This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
Point Guard
Isaiah Canaan, $3,700 - Canaan was inserted into the starting lineup last game and has played 34 and 32 minutes over his last two games. At this point it appears that all of the point and shooting guard minutes will be divided up among Canaan, Nik Stauskas and Ish Smith. The Hornets are playing the second game of a back-to-back and have given up the sixth most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards. If Stauskas earns the start pushing Canaan to the bench, pivoting here to Shelvin Mack might not be a bad idea.
Tony Parker, $5,300 - D'Angelo Russell is the same price and has a higher floor and a higher ceiling than Parker and thus the better play in cash games. That being said, he's already on everyone's radar while Parker will be extremely under-owned. Parker has established a nice floor accumulating at least 20 fantasy points in eight straight games and has played at least 31 minutes in four of his last five. He has games of 31.6, 30.4 and 35.2 fantasy points in three of his last five and has the upside to get past 30-mark again against the Pistons.
Shooting Guard
Will Barton, $6,000 - After burning owners in Danilo Gallinari's first missed game (19.9 FPs), many should catch a case of recency bias and jump ship here. However, the Lakers are playing the second game of a back to back and they've given up the most fantasy points to opposing shooting (and point) guards on the season. Barton is worth paying up the extra $1200 over teammate Gary Harris due to his ability to fill the stat sheet in more than just scoring. Look for Barton to bounce back nicely tonight at home.
Kobe Bryant, $6,300 - After sitting out the last two games nursing his shoulder injury, Bryant is expected to return to the court tonight in Denver. Many will be wary of using Bryant coming off this two-game hiatus but looking at the end of January suggests there's a lot of upside here. Kobe sat out two games at the end of January only to return with games of 41.5, 53.5 and 47.4 fantasy points. The Nuggets have given up the 11th most fantasy points to opposing small forwards but they should become easier to fade with Jakarr Sampson logging the majority of minutes at small forward.
Small Forward
P.J. Hairston, $3,600 - Hairston has been a nice surprise for the Grizzlies and has been inserted into the starting lineup with the injury to Tony Allen. He's shown the ability to his 6X-7X his value at this price with games of 22.8, 24.8 and 24.4 fantasy points in three of his last four. It'll help that he's at home and the Kings have given up the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards. Just make sure Allen is sitting this game out.
Trevor Ariza, $6,500 - The position is pretty scarce for mid-priced options and once again the chalky play here will be Matt Barnes for $5,200. However, Ariza has been on fire lately averaging 36.3 fantasy points over his last five with his lowest total being 25.9 during that span. This game should have all sort of fantasy goodness considering both teams are in the top-6 as far as giving up points to opposing teams and Ariza is a reasonably priced way to get invested.
Power Forward
Bobby Portis, $4,400 - Portis has earned his way to more playing time over the last month and could be in line to start if Taj Gibson (hamstring) sits out. Portis has at least 21 fantasy points in six of his last eight contests and the matchup against Aaron Gordon is favorable as the Magic have given up the ninth-most fantasy points over the last 10 games. Expecting at least 5X his value here seems like a reasonable expectation.
Markieff Morris, $5,400 - There are plenty of decent options under $6,000 at power forward tonight and Morris looks like one of the better choices. He logged a whopping 37 minutes last game although that was partially due to Nene Hilario sitting out. Not surprisingly, the key for Morris' fantasy value is playing time. Before Monday's contest Morris scored at least 35 fantasy points in each of his last four games in which he hit the 30-minute mark. Give him a small bump if Gorgui Dieng sits this one out.
Center
Nikola Jokic, $5,500 - The big men rotation in Denver is wildly unpredictable and it's totally possible Jusuf Nurkic (who has four straight CD-DNPs) plays the most of any big man tonight. However, Jokic has shown the most upside and doesn't 'need to see 30-plus minutes to greatly exceed his value here. The Lakers are the worst team in the league against big men and Jokic has at least 22 fantasy points in four of his last five games. Those five games included 39.6 and 44.6 fantasy points showing evidence as to how much upside Jokic has.
