After Saturday’s rest epidemic—special thanks go out to the Nets and Spurs—Sunday’s slate brings us seven games with a rare afternoon start time. Most Sundays have one or two matinee games, but four of the seven games on this slate start at 5 p.m. or earlier. Let’s take a look at Vegas’ lines on the Sunday slate.

Vegas lines and totals

Golden State (-16.5) @ L.A. Lakers – total of 222.5
Oklahoma City (-7.5) @ Milwaukee – total of 219
Phoenix @ Memphis (-10.5) – total of 207.5
Dallas (-3.5) @ Denver – 210.5
Portland (-1) @ Detroit – total of 206
Philadelphia @ Miami (-14.5) – total of 212
Houston @ Toronto (-7.5) – total of 214

The Warriors should crush the Lakers, especially if Kobe Bryant and Jordan Clarkson sit, while Thunder-Bucks has a high total as well but should be a much closer game, as OKC tends to play down to its opponent on the road. None of these games scream “Fade!” except maybe Suns-Grizzlies, but there’s always a good way to take advantage of the dumpster-fire Suns on any slate. With five of the seven games having spreads of at least 7.5 points, avoiding possible blowouts will be nearly impossible. My top plays below reflect that.

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POINT GUARD

Stephen Curry – Normally I’d have a bit of trepidation playing Curry with an ankle injury in a potential blowout, but I don’t like any of the point guards in the closer games quite as much. The Lakers are easily the worst team in the NBA at defending the PG spot and if Golden State dominates, Curry getting his 50-plus fantasy points will be a big reason unless his minutes are monitored, which could leave him as a better GPP play than cash.

Mike Conley – Like Curry, Conley may be involved in a blowout as well, but his lower price makes the risk a bit more palatable. Also like Curry, Memphis isn’t going to crush the Suns without a good game from its best player. The last two times Conley scored under 25 fantasy points—as he did against Utah in his last game—he’s come back to score 24 points. He should do it again against the swiss-cheese Suns defense.

Cheap risk option: Is it strange to suggest two players from the same team at one position? If so, feel free to ignore Mario Chalmers. If not, take advantage of a player whose minutes have been increasing with Tony Allen still out of the lineup. Chalmers has jumped from 21 minutes to 23 to 27 to 30 in his last four, and he’s easily hit value every step of the way. He pushed for 25 fantasy points in Memphis’ last game against Phoenix, and should be in a similar range Sunday.

SHOOTING GUARD

Khris Middleton – Middleton is scorching hot right now. He hasn’t missed value in three weeks and has two 30-point games in his last three. With his hot streak, consistency and a plus matchup against the Thunder, Middleton is the easy play at the two Sunday.

Dwyane Wade – Almost half of Sunday’s games are potential blowouts, making it difficult to avoid them entirely. Wade probably won’t clear 40 fantasy points like the last game against the 76ers if the game does get out of hand, but he should still be good for scoring in the mid-to-high 30s with the upside for more if the game stays close into the fourth quarter.

Cheap risk option: After a productive start where he scored 10 points in 22 minutes, Norman Powell is an intriguing min-priced punt Sunday against the Rockets. Houston struggles to guard the wings, which could result in a few open looks for Powell. If he can knock them down, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that he can reach 20 fantasy points. He’s at risk of a single-digit dud too, though.

SMALL FORWARD

Kevin Durant – I’m going to keep recommending Durant until he slows down, particularly in juicy matchups like Sunday’s with the Bucks. With five straight double-doubles and 30-plus points in four of those five contests, Durant has been completely unstoppable while Russell Westbrook has slumped a bit. Fire him up without hesitation Sunday.

Jerami Grant – Grant played 38 minutes Friday without Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, and both players will be sitting again Sunday. Grant should see upwards of 40 minutes at power forward once again against the Heat, and while he wasn’t great Friday, he still hit value on his price. I’m expecting a bit more from him in this game, and he should play well into the fourth quarter even if it’s a total blowout thanks to Philly’s lack of depth and his own youth.

