We’ve got six games to choose from on this value-provided Saturday night in the NBA. Let’s dive into some of the top plays on the slate using the FantasyLabs Tools and metrics.
Also, don’t forget that for large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 150 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.
Note: Projections and Leverages Scores/Ratings may change throughout the day after this article is posted. The NBA DFS landscape changes quickly. Consult the Player Models directly for any updates as we get closer to lock.
Point Guard
Stud
The price tag on Ja Morant could be a little sticker-shock seeing him over $10,000 on DraftKings, but he has recorded three straight games over 50 DraftKings points. He leads the Memphis Grizzlies in points, assists, steals and is second in rebounds this season. Although a great tournament play on DraftKings tonight, I prefer Morant on FanDuel where he has an 87% Bargain Rating.
The Grizzlies matchup tonight against the 1-12 New Orleans Pelicans is as juicy as they come. This game total is tied for the highest on the slate at 221.5 as the Pelicans rank last in Defensive Rating this season. Morant’s usage rate is tied with Stephen Curry for the sixth highest in the league. His 26.5 points per game has him slotted fifth-best in the league as he has attempted 20.5 field goals per game. He has been an absolute star, and this matchup is incredible tonight.
Value
Eric Bledsoe is the first point guard that popped out to me right away. His minutes have increased rapidly as he played 40 minutes in their last game against the Miami Heat. The Los Angeles Clippers have won six games in a row as they look to make in seven straight tonight at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Clippers are already 2-0 against the Timberwolves this season, as Bledsoe posted a positive Plus/Minus in both games.
Bledsoe has a positive Plus/Minus in four of his last five games. The usage rate won’t be very high, but Bledsoe is a stat sheet stuffer. The Clippers have the highest implied total tonight at 114 points. The many opportunities that he will get tonight at his price tag on both sites offers great value on this slate.
Fast Break
The Wizards will be without Bradley Beal tonight as he is out due to personal reasons. That will provide a great opportunity for Spencer Dinwiddie. In the lone game that Beal missed this season, Dinwiddie had 34 points, six rebounds, and nine assists as he attempted 24 field goals. He made six 3-pointers and had a usage rate of 35.5%. The Wizards are still 4-point favorites tonight against the Orlando Magic on the road. Dinwiddie’s price is reasonable on both sites as it is the lowest he has seen since October 22nd.
Another player who benefits due to injury tonight is Dennis Schroder. The Boston Celtics will be without their points leader Jaylen Brown for the fourth straight game. In his last three games, Schroder has averaged 26 points per game while shooting 21.3 field goals per game. He leads the team in usage rate during that time with 31.2%, as he has played 39 minutes per game.
Schroder has a positive Plus/Minus in nine of their 12 games this season.
Shooting Guard
Stud
Fred VanVleet is the stud shooting guard on the slate tonight, kind of by default, without Bradley Beal and Jaylen Brown. That is not taking away from Van Vleet, who leads the Toronto Raptors in points and assists this season. He is averaging a career-high in points with 19.7 per game, minutes with 38.6 per game, and field goal percentage with 43.5%. The Raptors are the biggest favorites on the board tonight as they host the Detroit Pistons.
Pascal Siakam is expected to be back tonight after sitting out the last game due to the back-to-back. He will certainly take away some of the production from VanVleet tonight, but even when Siakam played two games ago, Van Vleet still had the most field goal attempts on the team with 14. The minutes aren’t going anywhere for VanVleet, so he will have plenty of opportunities tonight against the 2-9 Pistons.
Note: VanVleet was just listed as questionable tonight, so be sure to monitor his status.
Value
The highest-rated player in our FanDuel Model tonight at shooting guard is Devonte’ Graham from the New Orleans Pelicans. He has an 89% Bargain Rating in this matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies. Graham has struggled recently in his last five games as he has failed to score more than 30 DraftKings points in every game and has a negative Plus/Minus in all five games.
Despite the lack of production in the last five games, Graham is still averaging well over 30 minutes per game. He has double-digit field goal attempts in every game except for one this season. If we can get Graham to where he was earlier in the season when he was scoring around 35 DraftKings points per game, then we’ll be in business. He even had a 40-point DraftKings performance. Graham could look even better if Brandon Ingram continues to miss games.
