We are getting to that point in the season where multiple teams decide to rest their star players at times in order to avoid the potential of long-term injuries. That's magnified when said team is out of the playoff race.
Such is the case for the Sacramento Kings, who will be sitting Rajon Rondo (rest), DeMarcus Cousins (rest) and Rudy Gay (rest) Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers. Reserve forward Marco Belinelli (foot) will also be sitting.
Both Rondo and Cousins have been fantasy dynamos this season. Rondo heads into the final two weeks of the regular season as the fifth-best fantasy point guard in the NBA. Meanwhile, Cousins is the top-ranked fantasy center in the Association.
Darren Collison becomes a decent under-the-radar play Monday against a poor defender in Damian Lillard. He put up 17 points, two rebounds and four assists Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks. Though, Seth Curry is the one you might want to take a shot on in this one. He's averaging 13.0 points in 24.5 minutes of action over the past two games.
With Cousins out, you are also going to want to look into taking a chance on Willie Cauley-Stein, who is averaging 23.5 points and 6.5 rebounds over the past two games. With Cousins out, expect the rookie to see 30-plus minutes of action Monday evening.