ESPN's fantasy basketball daily cheat sheet is your pregame destination before you set your lineups for that night's games. Here you'll read our best advice for the night, including a selection of players you can stream as well as game-by-game injury reports.
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Top streamers | Best bets | DFS picks | Odds & injury report
What you need to know for Monday's games
Today tips off a unique week in the Association. The NBA Cup will dominate the schedule for the next eight days, with the knockout rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday, the semifinals on Saturday and the championship game early next week.
The upshoot for fantasy purposes is that this will be a relatively sparse week of games, so every game will really count. There are only three games on the schedule tonight, but there are still opportunities for fireworks.
The action starts in Indiana, where the Pacers host the Sacramento Kings. According to DraftKings, this is the game with the smallest spread on tonight's slate at 3.5 points, indicating this could be the most competitive game. Competitive games lead to starters playing more minutes and having more opportunity to produce.
The second game has the Phoenix Suns at the Minnesota Timberwolves, the only game tonight between two teams with winning records. The Suns are dealing with several key injuries to important players, including to star guard Devin Booker, which has led to the Timberwolves being listed as 9.5 point favorites. But the Suns are still dangerous: In the game Booker got hurt last week, the Suns still blew out the Lakers and ended their then-seven-game winning streak.
Finally, the New Orleans Pelicans host the San Antonio Spurs as 9.5-point home underdogs. The Spurs got good news on Sunday when both Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle were full participants in practice, indicating that both should be nearing a return to the court soon. But while Castle has been upgraded to questionable for Monday, neither are likely to play.
Let's dig further into the action below, to identify some fantasy hoops streamers, betting angles and DFS prospects of interest for this Monday night's games.
Monday's fantasy stream team
Maxime Raynaud, C, Sacramento Kings (rostered in 8.1% of ESPN leagues): Raynaud has been getting extra run with Domantas Sabonis sidelined, and his strong play has earned him the starting spot. Raynaud has proven himself a capable scorer and rebounder who can block shots, finish efficiently from both the field and the line, and even knock down the trey. In his past four games he has averaged 16.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG and 0.8 3PG.
Collin Gillespie, PG, Phoenix Suns (42.8%): Gillespie has settled in as a productive shooter/scorer for the injury riddled Suns. He has scored in double-figures with at least one 3-pointer in 11 straight games, and has started in four of the last five. In those four starts, Gillespie has averaged 21.5 PPG, 5.3 APG and 4.8 3PG.
Jay Huff, C, Indiana Pacers (17.6%): Huff has been an excellent shot blocker on a per-minute rate all season, and he has continued to produce as his minutes have ramped up. Huff has started the past five games for the Pacers, averaging 3.6 BPG in that stretch. Huff is also a good shooter from deep, averaging 2.2 3PG in those five starts.
Dre's bets for Monday
Zach LaVine OVER 21.5 points (-110)
LaVine has been inconsistent as a scorer of late. In his past eight games, he has three efforts of 26 or more points but also two single-digit scoring efforts. A closer look shows that LaVine's struggle games came against the Timberwolves and Rockets, Western Conference powers that rank first and third (tie) in the NBA for fewest points allowed to opposing shooting guards. Meanwhile, LaVine is coming off a season-high 42 points in his last outing, and on Monday faces a Pacers' defense that allows an NBA-high 26.3 PPG to opposing shooting guards.
Anthony Edwards OVER 29.5 points (-106)
Edwards has had down scoring efforts in two straight games, scoring 11 against the Pelicans on Thursday and 15 against the Clippers on Saturday. The two-game "slump" is noteworthy, because this is only the third time this season Edwards has been below 20 points in consecutive outings. The first time that it happened, Edwards dropped 37 points in the next game on Nov. 7. The second time it happened, Edwards dropped 41 points in the next game on Nov. 21. Ironically, that Nov. 21 game was against Monday's opponents, the Suns. Edwards is due for a big game and has already shown that he can score explosively against the Suns, so I'm looking for a bounce-back performance on Monday.