Cheap risk option: In addition to Chalmers, Allen’s absence has also benefitted Lance Stephenson, who has scored in double figures in four of his last five games. As long as he sees 20-plus minutes Sunday, he should clear 20 fantasy points at a bargain price. His one single-digit scoring game of late came when he played just 16 minutes against the Kings.

POWER FORWARD

Draymond Green – Like Curry, there are some blowout fears with Dray on Sunday, but like the PG spot, there isn’t much to find in other games. I have just two players projected for over 30 fantasy points at the position, with Green likely clearing 40. His price dropped a few dollars after his last game as well, and the Lakers’ defense is porous enough to allow Green to have a nice game, especially if Curry is at all limited or has his minutes monitored.

Jabari Parker – The Thunder have been a tough matchup for most of the season, but lately Oklahoma City has been one of the worst teams at defending the PF spot. Parker is playing well and, like many of his Bucks teammates, has performed much better on his home court. I’m not expecting a huge game, but he should be a safe choice.

Cheap risk option: There are two nice options in the cheap PF range Sunday, with both David Lee and Richaun Holmes standing out. Holmes is much cheaper and is coming off a 30-point fantasy performance Friday, and he could see extra minutes if the 76ers are blown out. Lee isn’t quite as cheap, but he’s scored 30 or more fantasy points in three of his past four games. The Nuggets like to play small, which could mean less minutes for Zaza Pachulia and more for Lee.

CENTER

Hassan Whiteside – Whiteside continues to dominate with seven double-doubles in his past eight games, including a near 20-20 with two blocks Friday against Philadelphia. The 76ers have been destroyed by centers all season, and that shouldn’t change Sunday. It seems like I’m including a blowout warning on many of the top plays Sunday, which means this could be a really interesting slate from a GPP perspective. If you’re scared off by that, Andre Drummond vs. Portland is a very nice option as well.

Alex Len – Len would seem to be a safer choice than Whiteside, but Phoenix could be on the wrong side of a rough game against the Grizzlies, and I much prefer picking from the winning team when the blowout is in play. Memphis’ center defense has remained above-average without Marc Gasol, but it’s nowhere near the shutdown unit it once was. Len is putting up numbers that would put him on par with the top centers on Sunday’s slate, except he’s about $2,000 cheaper. Taking advantage is recommended.

Cheap risk option: It’s tough to gauge how much he’ll play after seeing just 14 minutes Friday, but Amar’e Stoudemire remains in Miami’s starting lineup and has played very well, even managing to hit value in Friday’s game despite the low minutes. The uncertain playing time makes him a definite risk, but one that comes with 25-point upside if he sees even 20 minutes on the court.

CASH GAME RANKS

This isn’t necessarily an order of who will score the most fantasy points. Rather, the rankings are aimed to find the best price, value and production combo to help you win cash games, also taking into account potential ownership levels for each player.

PG
1) Stephen Curry
2) Mike Conley
3) Kyle Lowry
4) Ish Smith
5) Emmanuel Mudiay
6) Mario Chalmers
7) Russell Westbrook
8) Goran Dragic
9) D’Angelo Russell
10) Reggie Jackson

SG
1) Khris Middleton
2) Dwyane Wade
3) DeMar DeRozan
4) Klay Thompson
5) Gary Harris
6) James Harden
7) C.J. McCollum
8) Wesley Matthews

SF
1) Kevin Durant
2) Jerami Grant
3) Robert Covington
4) Chandler Parsons
5) Giannis Antetokounmpo
6) Luol Deng
7) Tobias Harris
8) Trevor Ariza

PF
1) Draymond Green
2) Jabari Parker
3) David Lee
4) Kenneth Faried
5) Serge Ibaka
6) Zach Randolph
7) Dirk Nowitzki

C
1) Alex Len
2) Hassan Whiteside
3) Andre Drummond
4) Nikola Jokic
5) Amar’e Stoudemire
6) Dwight Howard
7) Jonas Valanciunas

As always, I’ll do my best to update this article as news breaks throughout the day if at possible, so follow me on Twitter @christripodi for last-minute updates and suggestions before the first game starts at 3:30 p.m.

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