Raptors FanDuel Options vs. Memphis for Tonight's SB Nation Tournament

In case you missed it, FanDuel and SB Nation are getting together and holding an exclusive FanDuel one-day fantasy basketball tournament tonight. You can read all about that here, sign up for FanDuel here if you're not already a member, and register for tonight's tournament here.

If you're a homer like me, you'll probably enjoy the idea of throwing at least one Raptor into your lineup for rooting purposes tonight. Here are my quick takes on some of your options from this evening's tilt with the Memphis Grizzlies:

Preferred Plays

PG Kyle Lowry ($8,300)

Mike Conley is a stout defender, but Lowry has a history of getting up to play his former team and the guy he used to back up. In their last meeting, Lowry put up 22 points, seven rebounds, 12 assists, a steal, and a block, while hitting four triples. He's averaging 36.0 fantasy points per game (FPPG) over his last three and is one of the top point guard plays tonight. He's in my lineup, in fact.

PF Amir Johnson ($5,000)

Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph are one of the best defensive frontcourts in the business, but surprisingly the Grizzlies give up more FPPG to power forwards than to any other position. Amir is the kind of athletic four that can give ZBo a bit of trouble, so look for him to bounce back from a down performance versus Utah on Saturday. His minutes have been trending up since returning from an ankle injury five days ago and he should get a healthy dose of time on the floor in a game where his defense upfront will be crucial (to wit, he played over 30 minutes in both contests versus the Grizz last season).

Risky With Upside

C Jonas Valanciunas ($6,100)

JV has been a very inconsistent center option this year, but might tempt you because he's coming off a 17-point, 14-rebound, 2-block performance with zero turnovers. On the other hand, he's going up against former Defensive Player of the Year, Marc Gasol. Jonas put up 23 points and nine boards in their last meeting, but only four and seven in the one before that. He's a risky pick, but the upside is clearly there if you can stomach it.

Fade

SG DeMar DeRozan ($7,900)

DeMar has been a fairly consistent FanDuel option at shooting guard, with the exception of the game against the Chicago Bulls when he was smothered by Jimmy Butler. Having to deal with the likes of Tony Allen and Courtney Lee on the wings tonight makes me a little worried about a similar outcome, so I'm fading DD ever so slightly.

SF Terrence Ross ($5,100)

T-Ross was putting together a good string of performances before posting a dud versus the Utah Jazz on Saturday. He's got pretty lousy career splits versus Memphis (6.3 points per game, 35.7% shooting from the field, 7.7% from long range in four games), so he should probably be left out of your lineup tonight.

Low-Priced Options

PF Patrick Patterson ($4,500)

As stated above, this feels more like an Amir game than a 2Pat one. That said, the absence of James Johnson might mean more minutes for Patterson off the bench and he might follow up his solid 16 points and 5 rebounds from Saturday with another inexpensive gem. I wouldn't build a lineup around him, but he could be a nice high-upside filler piece when putting the finishing touches on your roster.

PG Greivis Vasquez ($3,900)

Vasquez is currently slumping pretty hard, averaging a paltry 8.7 FPPG over his last three contests. I wouldn't consider rostering him tonight.

SG Lou Williams ($3,700)

Sweet Lou is coming off his best FanDuel night of the season (20.4 FP), but he's been very inconsistent and hard to trust. Unless you're down to $3,700 at the end of your roster construction and desperately need a SG, I'd look elsewhere.

Note: Even though this is a sponsored post with affiliate links, all of the opinions in this post are my own. And as an FYI, FanDuel gave me some cash to play its daily fantasy games.