NBA GPP Green Light 12-19-17

It is a typical Tuesday in the NBA, which means we only have three games on the slate, but they are some extremely interesting games from a fantasy perspective. LeBron will be facing off against Giannis, which will be must-see TV, and we have the Pelicans and Wizards facing off, as well. The Kings and Sixers game looks to be the least exciting of them all, but there should still be some good fantasy value in that one. As of right now, there are only a couple of injuries to keep and eye on and those are Otto Porter and Markieff Morris. All the game should stay fairly close, with all of them ranging between the 209 and 220 range in terms of projected points. While the three guys I am going to outline below may not come with low ownership, two are high-upside plays, and one is a risky option with upside in this matchup.

DK Salary: $6,900 / FD Salary: $7,300

Embiid, who is averaging 24.1 points, 11 rebounds, and has scored at least 25 points in four of his last five games this month, will be returning from a game of rest to face off against the Kings tonight. The big man has shot 47.8 percent from the floor this month and will look to continue his dominance against a team that ranks 30th in fantasy points allowed to centers, 55.2, and 29th in defensive efficiency to the position. Centers are averaging 20.7 points, 16.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and a combined 3.8 blocks and steals to the position in a season that I am sure most Kings fans would love to forget. They are giving up 43.6 total rebounds to opponents and 43.1 points in the paint, and have allowed opponents to torch them at the rim and in the paint. The Kings are allowing opponents to shoot 63 percent at the rim and a staggering 45.9 percent in the paint, with Joel Embiid attempting almost 60 percent of his attempts in those two areas. Jo has shot 68 percent at the rim, and 39 percent in the paint this season, both large increases over last season. The Kings have really struggled to defend the roll man in pick-and-roll and post ups, which happen to be Embiid's forte. He is operating as the roll man on about 10 percent of his possessions, and posting up on 45 percent of his possessions this season. He is averaging 13.1 total points per game off those two play types this season, and with the Kings allowing 1.19 points per possession to the roll man and .92 points per possession on spot ups, I could see him racking up even more points off those two plays tonight.

**JOEL EMBIID IS OUT DUE TO BACK SORENESS. CONSIDER BEN SIMMONS AS A REPLACEMENT, OR ANTHONY DAVIS FOR LOWER OWNERSHIP**

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

Despite playing limited minutes for a majority of the season, Kevin Love is enjoying a productive season and that should continue tonight against the Bucks. He has already torched this team twice this season, notching 44.5 and 63 DraftKings points in those two games, and the Bucks have continued to struggle against big men, leading me to think that Love, at a reduced price, can have a high-upside game tonight. Surprisingly, looking at his previous two games against the Bucks, Love hasn't killed them from downtown, as he has failed to connect on a single attempt from downtown, but he has racked up double-digit rebounds and multiple blocks and steals in those games. Love is posting the second-highest usage rate (26.5%) on the team and has pulled down double-digit boards in six of the last ten games.

The Bucks have allowed the 26th most fantasy points per game to centers, 55.74 this season, and have ranked 30th in defensive efficiency against them, allowing 24.9 points, 16.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and a combined 2.2 blocks and steals. Opposing big men have shot 57.3 percent from the floor, and 35.2 percent from beyond-the-arc, so Love should have no issues scoring on them tonight. I mentioned above that Love has not connected on a three-pointer against the Bucks in the first two games, he has shot 0-of-3 on attempts, but that should change tonight, as well. The Bucks are allowing opponents to shoot almost 40 percent from the floor so there is no way Love isn't going to hit a few here.

DK Salary: $4,700 / FD Salary: $4,300

Marcin Gortat has been a complete disappointment for the majority of the season, and it is for that reason, that he is a high-risk option with plenty of upside in this matchup. His price has plummeted due to his recent poor performance and that is something we can capitalize on. At only $4,700 on DraftKings and $4,300 on FanDuel, Gortat would only need to put up around 25 fantasy points to pay off his salary, which he could easily do tonight against the Pelicans. Gortat's minutes have been limited at times this season, which has partially led to him being a disappointment, but that shouldn't be a problem in this spot, as he will be needed to help matchup against the twin towers of DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis. Yes, foul trouble is a concern, which is why he is a GPP only option for me. Gortat should start to see an increase in production now that Wall is back, which has helped him average 30.03 DraftKings points per 36 minutes.

Despite having two outstanding rebounds on the floor, the Pelicans are allowing 43.6 rebounds, 45.9 points in the paint, and 13.5 second-chance points to opponents this season. They rank 12th in fantasy points allowed to centers, surrendering 47.5 fantasy points per game, but have ranked 23rd in defensive efficiency to the position on the season. Centers have averaged 22.2 points, 14.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists against them this year.