There are eight NBA games on Sunday’s slate amid a jam-packed weekend of basketball and with the regular season winding down.
The Philadelphia 76ers and San Antonio Spurs will each be playing on the second night of a back-to-back while the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets are set to play tomorrow as well. Injuries have been at the forefront of the conversation all season with plenty of teams banged up down the stretch. Kawhi Leonard, Zion Williamson, Tyrese Maxey and Damian Lillard are each set to miss to headline the injury report today.
Keep track of all of the notable injury updates at DK Live.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, just one double-digit favorite will be on the day’s slate: Warriors -12 over the Spurs. The rest of the slate includes the Cavaliers -7.5 over the Clippers, the Knicks -8 over the Trail Blazers, the Timberwolves -7.5 over the Pistons, the Bucks -4 over the Hawks, the Pelicans -3 over the Hornets, the Raptors -5 over the Sixers, and the Rockets -2 over the Suns. The matchup between the Hawks and the Bucks is expected to have the most scoring as the over/under is set at 243 for this matchup.
Here are my top three DFS value plays for the exciting slate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $100K Fadeaway [$25K to 1st]
C Adem Bona, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Toronto Raptors, $4,500
The Philadelphia 76ers are on the second night of a back-to-back and were officially eliminated from the playoffs with last night’s loss. They will take on the Toronto Raptors tonight with Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, Quentin Grimes, Andre Drummond, Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl and Brandon Ingram headlining the list of players ruled out today. Guerschon Yabusele has also been added to the injury report and is listed as questionable with a knee injury.
Adem Bona has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the expanded available minutes for young players. The rookie big man has suited up for 50 games for the Sixers this season and is averaging 4.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game. Bona is coming off his second career double-double last night as he finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. This came out to 38.0 fantasy points on DraftKings scoring and Bona also had 48.2 fantasy points against the Jazz six games earlier. He has tallied 31+ fantasy points in four of his past seven games and 22+ fantasy points in six of these seven games.
Philadelphia has embraced the tank and is doing everything possible to retain its top-six protected draft pick. Toronto is in a similar boat and Bona will have plenty of free rein to continue showcasing what he can do. With Embiid and Drummond sidelined as well as Yabusele questionable, Bona is the clear option for expanded minutes and has shown some nice flashes already. Look for his activity to shine against this Raptors team and for Bona to have another strong statistical showing.
PG/SG Collin Gillespie, Phoenix Suns vs. Houston Rockets, $4,200
The Phoenix Suns are in desperation mode as they have dropped to 11th place in the Western Conference and are looking to scrap their way into the Play-In Tournament. There is too much talent on the roster for this to be the outlook but they dug themselves the hole and must face the reality. One positive change that has occurred has been the injection of Collin Gillespie into the starting lineup over the past six games.
On the season overall, Gillespie has been limited to 11.0 minutes in just 26 games played and produced 4.7 points, 2.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds. Across his six games as a starter, the Villanova product is averaging 8.8 points, 4.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. He is coming off a monstrous 48.2 fantasy point performance on DraftKings scoring in his previous game in which he finished with 22 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.
Houston plays a defensive-minded brand of basketball that will be a challenge for this Suns team. However, they have benefited greatly from Gillespie being capable of running the offense and allowing Kevin Durant and Devin Booker to play off-ball. Look for him to continue to showcase his high IQ play and log an expanded role tonight. He is a capable shooter whenever the opportunity presents itself and expect his playmaking ability to drive his DraftKings scoring production.
PF/C Karlo Matkovic, New Orleans Pelicans vs. Charlotte Hornets, $4,000
The Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans will face off tonight with these teams holding the third and fourth-worst records in the NBA. Injuries have derailed the season for both sides, with the Pelicans never having a chance to see how the team looked as designed. The focus has shifted to evaluation mode with Karlo Matkovic being a player who has opened a few eyes in recent weeks. The 23-year-old is in his first season in the NBA after starting his professional career in Croatia and eventually becoming the 52nd pick in the 2022 draft. He remained overseas for an additional season and is looking to solidify his NBA future down the stretch of the season.
Across the 36 games he has played, Matkovic is averaging 6.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game. Across his past 18 games, Matkovic has started four matchups and is playing 22.0 minutes per game. He is averaging 9.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. The 6-foot-10 big man tallied 37.0 fantasy points against the Sixers two games ago with his 19-point and eight-rebound performance. He has tallied 20+ fantasy points in nine of his last 12 games and reached 30+ points in two of these games.
The Hornets are set to be without Mark Williams tonight and Jusuf Nurkic will likely step in as the starting center. Nurkic is underwhelming defensively and Matkovic has shown some intriguing touch around the rim. Expect him to remain hungry and be ready for a strong performance tonight with these minutes still plenty important to solidifying his NBA future.
