Welcome to the NBA 50k Friday Monster Preview with the best players to watch!
With 10 games on the slate and € 50,000 in total prizes available, with € 5,000 going to whoever will finish in the first place, there is no better time to start playing NBA Fantasy in Fanteam and Stoiximan.
Check out our NBA Player Fantasy Points Projections
Players To Watch
Of course, in such a big slate, there are many players to choose from and it can get a little bit confusing. Below, you can find some of our suggestions, players that stand out and can make a difference. Let’s go check them out!
Point Guards
There plenty of quality options in the Point Guard position for tonight.
Top Picks
Steph Curry (15.6m) stands out from the expensive players.
At the moment he is Questionable with an ankle injury but if he plays he will be one of my main players. Curry had a bad game against the Clippers 2 nights ago, but this will only make him want to play even better tonight. He is averaging 56.1 fantasy points, and his usage is through the rough. Playing against the Clippers is not easy, but Curry has proven to us that he is capable of putting up big numbers against any opponent and he will have big nights, more often than not.
Mid Priced
Looking further down the salary list, John Wall (12.3m) and Kyle Lowry (11.4m) seem to have good prices for what they can offer us.
Wall is playing this year like he was never out for 2 years with multiple injuries, averaging 41 fantasy points per game, and most importantly he is looking like he can play alongside James Harden and be productive.
Lowry and Vanvleet are basically the same when it comes to their fantasy production, so I will choose the cheaper Lowry for tonight. He is averaging 41.1 fantasy points per game this season and most importantly he is very steady with his minutes (33-40) and with his production (36-49), so you know what you are getting out of him.
Value Picks
With Durant and Irving out, Caris Levert (9.9m) becomes a lock. Yesterday he scored 50 fantasy points, against a good team, tonight he is playing against Memphis, so the potential to score even more is there.
Going further down, LaMelo Ball (8.9m), going up against his brother is someone that intrigues me. He is averaging 24.5 minutes and 36.9 fantasy points, playing 30+ minutes in 5 out of 7 games.
Tyrese Haliburton (6.8m), if De’Aaron Fox is out, looks to be a great value pick. In the last game, he played 35 minutes and scored 44.25 fantasy points and he looks to have secure minutes in the 25+ range.
Check out our NBA Player Fantasy Points Projections
Shooting Guards
Top Picks
When James Harden (16.6m) is on the coupon, it is difficult not to have him in your team, because he is capable of scoring so many points and then there is no way to get into the money, if you do not have him.
Mid Prized
If you do not want to pay so much money for Harden, you can look to Bradley Beal (14.3m) and Devin Booker (11.7m). Both are in good condition and their price is good.
Beal is coming off a career night against the Sixers, scoring 59 real points (!) and 79.75 fantasy points! If you can do that with Westbrook on the floor, against the Sixers, then no matchup is hard.
Booker is not the same (for fantasy reasons at least) this year. He is looking to be more of a distributor, than a scorer, so this is hurting his production, averaging only 33.2 fantasy points per game. But, he is playing huge minutes and is going up against the Pistons, so the path is there for him to have a big game for us.
Value Picks
Markelle Fultz is out for the season, and the Magic have a lot of production up for grabs. Terrence Ross (8.6m) will get more shots and should see also an increase in his peripheral stats, and in a high-paced game against the Rockets, there will be even more opportunities for him.
Austin Rivers (5.9m) has played 34 and 33 minutes off the bench in the last two games for the Knicks, and in both of them, he was in the closing lineup. He looks to be the one they are going to use further down the line, especially while Alec Burks remains sidelined, and he is way too cheap.
Small Forwards
Normally, this position does not offer us good choices, but in tonight’s NBA Monster we have some big names in the pool to choose from.
Top Picks
Lebron James (15.3m) and Jason Tatum (13.7m) are my first choices, two players who average close to 50 fantasy points and are playing in games where their opponents do not play defense!
LeBron is averaging 54.4 fantasy points per game in 33 minutes this season and he scored more than 50 points in 4 out of his last 5. He is going up against the Bulls, a team that plays at a high pace but is also good enough to keep the game close and keep LeBron in the game. The more he plays, the more points he will score!
Tatum is playing against the Wizards. Do I need to say more? He will play at least 32 minutes and his floor is around 40 points but he is now playing against a team that doesn’t want to defend and is playing at a high pace. Perfect set up, for a big game.
Mid Priced
Khris Middleton (11.4m) and Jaylen Brown (12.1m) will definitely be in my player pool, as they both have consistent performance and reliable usage.
