As the dust settles on the NBA trade deadline, it’s likely that the second-most expensive center on tonight’s slate — the Dallas Mavericks’ Anthony Davis ($10,500) won’t play. Still, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of high-quality center options for DFS players to choose from on tonight’s six-game slate. Let’s take a look at my top three:
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $300K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st].
1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets vs. Orlando Magic ($12,800)
Jokić is the top center on tonight’s slate, as he might be on a hypothetical slate featuring Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. There’s simply no stopping the six-foot-11 Serb, who has dropped six triple-doubles in his last 10 games. He’s had only five games all season with fewer than 20 points, only two with fewer than five rebounds, only four with fewer than five assists, and only six with zero steals. In a 107-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets on February 1, Jokić dropped 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 17 assists (83.25 FPTS), and it was only his seventh-best fantasy performance of the season.
Technically, the Magic have allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing centers, but they have struggled mightily in recent weeks, dropping eight of their last 10 games and posting the NBA’s second-worst net rating across that span (zero bonus points if you can guess who they’re ahead of). Forward Paolo Banchero ($8,400) has yet to find his groove, shooting just 18.8% from beyond the arc in his last 10 games. Orlando has still had solid count numbers, since it plays at the league’s second-slowest pace, but the rate statistics show just how deep its struggles have been. After having the second-best defense in the league for most of the season, it has the 11th-worst over the last 10 games.
2. Kristaps Porzingis, Boston Celtics vs. Dallas Mavericks ($7,500)
Now that it’s more or less confirmed that Davis won’t make his Mavericks debut in this game, I feel pretty confident going with Porzingis, who’s probably been the second-most consistent Celtic this year amid Jaylen Brown ($8,000)‘s shooting struggles. Dallas’ injury issues — Dereck Lively II ($5,900) and Maxi Kleber, now a Laker, both went down with serious lower-body injuries — have decimated the Mavericks’ front-court depth, causing them to pull off the shocking Dončić-Davis blockbuster. For the season, Dallas has allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing centers, and while Daniel Gafford ($7,100) is an elite rim protector, he doesn’t have the length or agility to challenge Porzingis’ shooting.
3. Quinten Post, Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers ($3,800)
For an extreme budget option, I like Post to produce against a Lakers team that will be desperately short on center depth tonight after trading Davis to the Mavericks and replacing him with Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets, who won’t be available while the trade processes. Los Angeles will have an extremely thin roster for tonight’s game, since the only big it received from Dallas — Kleber — is out until at least the start of the playoffs with a broken foot. Jaxson Hayes ($4,500) and Christian Koloko ($3,300) are the Lakers’ only centers until Williams makes his debut on Saturday.
Plus, Golden State’s roster will be thin as well after trading Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder, and Kyle Anderson to the Miami Heat in exchange for Jimmy Butler, who won’t be available tonight. With so few players available, a bigger onus will fall on Stephen Curry ($8,200), but it will also test the Warriors’ deeper bench players. Post has taken Trayce Jackson-Davis ($4,300)‘s spot in the starting lineup and has played at least 19 minutes in each of the last three games, scoring 22.75 or more FPTS in each one. Kevon Looney ($4,000) might get more minutes in the middle, and he’s a better rebounder than Post, but Post is a better shooter.
