Just four games are on the slate for tonight’s NBA offering after yesterday’s slate featured not one, but two overtime games (and a Bronny James NBA made three-pointer, but who’s paying attention to that?).
Still, there are plenty of top stars in action, with the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers traveling to the City of Angels to take on the LA Clippers. If you want to stack expensive players like Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,500) and Jayson Tatum ($10,800), finding value from cheaper options is paramount. Here are my three favorites with salaries under $5,000:
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $300K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st].
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SG/SF Bogdan Bogdanovic, LA Clippers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, $4,700
On Sunday night, the Clippers enjoyed a long-awaited return, as their leading scorer, Norman Powell ($7,200), played just his second game since the All-Star break after suffering knee and hamstring injuries. Powell struggled mightily, scoring just seven points (10.8 FPTS) while shooting just three-for-13 from the field and playing only 22 minutes as LA notched a 123-88 win over the Charlotte Hornets. It was unclear whether the 31-year-old was on a minutes restriction or whether he simply didn’t play much because of the lopsided scoreline, but if it’s the former, Bogdanović stands most in line to benefit, given that he — like Powell — splits his time between the shooting guard and small forward positions.
It won’t be easy against the team that has been the best in the league all season. For the season, Cleveland has the league’s seventh-best defensive rating, but after trading for Sixth Man of the Year candidate De’Andre Hunter ($5,400) at the trade deadline, that mark has improved to third, which would be above average for a championship squad in the last 25 years. Over that span, the Clippers still have had an above-average defense, so expect this one to be a gritty, low-scoring battle. In a game — and in a slate — without a lot of reliable options, Bogdanović stands out as a player with a high ceiling in the likely event that Powell is on a minutes restriction.
SF/PF DaQuan Jeffries, Charlotte Hornets vs. Atlanta Hawks, $4,000
The veteran swingman has earned the most consistent role of his NBA career in recent weeks for an injury-riddled Hornets team, having played a fairly consistent 20-plus minutes per game since the start of February. He’s only scored more than 10 points twice during his time in the rotation, but they both came in the last three games, and perhaps not coincidentally, his best performance — a 20-point, two-block (26.5-FPT) performance on March 12 — came against the Hawks. He started in that game and should start again tonight with the resting Miles Bridges ($9,000) sidelined for the first time since January 24. Backup power forward Josh Okogie ($4,600) is also out.
Atlanta has been a fantasy target all season because it plays at the league’s second-fastest pace and has a below-average defensive rating, especially since Jalen Johnson’s season-ending injury on January 23. Since then, the Hawks have dropped from the league’s 13th-worst to its ninth-worst defense, and they’ve conceded the fourth-most points, eighth-most assists, and fourth-most steals per game. For the season, they’ve also conceded the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing forwards. Georges Niang ($4,200) is a quality NBA role player, and first overall pick Zaccharie Risacher ($4,400) has shown plenty of flashes in his rookie season, but Johnson is six-foot-nine with a seven-foot wingspan and was a significantly better defender than either Niang or Risacher prior to his injury.
SG/SF Gary Payton II, Golden State Warriors vs. Milwaukee Bucks, $3,900
The 2021-22 champion with the Warriors has played a more significant role in the team in recent weeks, having become their sixth man and recording at least 20 minutes in each of his last six games, averaging 13.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.5 steals (24.6 FPTS) per game. He’s scored double-digit points in four of his last six games, including a 26-point (35.5-FPT) performance against the Portland Trail Blazers on March 10. Golden State needed all of those points, given that it only ended up winning by 10 points over a feisty Portland outfit. Although Jonathan Kuminga ($5,500)‘s return might cut some into his usage — he attempted fewer than 10 shots in each of Kuminga’s first two games back — he’d likely enter the starting lineup if Stephen Curry ($9,200), who’s questionable with a back injury, is unable to go.
The Bucks’ defense has been about average this season despite having a former Defensive Player of the Year in Antetokounmpo, as they’ve posted the 11th-best defensive rating on a season-long basis. After dealing for Kyle Kuzma ($5,300), who, according to Basketball Reference, has been the eighth-worst defender among 184 qualified players, the defense has actually improved to the ninth-best mark. None of Milwaukee’s trade deadline moves addressed its weakness on the perimeter, though; at this point in his career, Damian Lillard ($8,500) is a poor defender and Taurean Prince ($4,100) is merely average. The Bucks have conceded the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards, a trend that hasn’t improved since the deadline.
