Monday’s NBA slate on DraftKings is a weird one for me. I was the guy that decided not to use anyone in the 76ers/Clippers game and boy did it hurt. To be fair, I would have won all my games if Avery Bradley had not been so terrible. Regardless, the 76ers play another high-powered offense tonight in Golden State. Denver plays at Indiana likely without Ty Lawson and the Bucks and Celtics are going to be playing without Rajon Rondo. Those three games have me weary heading into the night.

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Point Guard

Kyle Lowry hasn’t been his normal assisting self lately, but tonight against the Pelicans I think he’ll be fine. He’s averaging five assists per game in his last five and because of it is only averaging 33 fantasy points in those games. He has been playing 40+ minutes when the game is close and he has the talent advantage over guys like Brian Roberts, Austin Rivers, and anyone else who might see time at point guard for the Pelicans.

Brandon Knight has a matchup that he should be very good in tonight against the Celtics. Without Rajon Rondo, it is likely that a guy like Phil Pressey might be covering him all night. Knight is averaging over 39 fantasy points in his two games against them this season and he’s playing well right now. He has taken 17+ shots in four straight games and because of it he has responded with 34+ fantasy points in each of them.

Shooting Guard

Steph Curry plays the 76ers tonight and the last time he played them he went for 65 fantasy points and a triple double. A stat line of 18/10/12 is unlikely, especially for just 29 minutes, but I could certainly see 25/5/10 happening in a blowout. The 76ers are terrible against the three, they don’t rebound well, and they leave everyone open. Curry has to be the top play tonight.

Lance Stephenson is underpriced again tonight and faces off against Denver who he almost went for a triple double the last time they played. In that game, he put up 47 fantasy points because of his 23/10/7 stat line. He had a solid game last night, but didn’t go crazy against the Magic like I thought he would. It’s nice to see though that Stephenson can put up 34 fantasy points even when he doesn’t necessarily play his best or take as many shots as he should.

Small Forward

Josh Smith has a huge matchup advantage going into the Spurs and Pistons game tonight. With Leonard and Ginobli out, Smith is likely to be matched up with Marco Belinelli and Danny Green all night. It’s this kind of matchup that Smith should be able to dominate because he’ll lean more towards posting up over taking long twos. His upside is huge as we just saw in his last game going for 30/10/8/4/1 and 64 fantasy points. He’s doing a lot of everything right now, so ride the hot streak while you can.

Chase Budinger started for Kevin Martin when the news was out that he had a broken thumb, so I expect him to start again tonight. He played 29 minutes in that game with 12 shots taken. Those are all good numbers for a close to minimum priced player tonight. Against Houston, Budinger should benefit from a very high pace and should be able to manage 20+ fantasy points.

Power Forward

David Lee hasn’t been his normal dominant self, but his upside is there tonight if he plays. Make sure to keep an eye on his injury status as the day progresses, but if he plays he should do very well against the 76ers. They just got crushed last night against the Clippers and should have their hands full tonight. Lee scored 27 fantasy points in 26 minutes the last time these two met. If Lee doesn’t play tonight then look for Draymond Green to pick up the slack and be a good value option.

Jared Sullinger wasn’t that great last night, but he did have a great first half against the Mavericks. He ended with 29 fantasy points, but he had 20 or so in the first half. Sullinger did put up his fifth straight double double, so he still has that going for him. Tonight against the Bucks he should continue that streak and play 35+ minutes.

Center

Andrew Bogut is a very solid mid-range option tonight as long as he plays. He hasn’t played since the fourth, so keep an eye out on him just like David Lee for any injury news. He has been a rebounding force, and we just saw what DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin did against the 76ers. Bogut has 14+ rebounds in four straight games and has averaged 16 a game in his last three. It’s that kind of rebounding presence that makes me love him tonight as long as he gets the start. Jermaine O’Neal would get the start if Bogut doesn’t play.

Dwight Howard is super hot right now and if for some reason Kevin Love sits out again tonight then Howard could go for 50 rebounds. Ok, so maybe not 50 rebounds, but he has 20-rebound potential matched up against Ronny Turiaf. In his last two games, Howard is scoring at will averaging 30 points per game making 22 of 36 shots. With Nikola Pekovic playing, Howard played 33 minutes and had a stat line of 11/13/4/1/4 against the Timberwolves earlier this season.