NBA GPP Green Light 12-13-17

Happy Hump Day everyone! We were unable to make it through yesterday without a plethora of injury news and it looks like today may be the same way. As of right now (9AM CST), four of tonight's 9 games are off the board in Vegas due to injuries and Hornets at Rockets game is currently the highest projected total of the night at 220 points. The Raptors head to Phoenix to take on the Suns in a game with a projected 218.5 projected total and the Pelicans at Hornets should be a high projected total as well. As I mentioned above, the list of injuries to monitor is rather long but here are a few major names to keep an eye on: Darren Collison (Q), Aaron Gordon (Q), John Wall (Q), Will Barton (Q), Nikola Jokic (Q), Anthony Davis (Q), Jusuf Nurkic (Q), and Nicolas Batum (D).

DK Salary: $9,400 / FD Salary: $9,900

I couldn't completely ignore the "revenge game" narrative tonight, and while I expect Oladipo to be rather popular in this spot, he has several things working in his favor tonight as he faces off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The aforementioned revenge game is obvious, and it should be noted Oladipo has been insane in his three revenge games this season, averaging 55.3 DraftKings points in two games against Orlando and one against OKC, but we also have Darren Collison and Cory Joseph listed as questionable on the Indiana side and Andre Roberson is listed as questionable for the Thunder. He has a 38.9 percent usage rate and averages 1.3 DraftKings points per minute with Collison off the floor this season and as we saw on Sunday against Denver, if Darren Collison sits, Oladipo is an absolute beast. He posted 47 points with seven boards, six assists, and continued his trend of notching multiple blocks plus steals.

While the Thunder defense has been outstanding this season, ranking third in the NBA with a meager 99.6 points allowed per game, the loss of Andre Roberson could prove problematic tonight. It should be noted, as well, that the Thunder have struggled on the road this season and have allowed 104.8 points per game on the road over their last 10 games. They rank 21st in the NBA in defensive efficiency against shooting guards over the last three games, one of which was without Roberson, and have allowed 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.3 assists to the position during that stretch of games. The Thunder have an impressive 95.6 DEFRTG with Roberson on the floor this season but that number plummets to 106.8 with Roberson off. Alex Abrines has filled in at SG over the past three game and the Thunder have posted a 103.1 DEFRTG with him on the floor. Because Oladipo has the potential to be an extremely high usage option tonight, I think he is an outstanding option regardless of the status of Roberson, however, he becomes an even better option if we get news that Roberson will be unable to suit up tonight.

DK Salary: $7,300 / FD Salary: $7,900

Because of injuries to Blake Griffin, Patrick Beverley, Milos Teodosic, and Danilo Gallinari we have seen DeAndre Jordan become more involved in the Clipper's offense and he has been a major catalyst in what little success they have had as of late. Jordan has four double-doubles so far this month, out of five total games, and has seen his 6.76 field-goal attempts per game average increase to 8.4 over the last five games. Jordan ranks third in the NBA in rebounding chances per game at 21.3 and is converting on 65 percent of those attempts and faces an Orlando Magic team that is giving up the second-most rebounds per game to opponents at 46.4.

Jordan currently ranks third among active Clippers in touches per game at 52.2 and is averaging 10 paint touches per game as well. He is averaging 9 points in the paint per game, but that number should climb tonight as the Magic rank 2nd in the NBA in paint points allowed at 49.5 per game. The Magic rank 15th in the NBA in fantasy points allowed to centers at 52.36 but that number is rather deceiving as three of their last four games have come against teams that are either starting a backup center or a power forward the center position. On the season, the Magic rank 22nd in the NBA in defensive efficiency against centers, giving up 21.6 points, 15.4 rebounds, and five combined blocks and steals. Jordan has failed to eclipse 40 DraftKings points in only one of his meetings against the Magic over the last three seasons, and based on his recent performances, he should continue that trend tonight.

DK Salary: $6,800 / FD Salary: $6,900

If you stacked the Rockets and Pelicans on Monday (and avoided bagels from late scratches) then you likely had a successful night as those two teams put up a ton of points, 253 to be exact. I bring that game up because there is a chance that tonight's Pelicans at Bucks game could be another high-scoring affair as the two teams have not played much defense in their last five games. The return of Rajon Rondo has really hurt the Pelicans on the defensive end, as they are posting an abysmal 116.1 defensive rating with him on the floor. Opponents are shooting an insanely-high 40.2 percent from beyond-the-arc when Rondo is on the floor and they have been atrocious defending in transition as well. These are all important things to note with the Bucks coming to town, especially with Eric Bledsoe being the one that should square off against Rondo for most of the night.

