The Thunder are taking on the Pacers in what should be an up-tempo matchup in OKC between two teams that have been scoring plenty of points lately. The Thunder ruled out Chet Holmgren (hip), who had a rough game on Thursday against the Grizzlies, managing just four points in 25 minutes. In addition, Jaylin Williams ($4,600; hip) is also questionable, leaving the Thunder stretched thin up front. Without Holmgren and possibly Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein ($6,800) will be a great value play since he has been playing extremely well lately and will be in line for even more minutes on Saturday, making him an elite DFS value pick at his midrange salary.
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C Isaiah Hartenstein, Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers, $6,800
Hartenstein had a big double-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 46.25 fantasy points with Holmgren struggling on Thursday against Memphis and the Thunder still won by 21 points. He added two blocks and two steals in his 29 minutes and dominated the paint against a big Memphis team.
In six straight games, Hartenstein has double-digit rebounds with five double-doubles during that stretch and four games of at least 40 fantasy points. Holmgren missed two of those games, and Hartenstein responded with 45.5 fantasy points against the Clippers and 41 fantasy points against the Pistons.
Since the All-Star break, Hartenstein has played five games without Holmgren and has produced 1.30 fantasy points per minute and 35.5 fantasy points per game in those contests.
With his salary under $7,000, Hartenstein is a great option to build around on Saturday night as one of the best value picks on the board now that Holmgren is out. Based on the latest news, I’d include him in my NBA must-starts from earlier in the day.
