Well the weekend is over and football is wrapped up, so now the full focus is back on the NBA for daily fantasy players. Tyreke Evans left a bad taste in my mouth on Friday night, but I do have to say I was relieved to know that he was actually hurt. I would have been sick to know he finished with negative points and nothing be wrong with him. That’s enough of the weekend recap so let’s get right to the Monday NBA daily fantasy plays.

THE ELITE STUDS

Carmelo Anthony – He’s about the only real scoring threat the Knicks have right now with JR Smith being pretty much done in New York. Carmelo is a guy who can add stats in other categories besides just scoring and that is the reason he will be on almost all my rosters Monday.

James Harden – Harden has been on an absolute tear lately going for 40 or more fantasy points in each of his last 5 games. That being said I can’t argue against him on Monday, but Boston is pretty solid in defending opposing back courts. Avery Bradley is an above average defender and will make it tough on Harden to hit value with the higher price tags now.

Anthony Davis – The Pelicans are banged  up and Davis might be the only player on the team that is healthy right now that is worth anything. Davis has went for 47 and 50 fantasy points in his last two and should be worth value with even more of the scoring load falling on his shoulders.  (Be careful though I don’t see the Pelicans hanging with the Spurs this game has blowout written all over it.)

NOW ONTO THE REST OF THE PLAYS

Dirk Nowitzki might be my favorite play for Monday as he’s shooting 53% at home this year and is matched up with a weak Orlando team. Orlando ranks near the bottom in stopping opposing PF’s and Dirk is on fire lately. He’s produced 56 and 48 fantasy point totals in the last 2 games and I expect that to continue.

Ty Lawson is playing some great basketball right now, but he is coming off his worst game in a while on Saturday. The previous 4 games he was able to post numbers to go over 40 fantasy points. He’s got a great match up on Monday as the Nuggets take on Utah who are in the bottom 5 in the last 10 games of defending the point guard. Lawson is actually averaging 2 points per game more on the road this year, so fire him up with confidence.

Demar  Derozan doesn’t have the best of match ups on paper looking at the Bucks ranking over the last 10, but I’m throwing that out for him. He’s been over 30 fantasy points in the last 6 games and over 40 in 3 of those. Derozan is not only scoring over 20 points per game but chipping in with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal per game. He’s been talked by some people as an MVP candidate this season and if you like the price it’s hard to argue with him as a play.

Joakim Noah and Carolos Boozer can just go together here. They are both playing basically for the pride of themselves right now as Chicago gave up when they traded Deng away. Noah has been on fire producing over 35 fantasy points in the last 6 games. He’s had double-digit rebounds in the last 8 games as well. Boozer is not as reliable as Noah, but with the lack of offense on the team then he’s a great option if you ask me. Washington is ranked pretty low in stopping the opposing PF spot  and Boozer is priced nicely on most sites. Boozer should play around his 30 minute mark and be good for a floor of around 25 fantasy points in this one.

AND THE VALUE GUYS TO FIT THE STUDS

Iman Shumpert has started to become a solid fantasy basketball option. He’s seen a price rise on some sites, but if you can still get him cheap I like the option. The Knicks have played him 30 or more minutes in 5 of the last 6 games. The one game he missed the 30 minute mark he went for 29 minutes.

Randy Foye is priced differently on several sites as I took look on Sunday night. If he’s cheap on the site you are playing on then lock him in. He’s consistently playing 30 minutes per game right now and he’s producing in that role. He’s gone for over 20 points in 2 of the last 5 games and has been 14 or more in 4 of the last 6. (Check Wilson Chandler’s status I like Foye either way, but he’s even better without Chandler.

Kris Kardashian ugh I mean Humphries is one of Brad Stevens favorite guys right now. Humphries has played over 30 minutes in the last 3 games and has produced in each of those games. He’s put up 31,44, and 20, so he’s been all over the board, but if he’s cheap where you are playing I like him on Monday against a Houston team that  has been towards the bottom of stopping opposing PF’s.

NOTES

I haven’t written about any guards in Spurs back court in this article. It’s to early to tell how this unfold but keep a close eye on what the Spurs roll out on Monday. Manu has been out, but could be back for Mondays game. If he’s still out and Danny Green sits after getting hurt Sunday, then Marco Belinelli is almost an automatic value play for me.

The Orlando Magic beat writer was tweeting about Jameer Nelson having several injuries on Saturday. If Nelson was to be out for some reason then I’m going to give a hard look at Oladipo as a value play.

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