Note: Devonte’ Graham is only PG eligible on DK
Fast Break
Since returning from injury, Malcolm Brogdon is starting to get back to how we are used to seeing him. In his last two games, Brogdon has averaged 27.5 points per game on 22 field goal attempts per game. He has been electric in the stocks department (steals and blocks), averaging two steals and one block per game. He has played 37 and 35 minutes since his injury, and this matchup against the injury-riddled Philadelphia 76ers could be another close game with heavy minutes. This spot gets even better if Caris LeVert is unable to play. He is questionable right now, so monitor his status on our news dashboard.
Note: Malcolm Brogdon is only PG eligible on DK
D’Angelo Russell still feels a little too cheap in this matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers. He missed both games where the Minnesota Timberwolves lost to the Clippers but is good to go tonight. Similar to Brogdon, since returning to action, Russell has been fantastic. He has averaged 23.3 points per game and seven assists per game while playing 36.3 minutes per game. He will likely be lower owned than his teammates Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, but I really like the value that he provides tonight.
Small Forward
Stud
Paul George is the highest-priced player on both sites tonight, and for good reason. He leads the Los Angeles Clippers this season in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. He leads the entire league in steals while ranking third in both points per game and usage rate. In his last meeting against the Minnesota Timberwolves, George shot just 4-20 but still managed to score 21 points and pull down 10 rebounds.
Without Kawhi Leonard on the team, it will continue to be the George show. Seeing the Clippers with the highest implied total and the matchup against the Timberwolves being the highest total on the slate makes George that much more appealing. With a few really good value pieces on this slate, paying up for George is probably the best route to go in cash games tonight.
Value
Josh Richardson provides value tonight, especially on DraftKings, where he has a ridiculous 98% Bargain Rating. He is only $3,300 compared to on FanDuel, where he is priced up at $5,300. He is another Celtics player who benefits without Jaylen Brown in the lineup. He has scored 20 or more DraftKings points in three straight games, but the upside is there for more.
In the last three games without Brown, Richardson has averaged 12 points per game and over 30 minutes per game. He has a positive Plus/Minus in each game while he is averaging nine field goal attempts. Richardson is a pure scorer off the bench, and at this price against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he provides a lot of value in a stars and scrubs build.
Fast Break
After his worst game of the season, Anthony Edwards is in a prime bounce-back spot tonight. Edwards shot 4-11 from the field last night with nine points and five turnovers. He still played 32 minutes despite the Timberwolves blowing out the Los Angeles Lakers 107-83. In the game before that, he had a career-high 48 points. In eight of his 11 games this season, Edwards has 40 or more DraftKings points. The Timberwolves and Clippers both rank in the top 10 in pace, which should allow for many fast break opportunities tonight. Edwards is second to Giannis Antetokounmpo in fast-break points this season, averaging 6.9 per game.
I am going right back to the Washington Wizards team with Kyle Kuzma. When you don’t have a top-five usage rating player in the lineup like Bradley Beal, it becomes a trickle-down effect to everyone else. Kuzma seems to be taking the trade from the Lakers to the Wizards personally as he has been outstanding this season. He is averaging 14.8 points per game while shooting a career-high 38.9% from 3-point range.
Kuzma is also averaging a career-high 9.1 rebounds per game. The Magic rank 22nd in allowing 11.2 offensive rebounds per game. Kuzma could get busy on the glass again tonight and maybe even record his fifth double-double of the season.
Power Forward
Stud
After an extremely slow start to the season, at least from a shooting perspective, Jayson Tatum has found his groove as of late. Of course, playing without Jaylen Brown helps, but Tatum has averaged a double-double on 27 points per game and 11 rebounds per game in his last three games. He is a streaky player who is hot right now, so it’s time to jump on board.
The Celtics are only 2.5-point favorites tonight on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Could they possibly play their fifth OT game of the season? The OT games have led Tatum to having the second-highest minutes played this season with 37.6 per game. Getting that many minutes without Brown provides a lot of opportunities for Tatum to exceed his price tag tonight. I especially love Tatum on FanDuel, where he has a 94% Bargain Rating.
