GUARDS

Stars:

Feb 17, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Western Conference guard Chris Paul (3) of the Los Angeles Clippers holds the game MVP trophy after the 2013 NBA all star game at the Toyota Center. West won 143-138. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

1. Chris Paul – UTA@LAC – $7,800

Expect a big bounce back game from Paul after an unimpressive performance last time out against the Spurs. Utah really doesn’t have anyone to guard him and I’d expect a big game for a solid price for such a star.

2. Ty Lawson – DEN@CHA – $8,100

Lawson is still on fire and should continue against Charlotte tonight. Over his last five games, he has put up over 40 FDP four times and the lone time he didn’t, it was an impressive 36.

3. Brandon Jennings – ATL@MIL – $7,800

The top six or so PGs on the board tonight are all pretty good options in my opinion, but I’ll take Jennings to cap off the group of 3 I’m mentioning. He has averaged a very healthy 20+ shot attempts per game over his last five games and I don’t see any reason why he would stop shooting. Even if he misses well over half of them, he should still have the chance to rack up FDP.

Values:

4. Brad Beal – HOU@WAS – $5,300

Beal is probably the best play on the board tonight when you consider his price and offensive capability. Beal has returned to the starting lineup with a bang and and also has two straight 30+ FDP in his last two. I see him as a great take for the price at this point.

5. Arron Afflalo – CLE@ORL – $5,800

The Magic squad is pretty depleted right now, with Jameer Nelson sidelined and J.J. Redick shipped to Boston. Afflalo is essentially their most proven option right now on offense and is coming off a 38 FDP night against a tough Memphis defense. I expect him to rack up minutes again tonight and definitely get his opportunities. He’s a good bet at $5,800.

FORWARDS

Stars:

1.  LeBron James – MIA@PHI – $9,900

LeBron is always the most reliable player on the board and even though his price reflects that, you won’t ever really want to miss out on him.

2.  Blake Griffin – UTA@LAC – $8,700

The power forward position looks shaky at best tonight. In my opinion, it’s probably going to be worth spending a little bit extra. There are guys who can perform in the $6-8K range, but none are incredibly reliable besides David West, who is playing on a back-to-back. Griffin has shown success against Utah in the past and will should have another strong performance.

3.  Josh Smith – ATL@MIL – $9,200

Smith is definitely a little bit pricy, but as I said, PF looks pretty shallow and it could be worth reaching up for him. He’s had a stretch of games where he hasn’t disappointed, even though you’d have liked to see slightly more out of him in his past two games, he still almost reached 30 FDP effortlessly.

Feb 04, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Orlando Magic forward Maurice Harkless (21) during the second quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers defeated the Magic 78-61. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Value:

4.  Mo Harkless – ORL@CLE – $4,700

Another case of the Magic being depleted, Harkless should definitely continue to get his opportunities tonight. He has averaged over 15 shot attempts over his past three games, something you usually won’t see out of guys priced this low. Harkless definitely should be worth the value and I see 20 FDP as his floor with these minutes.

5.  Martell Webster – HOU@WAS – $4,700

I like Harkless a little bit more out of the $4,700 guys, but Webster is not a bad option either. He has had a solid couple of games and as long as the minutes are there again, he should have no problem compiling some stats at home against Houston.

CENTERS

Star:

1. Al Horford – ATL@MIL – $8,100

Horford has averaged a ridiculous 42 FDP over his past four games. Larry Sanders presence in the lineup makes this a little bit tougher a match-up than it could have been a week or two ago, but it’s never a bad idea to play the hot hand like Horford.

Value:

2. Emeka Okafor – HOU@WAS – $5,900

Okafor has averaged nearly 27 FDP per game over his past four, which is good enough for me at this price. He’s always a scare for a dud game mixed in between a stretch of good 0nes, but he’s always a decent cheaper option to put up mid-20s.

GUARDS

Stars:

Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) during the 2013 NBA all star skills challenge at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

1. Tony Parker – SA@SAC – $8,500

The Kings simply aren’t very good at covering opposing point guards and Parker has been on one of the best hot streaks in the NBA.  His price has finally caught up to his value of late as he has nine straight games of 30+ FDP, but there really isn’t a more reliable PG option out there.

2. Ty Lawson – BOS@DEN – $7,900

I like Lawson as a slightly cheaper alternative to the top two PGs (Parker/Curry) if you can use the saved money to your liking at another position. Lawson’s averaging a robust 34.6 FDP over his past games and while he gets the toughest matchup draw out of the three listed with Avery Bradley, he already showed success against Boston once this year and it’s hard to not play the hot hand.

3. Mike Conley – MEM@DET – $6,100

When you get into this price range of guards, there’s seemingly more inconsistency than there is at the forward or center position. Out of the middle-of-the-pack PGs, I like Conley to perform at Detroit, where there isn’t much perimeter defense.

Values:

4. Gerald Henderson – CHA@ORL – $4,600

Henderson has been getting consistent minutes of late and for his low price, can be a solid 20+ FDP contributor against a weak Orlando team.

5. Jason Terry – BOS@DEN – $4,400

Terry has been getting a few more looks once Rondo went down. He probably won’t do anything crazy, but should be a solid filler if need be against a Denver team that will be pushing the pace at the Pepsi Center.
FORWARDS

Stars:

Feb 13, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Toronto Raptors small forward Rudy Gay (22) dunks against the New York Knicks during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

1.  Rudy Gay – TOR@WAS – $7,500

Gay is still well worth his price tag, especially in this match-up. In his 7 games as the star of the Raptors, he’s averaging over 20 shot attempts a game. He’s shooting at a very low clip lately, but with this amount of opportunities and no FanDuel penalty for misses, he’s the best forward play of the day.

2.  Kevin Garnett – BOS@DEN – $7,700

Garnett has been hot, scoring 28 or more FDP in each of his past five games as he is relied on for an increased role without Rondo. Look for him to continue his streak of solid games against a Denver team that he dominated with 53 FDP his last time out, albeit in 3OT.

3.  Paul Millsap  – GS@UTA – $7,200

Millsap is in line to have a solid game against the Warriors, who continue to struggle on the road. With the trade deadline quickly approaching and with the Jazz rumored to potentially move Millsap or Jefferson, it wouldn’t be a shock to see increased minutes to showcase him more as well.

Value:

4.  Jason Thompson – SA@SAC – $4,900

While Duncan is back, it’s tough to gauge how many minutes Pop will give him in the second half as the Spurs are already looking towards the playoffs. The Spurs have been letting up ample points to big men of late and Thompson’s averaging 28.8 FDP over his past five.

5.  Andrew Nicholson – CHA@ORL – $4,200

Nicholson is relatively inconsistent and unproven, but he’s probably the best of the bottom power forwards for the price. He’s averaging slightly over 20 FDP over his last five games and the matchup really doesn’t get any better than going up against the Bobcats bigs.

CENTERS

Star:

1. Nikola Vucevic – CHA@ORL – $7,600

There are a few good centers who should have success in this slate of games such as Monroe and Jefferson, but Vucevic should be right up there. Much like Nicholson, a lot has to do with the matchup against the Bobcats, but Vucevic is much more capable of feasting in scoring and boarding in this one. Feel free to ignore his last game, which was off of his norms, because of an absolute blowout at the hands of the Hawks.

Value:

2. Samuel Dalembert – MIL@BKN – $5,600

Although no longer considered a steal as his price jumped due to a good string of recent games, he should continue to be productive for his price as long as Larry Sanders is out.