NBA – Industry Expert Consensus – January 26th

What a beatdown the Warriors put on the Spurs last night in Oakland.  Golden State is one a completely different level than any other team in recent history.  They have now beaten the Cavs, Bulls and Spurs by at least 30 points…all of these took place in the last 8 days!!

In an unusual twist, we see two players with double-digit numbers next to their names in the Consensus today.  It is rare to see anyone with that high of a number, let alone two on the same day.  There is some affordable talent in the Highly Touted category today so it should make our Lineup Construction fun.  If you have not taken notice, then check out Brad’s NBA – Industry Expert Grading article where he explains what we’ve been doing here with our Lineup Construction.  The returns have not been fruitful yet; however, we expect that to change.  There was a slight switch this week with myself and Brad taking on the DraftKings lineups and Stephen shifting to FanDuel.

The numbers in the parenthesis are the number of experts that picked that player to give you more context as to the gaps between players and the tiers.

Highly Touted

• Archie Goodwin (11x) – His price has yet to catch up to his production.  Still undervalued at $4500 on DK tonight.  Goodwin has posted 22ppg since taking over the starting role.
• DeMarcus Cousins (10x) – Boogie has been out of his everloving mind!  He is trying to single-handedly keep the Kings in the 8th spot in the West.  He has 11 straight double-doubles and dropped 56 points last night against Charlotte.  The game went two overtimes and Boogie played 46 minutes so let’s hope he doesn’t have heavy legs tonight.
• Robert Covington (8x) – Covington has emerged from the doghouse in a big way.  Over his last five games, he’s averaging 17ppg and 6.8rpg.
• Ish Smith (7x) – Smith is posting 15.2ppg and 8.8apg over the last five.
• Willie Cauley-Stein (7x) – The pride of Spearville, Kansas has averaged 32.8 minutes/game over the last four.  In those games, he’s putting up 9.8ppg and 10.5rpg.
• Damian Lillard (7x) – Had a big night on Saturday with 36 points.  Has a favorable matchup tonight against the Kings who struggle to defend the PG position.

Recommended

• Devin Booker (6x) – Booker is scoring 23.7ppg over the last three.
• DeMar DeRozan (6x) – DeMar has topped the 30-point plateau in three of the last four games.
• Russell Westbrook (6x) – Westbrook is a safe play every night as he stuffs the points, rebounds and assists categories.
• Kevin Durant (6x) – Durant has a double-double in three of the last five games and is scoring 27.2ppg over that stretch.
• Khris Middleton (5x) – Middleton is averaging 23ppg over the last five and has topped 20 points in nine of the last 10 games.
• Chris Bosh (5x) – The Heat have struggled to field a healthy team lately.  Bosh will continue to be relied upon to score big on a nightly basis.
• Chris Paul (5x) – Another C(K)hris in our Recommended category!  Paul has a double-double in three of the last five games.
• C.J. McCollum (5x) – McCollum has put up 27ppg over the last three contests.
• Salah Mejri (5x) – WHO?!?  Mejri put up 10 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks on Sunday opposite the Rockets.
• Deron Williams (5x) – When I think of Deron Williams, I think of that hideous tattoo he had in college of a basketball and the state of Texas.  He is coming off a putrid performance against the Rockets on Sunday.

Suggested

• Tyson Chandler (4x) – Chandler grabbed 27 rebounds against the Hawks that last time out…you read that correctly!  He is averaging 23.5rpg over the last two.
• Jabari Parker (4x) – Parker has two double-doubles in the last five.  He has averaged 11ppg, 5.8rpg and 3.2apg over that stretch.
• Paul George (4x) – His scoring has been down of late but he put up 34 his last time out.
• Brook Lopez (4x) – He absolutely destroyed the Thunder on Sunday with 31-10.  Has three double-doubles in his last five games.
• Chandler Parsons (4x) – Parsons looks healthy and his numbers show that too.  Putting up 29ppg over the last three.
• Victor Oladipo (3x) – Oladipo is coming off a dud last night against the Grizz.
• Alex Len (3x) – If you thought Tyson Chandler grabbed every rebound in the Suns’ last game, you’d be wrong.  Len put up 16 points and 12 boards on Saturday against the Hawks.
• Dwyane Wade (3x) – Wade has posted 25ppg, 5rpg and 4.5apg over the last two.
• Myles Turner (3x) – Has scored in double-digits in each of the last five games.  Averaging 18.4ppg over that stretch.
• P.J. Tucker (3x) – It feels like Tucker is 40 years old…but he’s still only 30.  Has averaged almost 30 minutes/game over the last five and that includes an outing of only six minutes.

Good luck everyone and catch us tomorrow for the next edition of Expert Consensus.

Follow me on Twitter @mbutlerok.