Value
Isaiah Stewart let a lot of people down last night as he was in foul trouble early in the game, and then the Detroit Pistons got blown out by 20 points. Both the blowout risk and foul trouble risk are still in play tonight, but I love going back to the well with Stewart. He still played 24 minutes and pulled down seven rebounds with two blocks and two points.
The Pistons will be without Kelly Olynyk for the foreseeable future due to injury. Stewart is the highest-rated center in our DraftKings Model tonight. The matchup against the Toronto Raptors certainly isn’t ideal, but the price tag for Stewart on both sites is appealing. He may also be lower owned after burning people last night.
Note: Isaiah Stewart is only eligible at C on DraftKings
Fast Break
Domantas Sabonis is the second highest-priced power forward behind Tatum, even though his price tag has come down quite a bit lately. Sabonis is the cheapest he has been all season on FanDuel at $8,700, where he has an 89% Bargain Rating. He still leads the Pacers in points with 18.3 per game and rebounds with 11.2 per game. He has recorded eight double-doubles in 13 games this season. The most interesting part of his game has been his lack of assists. His assist numbers are way down from the past two seasons. It may be due to new head coach Rick Carlisle’s scheme, but it is a bit concerning. However, if Caris LeVert is still out, Sabonis makes for a solid spend-up option tonight.
Tobias Harris was not slowed down at all after sitting out six straight games due to COVID-19. He played 37 minutes in his return as he finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. He had 18 field goal attempts with a 28.7% usage rate. Harris is exceptionally priced on FanDuel, where he has a 96% Bargain Rating. Last season in 19 games without Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, Harris averaged 39.8 DraftKings points per game. I would expect another high-usage game tonight in what should be a very competitive game against the Pacers.
Center
Stud
After burning people in their last game, Andre Drummond‘s price continues to rise on DraftKings. Drummond struggled against the Toronto Raptors as he only finished with four points and 12 rebounds on 2-8 shooting from the floor. With Joel Embiid sidelined, Drummond has become a DFS favorite for three slates in a row. I don’t see that changing tonight, even after the lack of production in his last game.
In four games without Embiid this season, Drummond is averaging 12.3 points per game, 18.0 rebounds per game, and 48.13 DraftKings points per game. The total in this game against the Indiana Pacers is the third-highest on the slate, which is a little surprising given the 76ers have the slowest pace in the league. I love going back to Drummond tonight, especially if his ownership is lower due to his price tag and his last game.
Value
Oh look, another Washington Wizards player! Daniel Gafford comes in as the best value center on FanDuel tonight as he is the highest-rated center in our models. Unfortunately, per usual, the center position is loaded again tonight, making him very hard to play on FanDuel, but he still makes for a great value play on DraftKings, where you can play two centers.
The price difference between Gafford and Montrezl Harrell has gotten out of control. Harrell is $1,900 more expensive on DraftKings and $3,200 more on FanDuel. The price tag on Harrell hasn’t come down since Gafford returned from injury. Harrell has averaged only 3.4 more minutes per game in their last three games. I love the value that Gafford provides on this slate, I just wish he was PF eligible on at least one of the sites tonight.
Fast Break
Jonas Valanciunas has been one of the best big men all season. He is a walking double-double averaging 20 points per game and 13.8 rebounds per game. He has had a double-double in 11 straight games. The rebounding numbers will surely be put to the test tonight as the Memphis Grizzlies rank in the top five in Rebounding Percentage this season. Valanciunas remains an incredible value on FanDuel, where he has an 89% Bargain Rating. He has had a positive Plus/Minus in every game this season except for one. This play could get even better if Brandon Ingram continued to miss action as he has been out for seven straight games.
Karl-Anthony Towns is the highest-priced center on the slate tonight. The upside is always there with Towns, but he has been quite inconsistent this season. For instance, he had a 70-point DraftKings performance against the New Orleans Pelicans but has only had a positive Plus/Minus in three of his 11 games. I do prefer Towns more on FanDuel, where he has a 94% Bargain Rating. Among the Timberwolves’ big three with Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell, Towns has the lowest usage rate. The upside is still there for a big game, but keep him as a tournament-only option.
