Monday's eight-game slate was an exciting one. Jayson Tatum performed like most would expect him to without Jaylen Brown in the picture and led all players in Fantasy points with 34 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. A few other unexpected players weren't far behind him by the time the final buzzer sounded at the end of the night. Six more games are set for Tuesday, and we'll go over who's hot, who's not, and a DFS play ahead of the action here.
Who's hot
Thomas has finally been let loose and eclipsed 40 points for the second time in his career with 47 points, four rebounds, and three assists. That performance against the Los Angeles Clippers came on the heels of a 44-point outburst against the Washington Wizards over the weekend. Spencer Dinwiddie's impending inclusion in the starting lineup will likely slow Thomas down significantly, but he's undoubtedly been the biggest name in the Fantasy Basketball space over the past few days. Whether he can remain a consistent rotation player for the Brooklyn Nets moving forward remains to be seen.
White's scoring average is 10.8 points per game this season. While that's his lowest mark since his sophomore season with the San Antonio Spurs, he's picking up steam with Marcus Smart out of the picture. The Boston Celtics guard has averaged 17.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists over his previous seven games while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from deep. His value will surely drop again when Smart is back in the mix following the All-Star break, though.
Allen's scoring and rebounding numbers have dropped some since his All-Star campaign in 2021-22, but he's off to a strong start in February. The Cleveland Cavaliers center has averaged 19.7 points and 10.7 rebounds on 77.8 percent shooting over his first three outings of the month. Kevin Love's removal from the rotation appears to be helping the big man, as he's averaged 16.4 points and 10.0 rebounds since the veteran stretch four last played.
Who to buy
It's not hard to guess that a few Golden State Warriors players will get boosts in productivity while Steph Curry misses at least four weeks with a leg injury. While Jordan Poole might be the most popular option, I might like Thompson just a little more. The sharpshooter received his fair share of criticism early in 2022-23, but he's coming off one of the best shooting months of his career. Thompson averaged 27.0 points across 10 games in January and has scored at least 29 points in his previous five games without Curry while shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep.
DFS play
Most people will be locked in on Cam Thomas and Edmond Sumner now that it's clear Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith won't play for the Nets against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, so I'll pivot elsewhere. Valanciunas is ready to return to the hardwood after sitting for one game with a quad injury and has had plenty of success against the Atlanta Hawks' Clint Capela. He and Capela have started against each other nine times, and Valanciunas posted seven double-doubles in those contests while boasting averages of 17.6 points and 12.0 rebounds. His Pelicans averages vs. Capela are 18.3 points and 14.7 rebounds. Zion Williamson's absence should help Valanciunas keep up his strong track record in this matchup.
Still deciding who to lock in for your DFS roster? We've identified a player worth locking in and one to avoid ahead of tip-off below, but you can get my full selection of stud and value plays at each position by heading over to SportsLine.