Point Guard-
Plug Russell Westbrook into one of your point guard positions and move on. For the point guard position it is largely going to depend on the health and status of D'Angelo Russell. If Russell is a no go, Jordan Clarkson on DraftKings becomes an immediate start for me in this slate. If Russell is good to go, it makes the decision more difficult, as he is in a terrific spot but how healthy is he? If we do not know anything avoid this situation altogether in cash.
Jrue Holiday- DraftKings
Rajon Rondo- FanDuel and DraftKings- Just a safe guy who is going to get you the 25-30 points you need.
Shooting Guard
There are really three to four guys at the shooting guard position that you should target in this slate. The first two are pretty obvious, but C.J. McCollum and Victor Oladipo who both have been on fire lately. The next two players are players who have a little bit more risk, but you will save some money with. That is Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson. This is largely going to depend on the health status of D'Angelo Russell, but if Russell is out, using both in cash is not out of the question as when D'Angelo Russell is out, Clarkson's usage skyrockets to 28.6%.
Small Forward
Carmelo is the top guy on this slate and one of the top players overall. He has just been so consistent this season for cash games. All the other players at this position have risk. Kent Bazemore and Moe Harkless are intriguing, as they're both in good spots to succeed. Bazemore is safer than Harkless as Harkless has struggled his last two games but is in a good spot against Carmelo who is not a great defensive player.
Power Forward
Find a way to get Kristaps Porzingis into your lineup. The Trail Blazers are the second worst team in the NBA against power forwards and he is going up against Ed Davis who Porzingis has a large matchup advantage over. Anthony Davis is always in play in cash games, but this slate is more designed to get an abundance of very good players as there are not those dirt cheap punt plays that can help you build your roster.
Nikola Mirotic is cheap, but has been inconsistent.
Julius Randle is in a tough matchup here against Sabonis and Adams.
Paul Millsap is Mr. Reliable as he always seems to be right around the 40 point plateau and is a great option, but you'll have to spend up and the lineup dynamics may not work in your favor.
Center-
Keep an eye on the news here, as if Willy Hernangomez or Kyle O'Quinn are starting then they are both in play at near minimum salary. There is a ton of risk here, as they could get in foul trouble, they could start and then the other plays well and plays the rest of the game, but at their price they need very little to hit value.
Steven Adams has struggled recently, but is in a great spot as he has a very big athletic advantage over Timofey Mozgov and if the Lakers go small with Randle as their center Adams will have a four inch advantage over him in what should be the highest scoring game of the night.
Dwight Howard is the expensive option, but is more of a GPP play as there are not the value players that you want to see to spend up at center tonight.