This article is part of our FantasyDraft NBA series.
Monday's five-game slate narrows our choices down considerably, and the fact that there's only one player priced over $20K helps in putting together a more balanced lineup overall for either cash or tournaments. There's a few defensively challenged teams on the docket as well, providing us with some appealing individual matchups to try and exploit. Without further delay, let's jump right into highlighting some of the best plays across the salary scale.
GUARD
Kyrie Irving, BOS at DEN ($17,000): Irving lit up the Nuggets for 33 points (on 63.2 percent shooting, including 44.4 percent from distance), seven assists, one rebound, two blocks and one steal over 33 minutes back on Dec. 13, and the Nuggets come in allowing the third most fantasy points per game (49.3) to point guards, including 51.1 over the last 10. They've also allowed the second highest shooting percentage (45.0) to the position, while Irving has drained 52.4 percent of his 21.0 shots per contest over the last five, with the latter figure representing an appreciable bump over his 18.7 seasonal number.
Jamal Murray, DEN vs. BOS ($12,000): Murray is in an interesting spot on the other side of the Celtics-Nuggets matchup, as he should find himself back in the starting five following a one-game demotion to the second unit for violation of a team rule. The second-year guard draws a matchup against a Celtics defense that's been uncharacteristically vulnerable to point guards lately, allowing the third most fantasy points per game (61.3), most points (36.5), fourth most rebounds (8.5), second most steals (3.0) and third highest shooting percentage (53.0) to the position over the last five games. Moreover, he racked up 28 points (on 52.9 percent shooting, including 50.0 percent from three-point range), 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals at TD Garden against this squad on Dec. 13, and despite his aforementioned one-game stint as a reserve, he's scored 27.25 to 54.75 fantasy points in his last four contests while sporting a 28.5 percent usage rate and averaging 1.18 fantasy points per minute.
Mario Chalmers, MEM vs. PHO ($9,000): Chalmers has seen no fewer than 21 minutes in his last five games, and he received a robust 33 in his most recent contest against the Clippers last Friday. The veteran parlayed that opportunity into a 17-point, 10-assist double-double that helped net 44.00 fantasy points, and he'll be teed up for another potentially explosive return on investment Monday. The Suns are allowing the most fantasy points per game (49.9) to point guards on the season, including 51.7 over the last 10 games. They're also allowing the third highest shooting percentage (44.0) to the position, while Chalmers comes in with a red-hot 55.6 percent success rate on an average of 9.0 shot attempts per game over the last three.
FORWARD/CENTER
Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN at ATL ($17,600): Towns has scored between 39.00 and 62.50 fantasy points in six of the last seven contests, a span during which he's averaging a team-high 1.29 fantasy points per minute. He's shooting 53.4 percent from the field over the last 10 games overall, while the Hawks come in allowing the fifth most fantasy points per game (38.6) to centers on the campaign, including the fourth most (44.6) over the 10 contests. Atlanta also comes in surrendering the fourth highest shooting percentage (47.3) on the season overall, a figure that should benefit a floor-spacing big man like Towns that can score from anywhere on the court.
Hassan Whiteside, MIA at DAL ($14,100): Whiteside played just 18 minutes against the Hornets in his last contest, which led to a disappointing 17.50 fantasy points. However, he'd scored 30.00 to 57.00 fantasy points in the previous five contests, a span during which he generated a 26.9 percent usage rate and averaged a team-high 1.42 fantasy points per minute. The Mavericks have allowed the seventh most fantasy points per game (42.5) to centers over the last 10 games, along with the third most rebounds (14.0) and a 55.0 percent success rate from the field. Whiteside has also encouragingly been more involved on the offensive end over the last five contests, as he's averaged 12.0 shot attempts during that span, as compared to his 10.7 seasonal figure.
Marcus Morris, BOS at DEN ($9,200): A number of cheaper tournament-only options like Dewayne Dedmon ($8,900), Justise Winslow ($7,200), Ivan Rabb ($6,700) and Justin Anderson ($6,500) are all worthy of consideration, but Morris' consistency is such that he can be deployed for either cash or GPPs. He's scored between 21.25 and 35.50 fantasy points in the last seven contests, a span during which he's sporting a solid 22.6 percent usage rate. The Nuggets shape up as appealing targets as well, considering they've allowed the fifth most fantasy points per game (46.6) to power forwards, along with the second most points (22.4), third most assists (3.5), fourth most steals (1.4), third most blocks (1.6), fourth most made three-pointers (1.9) and third highest shooting percentage (47.0). That gives the versatile Morris an abundance of paths to fantasy success, and it's also worth noting that he's seen no less than 26 minutes in any of the last five contests.
UTILITY
Josh Richardson, MIA at DAL ($12,400): Both Jimmy Butler ($17,000) and Devin Booker ($15,100) also make for excellent options for those that can afford them, although the latter notably was removed late in Sunday's game against the Rockets with rib and hip injuries and could well be a game-time decision Monday. Meanwhile, Richardson has been outperforming his current price on a fairly consistent basis, scoring 27.75 to 35.25 fantasy points in seven of his last eight games. The Mavericks come in allowing 41.1 fantasy points per contest to small forwards and the fourth most rebounds (9.1) to the position, affording Richardson a solid chance of offering another strong return on his modest price.
Jarell Martin, MEM vs PHO ($9,200): Martin will draw another start for JaMychal Green (ankle) on Monday, putting him firmly in play as a tournament option against a Suns squad that's allowed 43.8 fantasy points per game to power forwards on the season. Martin has parlayed some extra run recently into fantasy-point tallies of between 22.00 and 30.50 points in four of the last five contests. Phoenix also comes in allowing the fourth most points per game in the paint on the season (47.4) -- including the fourth most on the road (48.5) -- while Martin is scoring a career-high 54.0 percent of his points in that area of the floor. The Suns are also playing at the fifth fastest pace (103.3 possessions per game), furthering Martin's case as a cost-savings option that could see at least 30 minutes in the Grizzlies' short-handed frontcourt.
