MCW is primed for a bigger role with the Magic and it could start paying dividends for fantasy owners today.
See below for a breakdown of value plays for tonight’s slate of games on Fan Duel by FantasyPros.
Khem Birch (ORL) $5,800
Birch has filled-in for Nikola Vucevic in the past, and it appears he’s going to be one of the focal points of the offense with Vooch being shipped off to Chicago. In the first game without him, Birch played 37 minutes and collected a career-best 53 fantasy points. While we’re unlikely to see that again, we can’t fade a sub-$5K player in a role like this!
Kyle Lowry (TOR) $6,600
Now that Lowry doesn’t have this trade stuff hanging over his head, look for him and the Raptors to play more freely. While he did struggle a bit in his last two games, we’re still talking about a dude who’s averaging 37 fantasy points per game. That’s a great total from a $6,600 player, and we haven’t even discussed this matchup. Portland currently ranks 29th in defensive efficiency while surrendering the most fantasy points to opposing point guards.
Michael Carter-Williams (ORL) $5,300
Someone needs to run things in Orlando, and it looks like it will be MCW. It was one thing when he got the starting job for Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony, but now that Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier are out of the picture, too, Carter-Williams should feast. He’s been solid with all of them anyway, averaging 24 FanDuel points per game. Look for that to be his floor from now on, flirting with the impressive averages we saw in his Philly days.
Robert Covington (POR) $6,400
RoCo has been a really dependable player for over a month now, and it’s hard to understand why he remains so affordable. The defensive stud is averaging 33 FanDuel points per game across 36 minutes a night over his last 13 outings. That’s a stellar total from someone in this price range, especially when you see that he faces a Toronto team that surrenders the third-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards.
Montrezl Harrell (LAL) $7,200
With Anthony Davis and LeBron James out of the Lakers lineup, Harrell is their go-to guy. In fact, he leads the team with a 28 percent usage rate with those guys on the sidelines, providing 1.34 FD points per minute. That’s a heck of a total, and it’s led to him scoring at least 29 FD points in nine of his last 10 games while generating a 37-point average in that span. We certainly expect that to continue against a mangled Magic lineup too.
Chuma Okeke (ORL) $5,300
It’s unclear exactly who will receive minutes and usage in Orlando, but Okeke is as good of a bet as anyone. We say that because he had 22 points, six rebounds and four assists in the first game for this new-look roster, doing that damage in 37 minutes of play. He’s easily one of the most talented youngsters on this roster, and they’re going to play him big minutes to see what this first-round pick can do. Los Angeles’ defense isn’t as scary as you may think, posting one of the worst defensive ratings since James and Davis’ injures.
Dennis Schroder (LAL) $7,700:
Schroder has been handling the ball a ton with James out of the lineup, generating a 27 percent usage rate with him off the floor. That huge bump to his role has led to the most productive stretch of his season, scoring at least 26 FD points in seven-straight games while averaging 36 fantasy points per game across his last six outings. The Magic have been killed by point guards all year, too, owning a 28th OPRK against them this season.
Will Barton (DEN) $5,900
Barton has quietly turned his season around, and this price is not a good indication of how good he’s been. In fact, Will the Thrill has scored at least 24 FD points in 12 of his last 14 games, averaging 28 fantasy points per game in that span. That form is nice, but we love this matchup against a 22nd-ranked Atlanta defense.