As the dust settles in a brief respite from the wildest trade deadline in NBA history — an All-NBA player hasn’t been traded in the last 36 hours! — we turn our attention to the hoops action. Max Christie will make his debut for the Dallas Mavericks, and Markieff Morris will suit up once again for the Los Angeles Lakers.
With a seven-game featured slate at DraftKings on tap for DFS players, there is no shortage of options for tonight’s basketball action. Here are three budget options worth targeting tonight:
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SF/PF Dorian Finney-Smith, Los Angeles Lakers at LA Clippers, $4,000
I’ll admit that part of this selection is the opportunity to play a guy named DFS in DFS competition, but Finney-Smith should have a bigger role than usual with the Lakers rolling out a thinner squad than normal. Two of the three players they traded for — Luka Dončić and Maxi Kleber — are currently injured, and although they were already without Anthony Davis, Christie had become a valuable starting wing. For Dallas, Morris had played only garbage time minutes, so Finney-Smith should maintain his spot in the rotation. He played 32 minutes — the most since he had joined Los Angeles — in Saturday’s win over the New York Knicks without Davis, scoring 15 points (24.25 FPTS).
Finney-Smith hasn’t had a great game yet as a Laker; he’s scored double-digit points just four times and hasn’t added much as a rebounder or a playmaker. Still, he’s shot 42.9% from deep, becoming the reliable three-point shooter that Los Angeles’ roster has lacked, and he’s also a multi-positional, highly cerebral defender. After trading away Davis and Christie, the Lakers will be hard-pressed to stop Clippers power forward Kawhi Leonard, so they’ll need DFS to play solid minutes. LA’s defense is the league’s second-best, so Finney-Smith won’t have it easy, but he should return good value on his volume alone.
PF/C Nikola Jovic, Miami Heat at Chicago Bulls, $5,000
WIth the Heat fully embroiled in the Jimmy Butler saga and after Dru Smith went down for the season with a torn Achilles, Jovic has been a bright spot. The former 27th overall pick has found his groove in recent weeks, having scored at least 10 points in 13 out of his last 15 games, giving valuable minutes to a Miami team that, for now, is trying to stay afloat in the competitive Eastern Conference. Over his last four games, Jovic has averaged 14.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists (31.6 FPTS) per game.
On Tuesday, Jovic will have a friendly matchup against a Chicago team that has finally chosen a direction after dealing Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team deal that sent De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs. This season, the Bulls’ defense has been woeful, posting the seventh-worst defensive rating in the league and giving up the second-most points, rebounds, and assists while forcing the second-fewest turnovers. Aggregated across those four categories, even the Washington Wizards are better. Unsurprisingly, Chicago has conceded the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards.
C Steven Adams, Houston Rockets at Brooklyn Nets, $4,400
Keep an eye on the injury report for this one: Houston’s All-Star center, Alperen Şengün ($8,900) is questionable with the calf strain that has cost him three straight games, and Adams only returns good fantasy value if Şengün remains out. Prior to the Turk’s injury, Adams was only averaging about 15 minutes per game and would occasionally post single-digit fantasy outputs — clearly not worth even a $4,400 price tag. However, in the three games that Şengün has been out, Adams has played around 25 minutes per game, posting one double-double and averaging 28.8 FPTS per game across the stretch.
I especially like his value against Brooklyn, which has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing centers and currently has one of the longest injury reports in the league. Seven Nets players will miss tonight’s game, although most have been out for significant stretches. Thankfully for Brooklyn, their best defender is center Nic Claxton ($5,700), but I wouldn’t bank on him alone being able to slow down Adams if Şengün sits.
