Welcome to your daily NBA DFS digest at FakeTeams, gents. Every day I’m here with a handful of pro-tips to roster a winning team just a few hours from now.
You might be new to fantasy hoops, so let me tell you this: the world doesn’t end in LeBron James. Each night gives us a pretty good batch of surprising performances and leaves us in the dust with more than a few upsetting outings by those we played. First world problems, carry on. That’s the beauty of this game. There are so many matches going on every single day and such a big roster available that you can’t fixate yourself in the very same player on and on but instead you need to keep things fluid.
So read on, take note, play cool, and win the day. (Player salaries pulled from DraftKings.)
Love: (PG) Lou Williams, LAC ($6400, vs POR)
If you’re still undervaluing the Underground-GOAT you better check yourself. No Kawhi-Paul is Cali’s big duo. It’s all about Lou and Trezz, though only OGs know about this. Lou-Will is playing more than 31 MPG off the bench and even on 23 minutes against the Wizards (who suck big-time) a couple of nights ago he was still able to drop 22 pops and dish out 8 dimes with gusto. Sweet Lou has scored double digits 20 of 21 times this season and hit at least 20 pops in 16 of 21 games. Bunch of love letters from such a bucket-getter. You won’t get Sour with Sweet Lou around. He’s averaging 21.7 PPG and 6.3 APG on the season and a very nice 3.4 boards for someone with his role and position. This madman is shooting 16.1 FGA per game and has a massive 28 percent usage! Can’t go wrong, won’t go wrong.
Love: (SG) DeMar DeRozan, SAS ($7200, vs HOU)
It is happening! It is happening! DeDe has hit a trey in back-two-back games and people in San Antonio are panicking and locking them inside their houses thinking the end of the World as we know it is nearing. Seriously, DeMar I think of it DeMar I can’t believe it. DeRozan is shooting 25% on 0.4 attempts from beyond the arc yet he dropped one-and-one on two consecutive games. Stupid, as stupid is his massive 52.6 percent shooting from the floor on 15.9 FGA. That alone makes you droll over lining him up, doesn’t it? LMA could be out tonight due to injury. If LMA plays then DeRozan is still averaging 33.6 minutes and 21.6 points per, but he ends being left out then LMAO. Only nine players are posting a line as good as DeDe’s (21-5-4-1) on the season and Giannis is the only one with a better FG% (56.5). Look at his price again. Nonsensical, and against Houston. Fireworks coming.
Hate: (SG) CJ McCollum, POR ($7100, at LAC)
Another night, another fade. CJ ain’t no DJ and much less a Master of Ceremonies these days. Dame is the second-fiddle to Living Legend & POTW-Melo and there is no room for three. Sorry, Mac, cold World this one we live in. Now seriously, Mac will give you his 30-plus DKFP almost surely but that might be it. He’s on a three-game streak of scoring 33, 31, and 33 DKFP and no more. He’s stuck on the 20 PPG and has not dished out more than four assists in his last three. Only the rebounds and some treys are saving him, but his usage has dropped like Lillard’s diss tracks on Soundcloud all the way down to 21.2% in his last game against Chicago. Not liking CJ just one bit at this price and even less knowing how he’s been doing lately.
Love: (SF) Paul George, LAC ($8200, vs POR)
With the massively taxing effort that is playing two games on consecutive nights, poor Kawhi Leonard might disappear tonight to get some much-needed rest, amirite? Enter real OG PG-13 and his incredibly efficient start to the season. George is eating 29.9% of the Clips offensive possession but oh boy are they glad he’s doing so. Young Trece is holding a 60.8 true shooting percentage and a 54.4% effective field goal through his 10 games. That’s nuts as just six fools are posting those numbers on at least 16 FGA per game this season. You have to acknowledge that PG is not giving a crap about turning the ball over (3.7 TO), though, but who cares when his line is at 23.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 1.4 SPG in just 29.5 minutes!? He’s also been mental from the line hitting 94.3% of his freebies while attempting a good 5.3 per.
Hate: (SF) Carmelo Anthony, POR ($6300, at LAC)
Hold your horses, DraftKings mates. He is the West POTW and all but at that price I’d rather spend $2K more on PG than see Hoodie-less Melo suffering against the Clippers defensive dogs. Pass on him. The worst that can happen is that he has a monster game, but if that is the case I’d be dying of pleasure watching it unfold. Win-win.
Love: (PF) Pascal Siakam, TOR ($8500, vs MIA)
It’s a sad day in Nightmare Enterprises. A long-tenured employee has been fired and replaced by a new one. The Boogeyman is gone. It’s The Siakaman’s world now. I think I have not put Pascal in this column often and I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s been the price. Sorry to those up North, I owed you one but here I’m paying. I thought spices were expensive as hell but not this Spicy P I see. The pricing algorithm is not so clever at the end of the day I guess. Shaking my head. The Siakaman is playing 36.8 (!) MPG and averaging 25.6 pops, 8.4 boards, 4.0 dimes, and 1.6 stocks. His shooting is delicious no matter where he launches from (47/39/81) and Siakam is throwing more than 20 shots toward the rim per game!!! The stuff of Harden’s dreams (or nightmares, should I say?). Anyways, the matchup isn’t great because Miami dries opponents DKFP outcomes but Siakam is a beast of his own. Well worth playing any day. He’s finished as a top-25 performer in six of his last seven games while averaging 45.57 DKFP. Sweet melodies.
Hate: (PF) Blake Griffin, DET ($6700, at CLE)
The Cavs suck, and that could very easily turn into a negative for Freckles tonight if things go the blowout way and he just finds himself resting for more than a while. But other than that, Semi-Superman has dropped the ball quite a bit since his hot start to the year. He came in averaging 33 DKFP in his first four games but has lowered that average to 28 in his last four and only topped 28 DKFP once in that span. Blake eats from Drummond and Drummond eats from Blake, and ultimately no one benefits from that and the situation stinks. BG has already called out his mates and is getting a little mad at the Pistons, so yeah, not the very perfect scenario. He’s putting up 18.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists through eight games, but his treys aren’t falling at all (23.9%) and his 41.9% from the floor on 14.6 FGA isn’t otherworldly either.
Love: (C) Montrezl Harrell, LAC ($6800, vs POR)
I hope you know how it goes by now, but if you’re new just hear me out: you play Lou, you play Trezz; you play Trezz, you play Lou. I don’t make the rules, I just apply them. Now seriously, can you think of a better matchup for Monty H than facing zero-effort Hassan Whiteside in the post? Lol. Don’t make me laugh, please. Trezz could eat whole Hassan in a half-minute breakfast with a gallon-sized bowl of milk to go with. Black and white. Heaven and hell. Ying and yang. Coming off the bench Trezz is averaging 29.7 MPG and dropping 18.8 points. He’s averaging 8.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and a sweet 1.2 blocks. Forget about the treys with Trezz, but enjoy those very nice 13.2 FGA dropping at a 59% clip.
If you have any comment or question about the daily column, tonight’s games, players involved in them, or even season-long fantasy NBA topics, just drop it below or reach out to me on Twitter at @chapulana and I’ll get back to you as soon as I grab a keyboard!