Monday was a big day for anyone who tunes in to CBS's daily fantasy basketball recap and DFS lookahead, as Andrew Nembhard finished as the main slate's top scorer after being highlighted as my favorite play. He tallied a career-high 31 points with eight rebounds and 13 assists in 41 minutes to beat out the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum and other stars. It's not likely that Tuesday's main slate will be nearly as surprising, but we'll go over who's hot, who's not, and give out another DFS play ahead of the three-game selection here.
Who's hot
Tyrese Haliburton and TJ McConnell sat out on Monday, which allowed Nembhard to torch the Golden State Warriors. The rookie point guard out of Gonzaga flirted with a triple-double and set career highs in minutes, rebounds, and assists after logging 37 minutes on Sunday. While this year's assist leader will likely take control of the Indiana Pacers offense later in Week 8, Nembhard's recent success could help him earn a larger role moving forward. He's averaging 11.8 points, 5.3 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game through 10 starts.
Only Nembhard scored more fantasy points than Antetokounmpo on Monday. The Milwaukee Bucks star cracked 30 points for his seventh straight game with 34 points and 13 rebounds in 33 minutes against the Orlando Magic. While a few missed games here and there have hurt his season-long fantasy standings early on, he's well on his way to the most impressive scoring season of his career. It'll be interesting to see how Khris Middleton's return affects that trajectory.
Embiid got right back to business after missing four games in a row toward the end of November. The Philadelphia 76ers big man notched 39 points and seven rebounds against the Houston Rockets on Monday to kick off Week 8. He's averaged 30.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, six assists, and 2.0 steals per contest since returning from injury. James Harden is working his way back from a lengthy absence, so several role players on the 76ers could be in for significant declines.
Who's not
VanVleet has been struggling since Pascal Siakam returned to the lineup. The Toronto Raptors point guard has averaged just 9.2 points, 5.4 assists, and 3.4 rebounds over his previous five games. VanVleet's shot a horrendous 27.4 percent from the field during that span on 12.4 shot attempts per game. His ejection from last week has definitely been a factor in his recent slide, but he still needs to find his rhythm in Week 8 now that his team's top scorer is back in the fold.
Tuesday DFS play
The Miami Heat are dealing with multiple injury designations like usual ahead of Tuesday's matchup against the Detroit Pistons. Jimmy Butler has been ruled out, Kyle Lowry is questionable, and Tyler Herro is day-to-day. Marvin Bagley has started against Adebayo three times in his career and gave up a double-double in all three matchups. Adebayo's averages 16.7 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game in those games are encouraging. Especially if two Heat starters are ultimately ruled out.
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.
