NBA GPP Green Light 1-5-18

Happy Friday everybody. We gear up before the Wild Card Weekend of football, and National Championship Monday with a fun 10-game NBA slate. Injuries are somewhat quiet today, but as always watch out for the 76ers injury report, and Andre Drummond. Kawhi Leonard is probable for tonight's game, and is fully expected to suit up. Lonzo Ball is getting closer to return, and is a game-time decision for tonight's game. Damian Lillard is playing through nagging injuries, which we need to keep an eye on just to be safe. San Antonio, Toronto, Charlotte and Milwaukee all have totals over 109 tonight. The lowest total goes to New York, who have been struggling of late. Only potential blowout concern is San Antonio, but no reason to fade because of it.

DK Salary: $7,300 / FD Salary: $7,500

While there are a handful of options on tonight's slate, and some likely popular ones with Dwight Howard going up against L.A., and possibly another Boban night if Andre Drummond is ruled out. Jusuf Nurkic should be overlooked in a great spot against Atlanta. Nurkic dropped over 35 fantasy points against Atlanta last time out, and has been above 40 fantasy points in three of the last four games. Minutes continue to be a little volatile, but his 1.28 FPPM over the last five games has made up for playing in the high 20's in a few of those. We have seen the defensive stats come alive, with 2.8 blocks + steals per game in that span. Nurkic's shot is still at pedestrian numbers for a center, but this matchup can certainly help. Atlanta is allowing opposing centers to shoot 55% from the field, and are also bottom ten in blocks and steals allowed. This matchup has potential for a Nurk Alert come the end of the night.

DK Salary: $4,600 / FD Salary: $4,500

There are a lot of great options from this Charlotte side, and guys like Kemba Walker and Dwight Howard will be somewhat popular in ownership. Frank Kaminsky might draw some ownership as well, but he did burn some people in his matchup against the Kings. He still played 24 minutes and had a 21.4% usage rate, but didn't grab the 5-8 rebounds he had been getting in prior games. His floor is under 20, which puts him out of cash game consideration, and below $5,000 for 30+ fantasy point upside, it is hard to ignore in tournaments. The Lakers allow the fifth most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards this season, allowing them to shoot 49% from the field.

DK Salary: $7,200 / FD Salary: $6,000

A few things to note about Kyle Kuzma tonight -- he is playable in all formats, and is also a much better value over on FanDuel. The Lakers have been struggling of late with a few blowouts, and Kuzma's minutes/production have taken a hit. After playing 18 minutes and 28 minutes with a rest day in between tonight, we should see Kuzma back around 35 minutes or even more. The Lakers are getting healthier again, but Kuzma has averaged 32 minutes per game. Kuzma dropped a double double on Charlotte last time out, and the Hornets have been struggling against opposing bigs of late. Over the last ten games, Charlotte is allowing the seventh most fantasy points per game to opposing PF, and rank 24th in defensive efficiency on the season.

DK Salary: $6,600 / FD Salary: $6,800

It is very hard to ignore Goran Dragic dropping 48 and 51 fantasy point games in his last two outings, all while playing 37 and 38 minutes. If Dragic is going to see a near 30% usage rate, as he has over his last ten games, and play 35+ minutes against the Knicks, sign me up. He is below $7,000 on both sites, and offers up huge value. The Knicks are allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards this season, and the ninth most over the last ten games. Dragic's assists have been up over the last four games, averaging eight, to go with 1.5 steals per game. Dragic's issue has always been not adding enough peripheral stats to get him over that hump for a GPP play. With his recent outings and the Knicks allowing the most assists per game to point guards, Dragic should continue this trend.

DK Salary: $7,600 / FD Salary: $8,100

After dropping nearly 50 fantasy points on the Knicks in 30 minutes, Kawhi Leonard had his rest day against Philadelphia, and will be back tonight against the Suns. Leonard averaged 28-7-3 in two games against Phoenix last time, playing 30 minutes per game. In active healthy games this season, he is averaging 1.27 FPPM. We are going to see Kawhi Leonard keep climbing in price until he is $9,000+, so I will take him at these prices while I can. Spurs have a monster 111 team total tonight, and the Suns are allowing opponents to shoot 47% from the field, and also turn the ball over quite a bit. They are allowing 8.7 steals per game, which is a category Leonard can rack up.