This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
This is one of the smallest slates of the season, as most eyes will be fixated on the college football national championship. That leaves us with just three NBA games, but there's still a lot of DFS to be played. What makes this small slate especially interesting is that every spread is higher than eight points. That means that we might have some blow outs on the schedule and that makes it even tougher for us DFS players. No team is off-limits though, as we have to use at least three teams to fill out a legal lineup. Another thing to keep in mind for such a small slate is to diversify your lineup and try to stay away from highly-owned players. That will ultimately give you a better chance in a GPP.
Point Guards:
Derrick Rose, CHI vs. WSH ($6,300): The eye test game is always dangerous, but I've been liking what I see out of Rose lately. He has been getting to the basket more recently and playing much more aggressively. That's the player we all know and love and hopefully he's getting back to his MVP form. What makes him intriguing on Monday is the matchup, as he faces a Wizards team that is one of the fastest-paced teams in the NBA. That's the type of style that Rose thrives off of and he should have a great game squaring off against another stud like John Wall.
Shane Larkin, BRK vs. SAN ($4,300): This is certainly a risky choice against the best defense in the NBA, but a starting point guard at $4,300 is simply too cheap to pass up. Larkin has been playing more minutes lately with the injury to Jarrett Jack and handling the ball more than ever. He has actually scored at least 19 fantasy points three times in his last seven games. That's right around 5X value and that's all you can ask for. Larkin isn't the best choice obviously, but he's a nice cheap compliment play if you want to use a Steph Curry or a John Wall.
Shooting Guards:
Dwyane Wade, MIA at GS ($7,000): Wade has always been known to play well in big games and this will be one of those games the Heat need him to blow up. They face off against the Warriors as a double-digit underdog, but should be able to put up some points against this average defense. Wade had a dud in his most recent game, but that came in the second half of a back-to-back and he's always struggled in those situations. He has scored at least 30 fantasy points in seven of his last 10 games while averaging over 30 minutes per game in that span. With a few days off, Wade should be leaned on here to play big minutes and carry the offense at a reasonable price.
Joe Johnson, BRK vs. SAN ($5,000): Since the aforementioned injury to Jarrett Jack, Johnson has taken on a bigger role in the offense and performing much better. In fact, he has scored at least 21 fantasy points in four of his last five games while playing an abundance of minutes. A matchup against San Antonio is scary, but the pace should be slow and that's the type of play that Johnson thrives in. He prefers to play halfcourt offense and work one-on-one, which San Antonio is happy to do as well. The price is what makes him so enticing though, as he's the only legitimate option outside of Wade, Klay Thompson and Jimmy Butler at shooting guard and costs more than $2,000 less than them.
Small Forward:
Otto Porter, WSH at CHI ($6,000): This was one of the only easy selections of the day, as Porter has been one of the best small forwards over recent weeks. Porter suffered an injury near the end of 2015 and returned on the 26th of December against Brooklyn. While he played just 19 minutes there to find his legs, he's been fantastic since. In fact, Porter has scored less than 28 fantasy points only once since than and has been averaging over 30 fantasy points per game in that seven-game stretch. It's a wonder why this price hasn't risen more, but we have to take advantage of it here in such a small slate. If that's not enough, the Bulls rank in the bottom-10 in fantasy points allowed to small forwards this season.
Nikola Mirotic, CHI vs WSH ($5,500): Mirotic had a terrible stretch there for the first couple months of the season, but he appears to be finding his groove as of late. Over his last five games, Mirotic has not scored less than 23 fantasy points and has had an upside well over 40 points. In fact, he has scored over 40 fantasy points three times in his last seven games. The best part about this play though is that he faces the worst defense based on fantasy points allowed to small forwards this season. With very few options today, feel free to deploy Mirotic and Porter at some great values.
Power Forward:
Pau Gasol, CHI vs. WSH ($8,700): Gasol has been one of the best big men in the NBA over the last month or so. Prior to a subpar performance in his last game, Gasol was averaging 19.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.6 blocks per game over his last 19 games. That's a stretch that is hard to match and it makes him extremely reliable in a three-game slate. There's not a whole lot that needs to be explained here with Gasol, but he's just as good as any of the top-notch choices and is far cheaper. He also faces an up-tempo offense and should get more touches than usual to accumulate more fantasy points.
Taj Gibson, CHI vs. WSH ($5,100): Gibson has been one of my go-to value option over recent weeks and it's a huge surprise he's still so cheap. Gibson had a stinker in his most recent game, but had at least 20 fantasy points in nine-straight games prior to that. He was averaging about 10 rebounds per game in that span, which makes him very consistent. What makes him intriguing here is the matchup, as he'll be faced off against the likes of Nene Hilario, Drew Gooden, Kris Humphries and Jared Dudley. Those are all terrible defenders and it should open up the door for Gibson to provide good value on both ends of the floor.
Center:
Marcin Gortat, WSH at CHI ($6,900): The depth of Chicago's frontcourt makes them scary to play against in DFS, but that can be deceiving. In fact, they rank as one of the five-worst defenses based on fantasy points allowed to centers this season. Gortat has been a double-double machine as of late as well, as he has eight of them in his last 10 games. Over his last 12 games, he is averaging 15.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. What also makes me like him for today is that he will be low-owned compared to Hassan Whiteside and Brook Lopez, who will likely taking up over half of the ownership at center.
