This article is part of our Daily Games Cheat Sheet series.
TEAM ANALYSIS
Defenses to Avoid
San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Clippers: Over their last three games, the San Antonio Spurs can claim a defensive rating of 97.8 points allowed per 100 possessions, which is good for the eighth fewest in the NBA. The Clippers are a potent offensive team, especially with Chris Paul running the show and Blake Griffin playing at an MVP level. Outside of those two, however, it's difficult to find a ton of value, so that's why I lean away from the San Antonio defense when selecting my players for today's card. Stick with the studs here, but pass on the rest.
Offenses to Use
Detroit Pistons at Chicago Bulls: Despite being banged up and missing key components to their team, the Bulls have been a top five offensive squad over their last three games. Of course over that period of time, they've played poor defensive teams: Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Boston. Thankfully, they get a Detroit Pistons team that is on a similar level of struggle defensively, posting a defensive rating on par with that of the above teams (104.8 points allowed per 100 possessions), so the Bulls should still be valuable here.
Teams on a Back-to-Back Set
First game of a back-to-back: San Antonio Spurs
Second game of a back-to-back: Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons
DraftKings.com DAILY PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
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Point Guard
Chris Paul, PG, LAC ($9,800): Though the San Antonio Spurs are a defense I am avoiding for the most part, Chris Paul is part of the exception. Through his last four games, Paul has posted no less than 44.5 DraftKings points, and he's only dipped under that number once all year. Right now, he's the closest thing to a sure thing you'll get in fantasy, so I have no problem dropping the cash on him.
Other suggestions: Trey Burke (at IND), Jeff Teague (at NY)
Shooting Guard
Kyle Korver, SG, ATL ($5,200): Korver continues to be one of the underrated plays at the shooting guard position, and here he gets a rematch with a team that he just erupted for 44 DraftKings points against in his last game. While there's little chance he matches that number again in this one, he doesn't need to in order to justify adding him to your team given his low price. Even if he hits slightly below his season average of 29.3 DraftKings points, he will be worth it, but he has the potential for much more here with a favorable matchup.
Other suggestions: Jimmy Butler (vs. DET), Iman Shumpert (vs. ATL)
Small Forward
Solomon Hill, SF, IND ($4,200): Hill is coming off a career game, the end result being a 42 DraftKings point outburst. While it's unreasonable to expect similar production in spite of a fairly weak opponent, somewhere around the 30 DraftKings point mark would be a massive return on investment. I'm a huge fan of adding Hill and rolling the dice against the team who gives up the 9th most DraftKings points to the position.
Other suggestions: Josh Smith (at CHI), Mike Dunleavy (vs. DET), LeBron James (vs. NO)
Power Forward
Amar'e Stoudemire, PF, NY ($5,100): Continuing his resurgent year from a fantasy and real-life perspective, Stoudemire has hovered around the 30 DraftKings points mark over his last three games, even playing in a limited minutes situation. He also faces a matchup with the Atlanta Hawks, who rank in the top five in terms of points allowed to power forwards over their last five games. Stoudemire is a good buy here, even at his season average for DraftKings points (27.4), but he's got the potential to score higher than that in this one.
Other suggestions: Blake Griffin (vs. SA), Chris Copeland (vs. UTA)
Center
Joakim Noah, C, CHI ($6,700): The scary part about drafting Noah is that he is dealing with some minutes restrictions set by coach Tom Thibodeau. The not so scary part is that he is an elite fantasy center capable of putting up triple-double stats, and he played over thirty minutes in his last contest despite those pesky minutes restrictions. Going up against a Detroit Pistons team that gives up the fifth-most DraftKings points to centers is just a bonus at this potential bargain of a price.
Other suggestions: Omer Asik (at CLE)
INJURY REPORT
Out
Andrea Bargnani (hamstring)
George Hill (knee)
Jose Calderon (ankle)
Jodie Meeks (back)
Rodney Stuckey (foot)
Marco Bellinelli (groin)
David West (ankle)
Tiago Splitter (ankle/back)
Game-Time Decision
Jimmy Butler (thumb) is probable against the Pistons.
Dion Waiters (back) is questionable against the Pelicans.
Kawhi Leonard (eye) should play despite his lingering condition.
C.J. Miles (migraine) is considered day-to-day.
Roy Hibbert (knee) is day-to-day heading into Monday's contest.
Spencer Hawes (foot) should play against San Antonio.
