray's chances for success tonight as CP3 has one of the better defensive rankings in the league.

Wayne Selden Jr, MEM [@DET] (DK: $4k, FD: $3.6k)

Memphis is dealing with all sorts of injuries and they added to the mess trying to trade Tyreke Evans who is now not going to play until the trade deadline passes which is February 8th. Selden has seen his usage skyrocket without Tyreke Evans on the court: +11% usage with +12 FP/48 mins.

Forwards

LaMarcus Aldridge, SA [vs HOU] (DK: $7.7k, FD: $8.9k)

This is mostly a DraftKings play as his price has dropped to the $7k's being discounted after 2 poor games, one of which being a blow out. As long as the game is close, Aldridge will see plenty of time on the court and Vegas has the line set to only a single point in favor of Houston, which seems to imply Chris Paul is going to miss this game. Aldridge didn't play much in their first meeting as the game was a blow out as well, but this one should be more competitive.

Markieff Morris, WAS [vs TOR] (DK: $6.2k, FD: $5.7k)

Morris seems to have taken it upon himself to pick up the slack left by John Wall going down with his knee injury. He's seeing around 4 extra minutes per game and he's taken 12+ shots in 4 of the last 5 games. Wall has only missed 2 games, but looking back at his efforts it's obvious the knee was bothering him. The Raptors are ranked 20th against starting power forwards and this is looking like it will be a close game with the Raptors only favored by 3.5 points. Secret keyword is "Keef", if you don't know what this means read the end of the newsletter. 

Kelly Oubre Jr, WAS [vs TOR] (DK: $4.7k, FD: $4.6k)

This is more of the tournament play, opposed to more of the cash play above with Morris. Kelly Oubre sees +3% usage and +2.8 FP/48 mins without John Wall on the court. His ceiling can reach to the mid 30's, though we haven't seen it yet in these last 2 games without John Wall. Which is why this is more of a tournament play, it's hard to tell when these guys will break out, but when you get a price drop and still know he has the chance to have a good game without Wall, he's worth taking a chance on in a tournament lineup.

Centers

Marc Gasol, MEM [@DET] (DK: $7.6k, FD: $8.2k)

Gasol's usage takes a slight hit without Evans on the court but his fantasy point scoring goes up by almost 9 FP/48 mins. The Ball will have to move through Gasol in order for the rest of the Grizzlies to get anything done. The Pistons are ranked 14th versus starting centers, but this doesn't mean much with their team looking so much different after the trade.

Steven Adams, OKC [@DEN] (DK: $6.3k, FD: $7k)

Adams is much more of a cash game play, he's been extremly consistent over the last month of action. It's not a great matchup tonight as Denver is 7th against starting centers, but Vegas has this as the top game to target with 216 total points and only a 1 point spread in favor of the Thunder. Without Roberson on the court, Adams is seeing +3 minutes per game, +1% usage and +2 FP per 48 mins.

Jonas Valanciunas, TOR [@WAS] (DK: $5.6k, FD: $6.3k)

Valanciunas is just going to keep being a tournament play unless his price increases. His ceiling is just too high to ignore especially in a close game like this one, where they'll want him on the floor as long as he doesn't foul out. Something to note though, he has played poorly against the Wizards in 2 games earlier this season, which were before he started to consistently see more minutes.

Injuries 🤕

NEW INJURIES (1-2 games)

• GTD: (HOU, PG/SG) Chris Paul ($9.1k) [Upgrades: Eric Gordon + Gerald Green]

• OUT: (MEM, PG/SG) Tyreke Evans ($7.4k) [Upgrades: Andrew Harrison + Wayne Selden Jr.]

• GTD: (HOU, SG) Eric Gordon ($6.4k) [Upgrades: Chris Paul + Gerald Green]

• GTD: (MIL, PG/SG) Eric Bledsoe ($6.1k) [Upgrades: Malcolm Brogdon + Matthew Dellavedova]

• OUT: (HOU, SG/SF) Trevor Ariza ($4.8k) [Upgrades: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute + P.J. Tucker + Gerald Green]

• OUT: (DEN, PF/C) Mason Plumlee ($4.7k) [Upgrades: Trey Lyles + Wilson Chandler]

• GTD: (MEM, PG) Mario Chalmers ($4.5k) [Upgrades: Andrew Harrison + Wayne Selden Jr.]

• OUT: (TOR, PG) Fred VanVleet ($4.2k) [Upgrades: Delon Wright]

• GTD: (MEM, PF/C) Deyonta Davis ($3.6k) [Upgrades: Jarell Martin + Brandan Wright]

• GTD: (TOR, SG/SF) C.J. Miles ($3.5k) [Upgrades: Delon Wright + Norman Powell + OG Anunoby]

ONGOING INJURIES (3-6 games)

• GTD: (DET, PF/C) Blake Griffin ($7.9k) [Upgrades: Anthony Tolliver]

• OUT: (WAS, PG) John Wall ($7.8k) [Upgrades: Tomas Satoransky + Tim Frazier]

• GTD: (MEM, SF/PF) JaMychal Green ($5.1k) [Upgrades: Myke Henry + Jarell Martin + Brandan Wright]

• OUT: (OKC, SG/SF) Andre Roberson ($3.0k) [Upgrades: Raymond Felton]

Ok so, you're getting pretty good at reading the "end" of the newsletter now. But, what if I hid the keyword to tweet at us somewhere in the middle? Find it and tweet it to us, to be entered to win $25 Paypal for your lineups tonight.