NBA Top Plays for Friday, January 13th

By Will Colello

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Point Guard

Kyle Lowry $18,300

Lowry and the Raptors are my favorite team on this slate, and that’s usually the case with whoever plays the Nets. Lowry comes in as my top point guard, and it isn’t close. He should excel in this match up, and I do not want to be someone without him. They will throw the likes of Sean Dinwiddie and Sean Kilpatrick at Lowry, who will destroy both of them. Once he gets past that, he will see the mighty Brook Lopez. Lopez is a poor defender, and he won’t be the guy that gets me off of Lowry. The Nets are also a bottom 3 rebounding team, and Lowry will definitely be able to take advantage of that. Lowry has averaged 5 rebounds and 7 assists per game, but wouldn’t be shocked to see him get close to a triple double here. If this stays close, you will need Lowry.

Marcus Smart $10,250

Avery Bradley has already been ruled out for this game, so we will see Marcus Smart make his 3rd consecutive start. Smart has seen 38 and 36 minutes over the last two, and has had one good game and one bad. This match up against the Hawks sets up well, and he should be able to hit value easily. Smart is a guy who relies on peripherals for his upside, and the Hawks can give up a good amount of rebounds and assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kent Bazemore will cover Smart for the most part, and I don’t think either of them will be able to contain him. He has also been shooting well, and the Hawks give up plenty of open 3’s. You can cover him in both cash games and tournaments.

Shooting Guard

DeMar DeRozan $17,200

DeRozan and Lowry definitely do share stats, so I usually won’t roster them together. However, today is a little bit different. There will be enough for both of them to eat, and I’m not concerned that only 1 will have a good game. They will go back and forth, but end up with at lest 45 each. DeRozan is a little bit cheaper than Lowry, who has the higher floor. With that being said, point guard is a really nice position. I will have both in my cash games and have them scattered everywhere in tournaments. The Nets are a unique opponent, and one who gives up so many peripherals it almost hurts. They are on a back to back as well, coming off of a loss to the Pelicans.

Tim Hardaway Jr. $6,950

Tim Hardaway Jr. has been getting more minutes as of late with Korver traded, and he has made the most out of it. Over the last 3 games, Hardaway has seen over 22 minutes and 22 fantasy points in all. I think he will gradually get even more minutes, and I could see him around 30 as the year goes on. Hardaway Jr. is a scorer, and he’s not afraid to shoot. His price is super low, and will only need about 22 to hit value. He should get that easily, and I see the upside for much more in this fast paced game against the Celtics. I think this game sets up well for Hardaway to get extended run, and he should be able to take advantage easily. With some very nice ways to pay up tonight, you will need some cheap exposure.

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Small Forward

Stanley Johnson $5,200

Kentavius Caldwell-Pope got hurt last night, and Johnson stepped in to play 38 minutes. I expect Pope to miss the game tonight as well, and you almost have to plug Johnson in. This game will be very slow paced, but Johnson should still be able to get his. He won’t have to do much, considering his price is only $200 above minimum. He will be locked into big minutes, and this position is nothing to be mad about when fading the top. If you want to pay up for some of these stars, Johnson is a good guy to get exposure to.

Aaron Gordon $10,000

Gordon is a guy who has been on fire recently, with over 30 fantasy points in 4 of his last 5 games. He takes on a Blazers team here that isn’t too worried about defense, as long as their shots are falling. Maurice Harkless is a good perimeter defender, but is way too small for Gordon, who is a true power forward anyway. His price has yet to come up, and I will keep playing him until it does. He is more of a tournament play due to his volatile minutes, but I don’t hate him in cash games as well today.

Power Forward

Kevin Love $17,000

K-Love and the rest of the Cavs disappointed against the Blazers, and will look to bounce back against the Kings. Love should have no problem scoring here, as the Kings give up the 2nd most points in the league to power forwards. They also give up a fair amount of rebounds, so Love should be in a good spot for an easy double-double. His price is pretty high, but there are plenty of ways to pay down today, and hopefully the price will keep some off of Love. His floor is around 35 today, and a ceiling over 50. James and Irving have done a good job getting Love involved early and often and he has averaged the most shots in the 1st quarter for the Cavs.

Al-Farouq Aminu $8,650

Aminu, like Aaron Gordon, has been super steady and sitting right around that 30 point mark. His price is WAY too low, and Aminu is my must play of the day. He takes on a Magic team that does have size, so he will definitely be needed. He is also shooting plenty, seeing some shots in the corner and driving to the hole on occasion. Aminu has become a big part of this offense since returning from injury, and I don’t see that just changing right here. He has a safe floor of 22, and a ceiling over 35 if the game stays close.

Center

Joel Embiid $15,300

Embiid is pretty expensive, and any other player in a 28 minute limit, would not be in consideration here. However, Embiid has unlimited upside in these 28 minutes. He also exceeded his minutes cap 4 games in a row last week, so it seems to be more of a soft cap at this point. The Hornets have absolutely nobody to contain Embiid, let alone stop him. He has a floor of 35 here, and I would say his ceiling sits around 45. He is a little more expensive than Howard, but his floor is probably a little bit higher.

Dwight Howard $14,700

Dwight Howard is a little bit cheaper than Embiid, and I like him just as much. His upside might be a little higher, for the sheer fact that he has no minutes limit. The Celtics have a super soft interior, and we see bigs take advantage on a nightly basis. Both Paul Millsap and Howard are in play tonight, but I personally just prefer Howard. Howard has also been tremendous this year, in terms of both consistency and production. You can count on Howard for a double-double here, and he has the upside for a 20/20 on any night. The blocks and steals will also be there against this team, who loves to run in transition.

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