It’s a busy Saturday night in the NBA and while a few of the ten games are meaningful in real life, others are like preseason exhibitions, where anything might happen. We are always shopping for unexpected DFS values, especially at this time of year.
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At PG, Chris Paul $9700 could shred the Nuggets if he gets enough minutes, and Stephen Curry $9300 has a great matchup in Dallas. Among a lot of teams dealing with fatigue and injuries, the Blazers are incredibly resilient. Damian Lillard $7800 is playable, but the bargain is C.J. McCollum $3200, who scored a career-high 27 last night and has relatively fresh legs.
We loved Tyreke Evans $7600 at PG last night, he nearly triple-doubled and now he’s not eligible, having shifted to SG overnight. Eric Bledsoe $7900, DeMar DeRozan $8000 and Klay Thompson $7300 are other solid choices, but we’re also happy going cheap there with O.J. Mayo $3200, who was touted here yesterday and produced a whopping 46.8 FPTS for that tiny salary.
Gordon Hayward $7800 is the top-priced SF, though he’s not a must-start. Tobias Harris $6400 and Jeff Green $5600 are playing well, but there are value plays to consider. Otto Porter $3600 has done a nice job while Paul Pierce $4500 rests, and T.J. Warren $3300 is getting plenty of minutes off the Suns bench lately and has hit 22 of his last 31 shots.
We had a hunch that Anthony Davis $11400 would not be in full beast mode last night, as winning took priority over stat-stuffing. Now he faces LaMarcus Aldridge $9000 in another must-win situation for the Pelicans, who are a mere half-game back of Oklahoma City for a playoff berth. The PF position is loaded — Blake Griffin $8600 will put up huge numbers if he plays normal minutes, Nerlens Noel $7900 has been great and at the shallow end of the salary pool, Brandan Wright $5000 or Patrick Patterson $3800 could surprise.
Another guy we tipped here yesterday was Nikola Vucevic $7600, who shot 18-for-25, scored 37 points, grabbed 17 boards and gets the Bucks tonight. DeAndre Jordan $8100 has the same caveat (possible garbage time) as CP3 and Blake. Rudy Gobert $8400, Andre Drummond $8600 and Brook Lopez $8200 are all producing big numbers with some consistency. Possible bargains at a very deep spot include Jonas Valanciunas $6000 and Bismack Biyombo $3400, who appears to be taking over for Al Jefferson $6500 (knee) as the Hornets limp to the finish.
Last night’s stars-and-scrubs approach paid off; tonight we are aiming for balance. The only five-digit salary belongs to Davis, who we’d like better at home, rested and against an easier opponent. As always, breaking news throughout the day can turn real-life lineups upside-down, creating opportunities for us to profit. Good luck!
Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
PG | Stephen Curry $9300 | Elfrid Payton $7500 | C.J. McCollum $3200 |
SG | DeMar DeRozan $8000 | Klay Thompson $7300 | O.J. Mayo $3200 |
SF | Gordon Hayward $7800 | Jeff Green $5600 | T.J. Warren $3300 |
PF | Anthony Davis $11400 | Blake Griffin $8600 | Brandan Wright $5000 |
C | Rudy Gobert $8400 | Nikola Vucevic $7600 | B. Biyombo $3400 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.