Bledsoe faces a Pelicans team that is allowing 46.56 fantasy points per game to point guards and currently ranks 25th in defensive efficiency against the position on the season. They have allowed 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 8.9 assists to point guards on the season, and those numbers have been even worse over their last 10 games. During that span, the Pelicans are allowing 28.5 points, six boards, and 7.8 assists and rank 27th against the position. Bledsoe is posting a modest 28.1 percent usage rate while sporting a Bucks uniform and has recorded at least 20 points in six of the last 10 games for them. He leads the team in drives per game at 12.5, ahead of Giannis' at 10.7, and is second on the team in touches at 69.6. The Pelicans are allowing opponents to shoot a putrid 65.3 percent at the rim this season while allowing 31 percent of opponents shots at the rim. I think that Giannis Antetokounmpo is obviously a great play in what should be a great fantasy game to target but I will choose to get my exposure to the Bucks through Bledsoe tonight.

DK Salary: $6,400 / FD Salary: $6,900

While the Paul George "revenge game" will be talked about plenty today, it is Steven Adams that I am most excited about in this matchup. The Pacers, as we know, are an excellent matchup for opposing centers and Adams has elevated his level of play as of late. Adams has recorded six consecutive games over 30 DraftKings points, and 8 of the last 10 while logging heavy minutes for this OKC team. Over his last six games, Adams has averaged 33.2 minutes, and he has played at least 30 minutes in 7 of the last 10 games. He has shot an eye-popping 71.9 percent from the floor over the last six games, including a perfect 11-of-11 against the Timberwolves a few games ago. Adams pulled down 17 points and 11 boards against this Pacers squad earlier in the season, as well.

Adams leads the NBA in paint touches per game at 12 and is averaging a league-high 10.8 points per game in the paint this season. The Pacers are allowing 48.5 points in the paint to opponents while allowing them to shoot 66.1 percent at the rim and 40.3 percent on attempts in the paint. They are allowing opponents to pull down the 11th most rebounds per game, 43.7, and rank 29th overall in the NBA in defensive efficiency against centers. Adams is 14th in the NBA in rebound per chances at 16.9 and is pulling down 48 percent of those chances. Adams is a weapon in the pick-and-roll this season, averaging 1.26 points per play, and the Pacers are one of the worst pick-and-roll defenses in the NBA. This is a decent spot for Carmelo Anthony as well, as the Pacers have struggled against power forwards this season too, however, I expect Melo to pass some of his shots up to Paul George because of his return to Indiana.

DK Salary: $5,700 / FD Salary: $5,800

It was just last week that the Suns and Raptors faced off and I was banging the drum for Serge Ibaka, and after how well he has played recently, I am banging the drum for him again tonight. Ibaka dropped 37 DraftKings points in that first meeting and has been on a tear ever since. In the three games since torching the Suns, Ibaka has notched three consecutive games over 30 fantasy points and is now averaging 32 DraftKings points per game over the last five games. He has shot 55.4 percent from the floor during those five games and is shooting an impressive 50 percent from the floor for the season. His 53.6 percent from three-point range is definitely unsustainable, but that should continue tonight against a Suns team that is allowing opponents to shoot 47.1 percent from the floor and 38 percent from three-point range. His minutes have been trending in the right direction as well, playing over 30 in two of the last four, which is promising to see.

The Suns have been playing terrible defense all season, and going into last night's game had allowed a league-leading 115 points per game to opponents. They are giving up 48.8 points in the paint, the third-most in the NBA, and 46.1 rebounds per game. Ibaka is third on the team in rebounds chances, 10.5 per game, and is converting on 54.5 of those chances. He is third on the team in touches, among players who aren't injured, with 41.7 per game and is averaging 2.7 paint touches per game. The Suns struggle to defend spot-up shooters, allowing 1.04 points per play, and Ibaka is spotting up on over 39 percent of his plays this season. While I don't expect another almost 40-point performance out of Ibaka tonight, he is in line for an excellent game and should be heavily considered for GPPs.