As the NBA season reaches its closing stretch, the biggest storylines to watch from tonight’s four-game slate will be whether or not the Cleveland Cavaliers can win their 15th straight game and who will take the upper hand in the race for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
After a 10-game slate yesterday and a nine-game slate tomorrow, there are plenty of teams that are on a back-to-back. The Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets, and Indiana Pacers all suited up yesterday, and the LA Clippers will play again tomorrow night, so watch out for players like Cam Thomas ($6,200) and Kawhi Leonard ($8,100). DraftKings Network will have you covered with today’s injury report, which will be updated as teams release player status updates.
Here are my top three DFS stacks to target for tonight’s contest.
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Washington Wizards at Detroit Pistons
How about the Pistons? After being easily the worst team in the league over the last five seasons, Detroit looks to be on the verge of hosting a first-round playoff series if it can make up a one-game deficit on the Milwaukee Bucks at some point between now and the end of the season. Especially if Jalen Brunson’s injury keeps him below the 65-game threshold for eligibility, Cade Cunningham ($10,200) could cap his Most Improved Player season with an All-NBA First Team appearance. Since the start of February, the Pistons are 12-5 with the league’s third-best net rating and should improve to 13-5 tonight.
Core Plays: Cunningham is obviously a must, especially given that the Wizards start Jordan Poole ($7,500) at point guard; as much value as Poole’s audacious shooting provides on offense, he gives it right back on defense. Since the All-Star break, Cunningham has averaged 26.7 points, 8.5 assists, and 1.7 steals (48.7 FPTS) per game while shooting 41.8% from beyond the arc. His teammate, center Jalen Duren ($6,600), has figured it out as well, having recorded 10 double-doubles in his last 14 games. Washington has allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing centers. Ausar Thompson ($5,500) has slowed down slightly on offense with two single-digit scoring performances in a row, but he’s recorded two or more combined steals and blocks in all but two games since the All-Star break.
Value Options: I wrote the slate-wide values column this morning and included Dennis Schroder ($4,400), who’s provided important veteran leadership for this young Detroit squad and settled into a stable rotational role behind Cunningham. He should be especially primed for production if the Pistons blow the Wizards out early and allow Cunningham to get an extended period on the bench. Plus, the ultra-aggressive Isaiah Stewart ($3,200) has been a snarling defensive pest, having recorded five blocks in a 119-112 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night.
Brooklyn Nets at Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers are the league’s best team and the Nets are among its worst, so this is pretty simple. The biggest question is about health — Donovan Mitchell ($8,500) has groin soreness and is questionable for the contest, as well as De’Andre Hunter ($5,400), who’s sick — but, frankly, Cleveland should be fine without either of those key pieces. It’s a small sample size, but Brooklyn has had the league’s seventh-worst defense since the start of March, and it’ll be missing one of its best players, point guard D’Angelo Russell ($5,100).
Core Plays: Mitchell has been fairly durable this season, missing just four games — multiple due to scheduled rest days — so I’d expect him to play, especially with the Cavaliers not due to play again until Friday. If he does suit up, he should have no problem performing, given that the Nets have allowed the 14th-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season. Since the All-Star break, Mitchell is averaging 25.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists (39.7 FPTS) per game. Plus, with Ty Jerome ($4,700) resting, Darius Garland ($7,100) should be a strong fantasy option. Brooklyn also struggles against opposing big men — allowing the 10th-most fantasy points to centers — making Jarrett Allen ($6,100) a smart play as well.
Value Options: Cleveland arguably has the deepest team in the Eastern Conference now, so it shouldn’t miss much of a beat even if Mitchell and Hunter both sit. Jerome would’ve been a value play if he was in the lineup, but Max Strus ($4,100) should benefit, even if Mitchell and Hunter ultimately suit up. The same can be said of sharpshooter Sam Merrill ($3,300), who should thrive against a team that has allowed the seventh-highest three-point percentage in the league since the All-Star break and tends to sop up garbage time minutes on the (frequent) occasion that the Cavaliers blow out their opponent.
Milwaukee Bucks at Indiana Pacers
The most competitive game tonight should be a potential playoff preview, as the Bucks and Pacers currently sit fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Eastern Conference. The x factor in this game is also health — Tyrese Haliburton ($8,800) is questionable with the hip injury that has held him out for each of the last three games, all Indiana losses — which should favor Milwaukee, given that Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,400) hasn’t missed a game since the All-Star break and Damian Lillard ($9,000) has sat once. Given Haliburton’s health questions, the Bucks have an edge in this matchup.
Core Plays: Both Antetokounmpo and Lillard are probable for tonight’s game, which means that they’ll play. Antetokounmpo is a must-start if he’s healthy and is effectively an unstoppable force, having scored 30 or more points in each of his last three games. While Pascal Siakam ($8,200) and Myles Turner ($6,700) are solid defenders, they’re not the brick-wall combination of Siakam, Kawhi Leonard, and Marc Gasol that stifled Antetokounmpo during the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals. Lillard, too, should be able to take advantage of whoever starts at point guard, whether that’s Haliburton or T.J. McConnell ($4,900), who’s also questionable with an ankle sprain.
Value Options: Gary Trent Jr. ($4,100) is a high-upside player who is capable of the occasional outburst, just as he did against the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks on March 1, when he scored 20 points and added five rebounds (30.75 FPTS). This season, he’s connected at 41.6% from beyond the arc, and while the Pacers have been one of the best teams in the league at defending the three-point line, betting on a three-point sniper is never a bad idea. Indiana has also been beaten by opposing centers on occasion this season, so Jericho Sims ($3,400) could be a deep-bench value play, given that he grabbed 10 boards (19.0 FPTS) in just 18 minutes in Sunday’s loss to Cleveland.
