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The featured simulated basketball contest on DraftKings for Wednesday afternoon is between the Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls. Here, we’ll go over how to approach lineup construction for the fantasy basketball contest.
Captain’s Picks
Thankfully, there are more spots than 1-2 that we can go with in this NBA sim. Usually we just have Luka Doncic or James Harden on one side of the ball and that’s the simple way to go at Captain. With Grizzlies-Bulls there isn’t one guy who separates himself from the pack — it’s more wide open. So when deciding who to play at captain, we can sift through a few plays.
The first one that stands out is I believe the reigning rookie of the month for the Eastern Conference in Coby White ($11,700) for the Bulls. Prior to the pandemic hitting, White had been on fire shooting the ball. Before February, White was only averaging around 10-12 points per game, that’s real points, for Chicago. In February and a small sample in March, White was posting over 20 points per game. He’s got a nice discount and has upside.
As for the Grizz, Jaren Jackson Jr. ($12,900) isn’t a bad play at Captain. He’s going to cost less than big names like Zach LaVine and Ja Morant. JJJ should have lower ownership in the Captain than both those guys as well. It’ll still be somewhat high I’d guess, but decent enough. Despite underwhelming rebounding numbers for a big, Jackson has a few ceiling games, including a 43-point outing this season.
FLEX Options
Obviously, you’re going to be looking hard at Morant and LaVine. Those two — or at least one of them — will be lineup cornerstones. After that, again, this contest doesn’t have too much. Gorgui Dieng has some value at $3,600 having came over in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves before the deadline. He was starting games with Karl-Anthony Towns injured and has some box scores that reflect it.
Both Wendell Carter Jr. ($5,400) and Brandon Clarke ($5,000) — two young bigs for both sides — seem pretty cheap when we look at what they’ve done when healthy this season. WCJ was starting and averaging close to a double-double before messing up his ankle. Clarke had been one of the more productive youngsters down low on a per 36 minute basis. If I need heavy value, give me Daniel Gafford ($1,600) or De’Anthony Melton ($3,200).