Derek Fisher LF | HOU |
Alex Abrines SG | OKC |
De'Aaron Fox PG | SAC |
Chandler Parsons SF | MEM |
Skal Labissiere PF | SAC |
Eric Hosmer 1B | SD |
J.D. Martinez RF | ARI |
Tyson Ross P | SD |
Yasmany Tomas LF | ARI |
Madison Bumgarner P | SF |
Tyler Ulis PG | PHO |
Matt Chapman 3B | OAK |
Tyson Chandler C | PHO |
Elvis Andrus SS | TEX |
Avery Bradley SG | LAC |
Marcus Smart PG | BOS |
Reggie Bullock SF | DET |
Shane Larkin PG | BOS |
Trevor Ariza SF | HOU |
Zach Britton P | BAL |
Graham Gano K | CAR |
Kawhi Leonard SF | SA |
Jason Kipnis 2B | CLE |
DeSean Jackson WR | TB |
Aaron Gordon PF | ORL |
Nikola Vucevic C | ORL |
Corey Dickerson LF | TB |
Robin Lopez C | CHI |
Brandon Guyer RF | CLE |
Yasmani Grandal C | LAD |
Matt Bryant K | ATL |
Davis Webb QB | NYG |
Case Keenum QB | MIN |
Daniel Nava LF | PIT |
Adam Vinatieri K | IND |
Devon Travis 2B | TOR |
Joe Musgrove P | PIT |
Austin Barnes C | LAD |
Blake Swihart C | BOS |
Brent Honeywell P | TB |
Trevor Story SS | COL |
Andrew Benintendi LF | BOS |
Joe Kelly P | BOS |
Carlos Rodon P | CWS |
Alex Wilson P | DET |
Nomar Mazara RF | TEX |
Freddy Galvis SS | SD |
LeBron James SF | CLE |
Ryan Merritt P | CLE |
Jabari Blash RF | NYY |
Chris Owings SS | ARI |
Brad Hand P | SD |
Wil Myers 1B | SD |
Drew Brees QB | NO |
Javier Baez 2B | CHC |
Mark Melancon P | SF |
Goran Dragic PG | MIA |
Hassan Whiteside C | MIA |
Yu Darvish P | CHC |
Ben Zobrist 2B | CHC |
Johan Camargo 3B | ATL |
Colby Rasmus CF | TB |
Darren Collison PG | IND |
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson SF | BKN |
Tim Frazier PG | WAS |
Miguel Sano 3B | MIN |
Joakim Noah C | NY |
Michael Beasley SF | NY |
Frank Gore RB | IND |
Andrew Luck QB | IND |
Jonathan Isaac PF | ORL |
Jeff Hoffman P | COL |
Cameron Payne PG | CHI |
Justin Holiday SG | CHI |
Alshon Jeffery WR | PHI |
Felix Hernandez P | SEA |
Nick Folk K | TB |
Crockett Gillmore TE | BAL |
Trevor Siemian QB | DEN |
Jonathan Stewart RB | CAR |
Michael Saunders LF | TOR |
Michael Conforto LF | NYM |
Carlos Gomez CF | TEX |
Carlos Torres P | MIL |
Chris Taylor LF | LAD |
Ronald Torreyes 2B | NYY |
Brandon Drury 3B | NYY |
Welcome to the Core Four where we share four core plays for FantasyDraft that you are going to want to target for your NBA DFS contests on Monday, January 8, 2018.
In this article, I will be giving you four players to target in your cash game lineups for FantasyDraft. They will consist of two guards with one of the guards being a value play and two forwards/centers with one of those players being a value play as well.
Guard
Kyle Lowry-$13,700-TOR
Lowry has struggled a bit in his past four games which has caused his salary to dip and I am going to be taking advantage of his salary tonight as Lowry should bounce back in a big way. The reason why Lowry should bounce back tonight is due to the elite match-up against the Nets. The Nets are one of the best possible match-ups in the NBA for point guards as this season they rank 26th in fantasy points allowed to point guards and 24th in defensive efficiency to the position. This is also a pace up game as the Nets love to push the tempo. Lowry dominated the Nets when these two teams played earlier in the season with a triple-double and four steals on his way to 52 fantasy points and this may be my gut calling but I like Lowry to threaten that amount once again tonight.
Value Guard
De’Aaron Fox-$9,600-SAC
The Spurs as they have been for many seasons are one of the elite defensive teams in the NBA and this season they are allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to point guards and have the seventh best defensive efficiency against the position. While I normally avoid targeting players against the Spurs because of this I am going to have plenty of shares of Fox tonight as I love the way he has played since returning from injury. In those two games, Fox has played at least 32 minutes and is averaging 17.5 points, 3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and a steal. Fox has produced at least 27 fantasy points in each of those games. Tonight with Frank Mason out and George Hill a game-time decision as him and his wife either had a child this weekend or are expecting the birth of their child any moment Fox should see plenty of minutes once again tonight and should threaten his recent production once again tonight.
Forward/Center
DeAndre Jordan-$14,200-LAC
In the five games since Blake Griffin has returned to the lineup, Jordan has been a bit down which was to be expected. In those games, Jordan produced under 35 fantasy points three times and for the season in the games, Griffin has played Jordan is averaging seven fewer fantasy points per game. Well, tonight we don’t have to worry about Griffin affecting Jordan’s production as Griffin has been ruled out with a concussion. Not only should Jordan get the boost with Griffin off the court tonight but I love his match-up with the Hawks. The Hawks are not only one of the best match-ups for centers as they rank 27th in fantasy points allowed to the position and 25th in defensive efficiency to the position but they are also one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA as this season they have the third worst rebounding rate. When Jordan played the Hawks earlier in the season he had 14 points and 16 rebounds on his way to 42 fantasy points. That is the kind of fantasy performance I expect from Jordan tonight and at his salary, he is one of my favorite players on this slate.
Value Forward/Center
Davis Bertans-$7,800-SA
Bertans is a player I am not all that familiar with as he normally doesn’t play a lot of minutes for the Spurs but that has not been the case the past three games with the Spurs having some injuries and resting players. In his past three games, Bertans has played at least 27 minutes and played well in those minutes with averages of 11 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Bertans has produced at least 22 fantasy points in each of those games. Tonight with the Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back and with Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard dealing with injuries Bertans is likely to see 25 plus minutes once again. With the Kings struggles against forwards this season, Bertans is also likely to produce in those minutes once again. While there is some risk in this pick I think Bertans is worth the slight risk tonight as he allows you to load up on the Chris Paul, Stephen Curry and LeBron James
‘ of the world.