Top Daily Fantasy values of the day
Play Daily Fantasy NBA at DraftKings
$8100+ salaries
Anthony Edwards, SG, Minnesota Timberwolves ($9,500): Edwards is coming off consecutive low-scoring games, but in the six games before he averaged 38.3 PPG and 56.0 FP/G and on Monday he should be in for a bounce-back effort against the Suns.
Pascal Siakam, PF, Indiana Pacers ($8,800): Siakam is a consistent producer for the Pacers who has played well of late. Siakam has notched at least 47 fantasy points in three of his past five games, and at least 45 fantasy points in five of his past eight.
$6100-$8000 salaries
Zach LaVine, SG, Sacramento Kings ($6,800): LaVine is a high-variance player, capable of going significantly under or over expected value on a given night. This makes him a risky play, but if he pops against the friendly Pacers defense, he could put up max-price level production at a mid-range price point.
Rudy Gobert, C, Minnesota Timberwolves ($6,000): Gobert has notched 30 or more fantasy points in seven of his past 10 games, with a high mark of 50.8 fantasy points and a strong 35.5 fantasy point effort against Monday's opponents the Suns in that stretch.
$3500-$6000 salaries
Jose Alvarado, PG, New Orleans Pelicans ($4,600): Alvarado has been more aggressive on offense lately, leading to more fantasy points. In his past seven contests, Alvarado scored 39.8 or more points twice, then scored in the teens twice, before settling at a solid 25.0 FP/G in his past three outings.
T.J. McConnell, PG, Indiana Pacers ($4,500): McConnell is a reserve for the Pacers that regularly produce starter-level production. In his past nine games, McConnell has scored 28.8 or more fantasy points six times.
Bryce McGowens, SG/SF, New Orleans Pelicans ($4,300): McGowens has gotten more scoring opportunities with a larger role in the four games since Zion Williamson went down, scoring 15 or more points in three of the four games, which translated to more than 31 fantasy points in those three games.
Projections and injury reports
Basketball Power Index by ESPN Analytics. Injury aggregation by Rotowire.com. Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Sacramento Kings at Indiana Pacers
7 p.m. ET
Line: Kings +4.5 (-118) | Pacers -4.5 (-102)
Money line: Kings +150 | Pacers -180
Total: 234.5 (-115 O, -105 U)
BPI Projection: Pacers by 4.2, straight up 63%, 235.1 total points.
Injury Report:
Kings: Dennis Schroder, (GTD - Hip); Keegan Murray, (GTD - Arm); Domantas Sabonis, (OUT - Knee)
Pacers: Obi Toppin, (OUT - Foot); Tyrese Haliburton, (OFS - Achilles); Ben Sheppard, (OUT - Calf); Kam Jones, (OUT - Back); Quenton Jackson, (OUT - Hamstring); Aaron Nesmith, (OUT - Knee)
Phoenix Suns at Minnesota Timberwolves
7:30 p.m. ET
Line: Suns +8.5 (-120) | Timberwolves -8.5 (-102)
Money line: Suns +285 | Timberwolves -360
Total: 223.5 (-108 O, -112 U)
BPI Projection: Timberwolves by 7.1, straight up 70%, 233.1 total points.
Injury Report:
Suns: Dillon Brooks, (GTD - Ankle); Devin Booker, (OUT - Groin); Isaiah Livers, (OUT - Hip); Jalen Green, (OUT - Hamstring)
Timberwolves: None reported
San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans
8 p.m. ET
Line: Spurs -9.5 (-112) | Pelicans +9.5 (-108)
Money line: Spurs -440 | Pelicans +340
Total: 236.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
BPI Projection: Spurs by 8.4, straight up 73%, 236.0 total points.
Injury Report:
Spurs: Luke Kornet, (GTD - Ankle); Stephon Castle, (GTD - Hip); Jordan McLaughlin, (OUT - Hamstring); Victor Wembanyama, (OUT - Calf)
Pelicans: Dejounte Murray, (OUT - Achilles); Herbert Jones, (GTD - Calf); Jordan Poole, (OUT - Quadriceps); Zion Williamson, (OUT - Thigh)