Yesterday was a tough loss to swallow as I nailed the best pick of the day with Trevor Ariza. I finished just out of the money thanks to poor efforts from C.J. Watson and Aaron Brooks. I'm going to do a slate of games for early and late, finishing up with the late one in the comments section. Here's my picks for today, some of which could change as news breaks throughout the day.
PG - Kyle Lowry, $8400 - Lowry has the potential to put up an elite effort but doesn't quite have the price tag to match. He's a pretty safe play and I'm not worried about Stephen Curry's defense. His ankle injury is a little concerning so I'll be keeping an eye on reports coming out of Toronto this afternoon.
SG - Victor Oladipo, $6900 - I thought of going with Jameer Nelson too but I think the upside is better with Oladipo. My hope is people shy away from him after a tough game last night. He had a monster game against the 76ers a few games ago and I expect him to bounce back.
SF - Jimmy Butler, $5400 - Love the home matchup and he plays huge minutes and can fill the stat sheet. The rib injury appears to be a thing of the past.
PF - DeMarre Carroll, $5100 - With no Paul Millsap, Carroll has been counted on to do more on the offensive end. He's a great rebounder as well and while Millsap is out I think there's a pretty safe floor here.
C - Nikola Vucevic, $7800 - Expensive, yes but like Gortat (37 FPs) last night, Vucevic should be looking at a double-double today. Expect him to be heavily owned.
G - Lance Stephenson, $6900 - Rarely does Lance not reach his value and he's going to handle the ball more if George Hill is out again.
F - Maurice Harkless, $3600 - Needed a good punt play and the matchup fits here. Harkless has been getting 30-plus minutes a game and scored double-digits in three straight.
Util - Markieff Morris, $5900 - I might change this as the day goes on but Morris has been a solid fantasy contributor over his few games and has at least 18 points in five of his last six games.
Again, I'll post more comments below and hope I don't regret fading Jameer Nelson. I entered all 50/50 contests that were $10 and under, totaling $106. I come into the day $150 in the hole.