There is just a five-game NBA slate on tap for tonight, as arguably the most interesting piece of the evening is the announcement of the East and West All-Star Reserves prior to the first game. Still, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of high-quality center options for DFS players to choose from. Let’s take a look at my top three:
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1. Julius Randle, Minnesota Timberwolves at Utah Jazz ($7,500)
With the forward options a lot deeper for tonight’s slate — LeBron James ($10,500) and Paolo Banchero ($8,600) are both in action — I’m going with a man who has played 98% of his minutes at power forward but is eligible at center regardless. Randle hasn’t been the only reason why the Timberwolves have struggled this season, but he hasn’t been incredible either, averaging 19.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists (36.6 FPTS) per game. Still, he’s scored 20 or more points in three straight games, all Minnesota wins.
Although the tanking Jazz are getting healthier, they have lost seven straight and their intentions to race to the bottom have been clear since the start of the season. Utah has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards, and they’ve somehow been even worse at the Delta Center than away from it, picking up just three wins in Salt Lake City all season. It’s difficult to predict which Jazz players will suit up on any given night, but it doesn’t really matter. With the exception of center Walker Kessler ($7,100), Utah has zero positive defenders in its rotation.
2. Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks ($6,500)
Normally, I’d stay away from Cavaliers, since they’re so deep that any of Darius Garland ($7,600), Donovan Mitchell ($8,400), Evan Mobley ($7,700), or Allen could conceivably be the top offensive option on any given night. But against the Hawks, who play at the league’s second-fastest pace and allow the fourth-most points, eighth-most rebounds, and sixth-most assists per game in the league, anything is fair game. I wanted to go with Mobley, who will be guarded largely by rookie Zaccharie Risacher ($4,100), but for Allen’s cheaper salary, I like him more.
To Atlanta’s credit, it replaced Clint Capela ($5,200) with Onyeka Okongwu ($6,900) in its starting lineup six games ago, and it’s actually working; since Okongwu entered the starting lineup, the Hawks have allowed the 14th-fewest points, still the eighth-most rebounds, and the 15th-most assists. True, Atlanta has dropped all six of those games, but the lineup change has meaningfully improved the Hawks’ defense. Okongwu did limit Karl-Anthony Towns to his worst game of the season in his first start, so we’ll see if he can do it again against Allen.
3. Jaxson Hayes, Los Angeles Lakers at Washington Wizards ($4,500)
In a nightmarish scene for Lakers fans, Anthony Davis ($10,500) left the game early in the team’s loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday with an abdominal strain and will miss at least a week, and given that Los Angeles’ negative-5.2 net rating without Davis on the floor would be the league’s sixth-worst mark, a lengthy injury absence might see the Lakers drop outside the West’s top six. While Davis has reportedly been clamoring for a new center — Washington’s starter, Jonas Valanciunas ($5,700), has long been tied with the City of Angels — Los Angeles’ only backup options right now are Hayes and Christian Koloko ($3,900).
I’m curious if JJ Redick will experiment while Davis is out, and all options — including James as a small-ball five — are seemingly on the table. But in the three games Davis has missed so far this season, he gave a healthy dose of minutes to traditional bigs, including 33 and 35 minutes to Hayes in his absences. Hayes didn’t put up big numbers in those starts, posting eight points and 10 rebounds (21.5 FPTS) in the first game and six points and nine rebounds (18.25 FPTS) in his second game, but those are okay stats for his cheap salary. Plus, the Wizards allow the most fantasy points to opposing centers, which Alex Sarr ($5,600)‘s absence won’t help.
