Game Breakdowns:

This article is a collaboration between Joshua Lewis and Joshua Kay , the NBA Daily Fantasy experts for the Fantasy Fix.

Cleveland Cavaliers @ New York Knicks – Start Time 8:00 PM

Notable stats

• New York is 27th in defensive efficiency ( 107.2 )
• New York is last in pace ( 91.91 )
• Cleveland is 6th in offensive efficiency ( 107.1 )
• Cleveland is 18th in defensive efficiency ( 104.7 )

SPIN ( CLE ):  Cleveland finally appears to be figuring things out on offense.  Kevin Love ( $8,900 ) has been more involved, and the Kyrie Irving ( $9,300 ) and LeBron James ( $11,700 ) are more comfortable with each other on the court.  The Knicks are a mess defensively, and they are near the bottom of the league in total rebounding rate.  Cleveland should have no trouble scoring, but the trick is figuring out who is worth targeting.  Amar’e Stoudemire has joined the starting lineup, and if he draws the start again, Kevin Love is going to have a field day.  Stoudemire is a total liability on defense, and he has absolutely no hope of slowing Love down.  Irving is a strong play as well, as he’ll be matched up with defensive turnstile Jose Calderson.  LeBron is LeBron and he’s always a good play if you can afford him, but that might be difficult tonight.  He can be safely faded due to price and the difficulty of constructing solid lineup around him.

SPIN ( NY ): Cleveland is still struggling on defense.  They’re not quite as bad as they were at the beginning of the season, but despite Kyrie Irving’s new “dedicated to defense attitude”, he’s still very bad at it.  Jose Calderon ( $5,600 ) is a solid play at an affordable price given his excellent matchup with Irving.  Amar’e Stoudemire ( $5,500 ), assuming he starts again, draws a favorable matchup as well, given Cleveland’s rank of 24th against opposing power forwards.  He’s priced like a bench guy, but he’s played 37 minutes in his last two games, and his hasn’t seen a commensurate price increase.  He’s one of the top price-dependent plays on the  board.  Carmelo Anthony ( $9,900 ) is a safe fade given he is simply overpriced and will have to deal with LeBron.

Summary:

All Games – Kyrie Irving – PG, Kevin Love – PF, Jose Calderon – PG, Amar’e Stoudemire – PF

GPP Only – None

Indiana Pacers @ Portland Trail Blazers – Start Time 10:00 PM

Notable stats

• Indiana is 27th in pace ( 93.56 )
• Indiana is 25th in offensive efficiency ( 98.7 )
• Portland is 6th in defensive efficiency ( 100.3 )
• Indiana is 2nd in rebounding rate ( 53.3 )
• Portland is 3rd in rebounding rate ( 52.6 )

SPIN ( IND ):  The Pacers are the least attractive team to target tonight.  They’re on the road against a very good Portland team that plays good defense and is among the best teams in the league at rebounding.  The Pacers, on the other hand, are among the worst teams in the league in terms of scoring, and Vegas has them listed as the biggest underdogs in the lowest projected scoring game of the day.  The more expensive Pacers are not recommended options.  C.J. Watson ( $3,000 ) is a very good value play today that also offers necessary cap relief on a short slate.  In his 3 games back from injury, he’s played 18, 19, and 25 minutes, averaging a fantasy point per minute in each contest.  With production like that, and his minutes on the rise, he should be locked into every lineup tonight as the best cheap play on the board.

SPIN ( POR ):  Portland is facing a Pacers team that plays extremely slow, rebounds very well, and is middle of the pack defensively.  The expensive Portland options are a tough sell tonight.  Despite Indiana’s weak ranking against opposing point guards, Damian Lillard ( $8,700 ) is too expensive to be a recommended option for cash games tonight, but his upside always puts him in the GPP conversation.  LaMarcus Aldridge ( $9,600 ) is producing elite numbers, but is still a bit underpriced.  He’s a safe option to deploy tonight, but temper your expectations.  He won’t blow up like he did against Denver, but due to the short slate, he should provide plenty of return on your investment.  Wesley Matthews ( $6,100 ) is a very strong option tonight.  He should draw Rodney Stuckey on defense, and the Pacers as a team do not defend three point shooters well.  Matthews has taken a ridiculous 41 three pointers over his last 4 games, and should be firing early and often in this matchup.  Feel free to deploy him in cash games and GPPs.

