After Saturday’s game was postponed, the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers are expected to return to the court on Monday night in what was supposed to be the second game of their back-to-back set. Even with the extra time off, though, the Spurs listed Jeremy Sochan ($5,900; back) as questionable with a nagging back injury that has caused him to miss two of the Spurs’ last four games, including their most recent contest, which was last Wednesday in Milwaukee. Keldon Johnson ($4,500) stepped up in that game, and if Sochan is out on Monday, he’ll again be in a great spot to be a DFS value play.
Sochan has started 19 of his 22 games this season, averaging 29.0 minutes per game and producing a career-high 13.4 points to go with 8.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest. With Sochan off the floor, Johnson, Stephon Castle ($3,600) and Julian Champagnie ($3,700) get boosts in production, but of the three, Johnson has been the most effective lately and should be a great value whether you play the full slate or a contest focused on the Night slate with the two late games.
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SF/PF Keldon Johnson at Los Angeles Lakers, $4,500
Johnson stepped up with a huge double-double on Wednesday. He finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 41.75 fantasy points while playing 25 minutes while Sochan was out. That was Johnson’s second double-double of the season and first since November.
His big game was a continuation of a recent trend, though, as the sixth-year forward from Kentucky has been picking up his production lately. He has double-digit points in seven straight games, averaging 25.9 fantasy points per game on 15.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
Johnson has a high ceiling when he’s on top of his game and the Spurs are giving him a little more run with the constantly-shifting second unit. Johnson brings an excellent ceiling for DFS contests from his very affordable salary of only $4,500, especially if Sochan’s absence opens up more usage.
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