Brown benefits from the matchup, see Tatum above, and Middleton is going up against a good team, that should keep the game competitive.
The problem with the players from the Bucks is the minutes they are playing because usually, they blow out teams, and the main guys play less than expected. The Jazz should be able to keep the game close and to extend Middleton’s minutes to mid-30s, which will put him on track for a 40 fantasy points game.
Value Picks
At the lower salary levels, Kelly Oubre (7.7m) and Davis Bertans (6.9m) are worth the risk, although they both play in difficult games. Both have the potential to give us enough points that will make their salary worthwhile.
Oubre is inconsistent this season but tends to have a good game, followed by a bad game, so now since he had 15.25 in the last game, we are due for a good game, right?
Bertans started the season so badly, shooting 20% from 3 point range, which is awful if you consider he has 42% for his career. But, he has at least three 3pointers made in his last 5 games and is playing 30+ minutes in the last two, averaging 26.5 fantasy points. These numbers make me optimistic and with his price being so low, I think he can hit value easily.
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Power Forwards
Top Picks
Giannis Antetokounmpo (16.2m) is the best player, not only in the regular NBA, but also in the Fantasy NBA for the last 2 years, so, yes, I will have him in my teams, especially tonight, going up against a good team in what could be a close game.
He has played 30+ minutes in 4 games this season and he scored 57.75/57.25/67.25/61.75 fantasy points. He does not actually need to play so much to hit 60 points to be fair, but it is nice to have that security.
My next choice would be Julius Randle (14.2m), a player who looks reborn this year and does amazing things not only on the floor but also in Fantasy. He is averaging 53.2 fantasy points, in 38 minutes, and he is going up against the Thunder, who don’t have anyone to stop him.
Mid Priced
Zion Williamson (11.5m) and Pascal Siakam (10.9m) are appropriately priced and play against opponents that cannot limit them, so they will be in my player pool.
Zion has 2 straight games where he scored 43 fantasy points and 3 games in a row where he played more than 33 minutes. As long as he is out there on the court, he will produce fantasy points for us and the Hornets have no one to match his physicality.
Raptors are off to an awful start and part of that is because Siakam is playing poorly. He has scored 36.5 and 51.75 fantasy points in his last 2 games and tonight he is going up against the Kings, a team that likes to run and not particularly fond of defending.
Value Picks
Marvin Bagley (7.4m) has 3 triple-doubles this season and has 23+ fantasy points in 6 out of his 8 games. If Fox is out, the Kings are going to need all the offense they can get, and Bagley is on top of that list. He is a high-risk, high reward type of play but at 7.4 he is worth it.
Similar to Bagley, Eric Paschall (6.2m) can give you anywhere from 6 to 30 fantasy points on any given night. He has 21+ fantasy points in 3 out of his last 4 games and really looks good out there on the court. He seems to be benefiting from the return of Green, instead of being impacted, so at 6.2m, I am willing to take a shot at him at this NBA Monster slate.
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Centers
Top Picks
For those of us who play NBA Fantasy for a long time, Christian Wood’s (13.2m) production this season is not surprising. We knew that all he needed to give us fantasy points was to be on the floor, so now that he plays close to 36 minutes, it is no wonder he has an average of 45.2 fantasy points.
If he plays tonight, he will be one of my top Center choices.
The same goes for his opponent tonight, Nikola Vucevic (12.9m). The Montenegrian is one of the most stable and reliable players, not only in the league but also in Fantasy. He consistently gives 40+ points, every night, without anyone realizing it and that is why usually he goes under-owned in NBA Fantasy Tournaments.
Mid Priced
Jonas Valanciunas (10.5m) and Thomas Bryant (9.5m) will be two players in this mid-price tier, which I will be targeting in tonight’s NBA Monster. Both of them have favorable matchups since their opponents are not famous for their interior defense.
Valanciunas is the safer choice, a steady producer of around 30-35 fantasy points and Bryant is the riskier one, since he has more upside but also has a very low floor.
Value Picks
Mitchell Robinson (7.9m) is an excellent per-minute producer and he is now getting a lot of minutes, so he seems to be a good choice, especially given his price tag.
If Wood is out, then DeMarcus Cousins (6.1m) becomes a must-play. In the previous game against the Pacers, he started in the place of Wood, and ended up with 40 fantasy points in 24 minutes!
He is an amazing fantasy producer and can give us a lot of points in limited minutes and you cannot ask for more from a 6.1m guy.
Check out our NBA Player Fantasy Points Projections
Leave your comments, tips, and feedback to the NBA 50k Friday Monster here in the comment section. Good luck!
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