Summary:

All Games – C.J. Watson – PG, LaMarcus Aldridge – PF, Wesley Matthews – SG

GPP Only – Damian Lillard – PG

New Orleans Pelicans @ Golden State Warriors – Start Time 10:30 PM

Notable stats

• New Orleans is 20th in defensive efficiency ( 104.8 )
• New Orleans is 8th in offensive efficiency ( 106.1 )
• Golden State is 1st in defensive efficiency ( 95.4 )
• Golden State is 7th in offensive efficiency ( 106.7 )
• Golden State is 4th assist percentage ( 64.5 )

SPIN ( NO ):  New Orleans draws a very tough matchup against Golden State’s top-ranked defense.  Tyreke Evans ( $7,300 ) is a strong play tonight against Golden State’s 30th-ranked defense against opposing shooting guards.  Evans is the most likely candidate to keep New Orleans in the game, and given his ability to fill up the stat sheet across multiple, he’s a high floor, high ceiling player that makes for an excellent play on a short slate.  Anthony Davis ( $11,600 ) always has huge upside, and he’s a good option if you can fit him into your lineup, but he’s not a guy to build around tonight.  He’s simply too expensive to pay for in such a difficult matchup, but he’s in play in GPPs.  Jrue Holiday ( $7,400 ) is an interesting GPP play, but is tough to roster in cash games due to his inconsistent fantasy production.  He’ll square off against Steph Curry, who has made strides as a defender, but still can be exploited.  Omer Asik ( $4,300 ) is too cheap to be faded, even with Andrew Bogut opposing him.  Ryan Anderson ( $6,000 ) is always in play in GPPs because of his elite three point shooting, but is best left off of cash game rosters due to his elevated price relative to his average production.

SPIN ( GS ):  Golden State is always a great team to target.  They’re an excellent offensive team, and their 4th-ranked assist percentage is indicative of excellent ball movement, which results in nearly 2/3 of their field goals being accompanied by an assist.   This is an extremely important stat to take note of.  Even if someone isn’t scoring as much, it’s likely they’re earning a few assists passing to the other guys.  This creates a higher floor for all of the players involved.  Stephen Curry ( $10,200 ) should be a popular play tonight, and with good reason.  He produces elite fantasy totals, but doesn’t cost nearly as much as LeBron James or Anthony Davis.  He’s a recommended play in both cash games and GPPs.  Harrison Barnes ( $5,200 ) should draw Luke Babbitt on defense ( assuming Babbitt starts ), and should thrive in that matchup.  Barnes isn’t a high ceiling player, but given his price and his consistent production in a plus matchup, he’s safe to deploy in all game types tonight. Draymond Green ( $5,600 ) is cheap and has good upside, but due to his reliance on defensive stats, he can be very inconsistent.  He’ll also likely have some defensive responsibilities with Anthony Davis, which could get him into some foul trouble.  He’s in play in GPPs, but it’s better to look elsewhere in cash games given New Orleans’s 2nd ranked defense against opposing power forwards.  Klay Thompson ( $7,300 ) is safe to roster as well.  New Orleans is ranked 19th against opposing shooting guards, and his transformation this season into a guy that does more than just knock down shots has turned him into a high floor, high ceiling player.  He’s a great option on a short slate that should see lower than expected fantasy point totals across the  board.  Finally, don’t forget about Marreese Speights ( $4,900 ).  His per minute fantasy production is ridiculous, and even in limited minutes, he can produce enough to be useable in both cash and GPP lineups.  He’ll likely be on the floor when Anthony Davis is on the bench, and he should dominate New Orleans’s backup front court.

Summary:

All Games – Tyreke Evans – SG, Anthony Davis – PF, Omer Asik – C, Stephen Curry – PG, Klay Thompson – SG, Harrison Barnes – SF, Marreese Speights – PF

GPP Only – Jrue Holiday – PG, Draymond Green – SF