With only three regular season games left and the Cavaliers locked into the number overall seed in the Eastern Conference, it’s all about preparing for the playoffs now. Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Max Strus have all been ruled out for Thursday’s contest against the Indiana Pacers.
Ty Jerome ($4,700) is the biggest beneficiary with Mitchell and Garland out. He averages a more-than-respectable 1.13 FPTS per minute and has four games over 40 FPTS this season, with a high of 52.75 FPTS.
Jarrett Allen ($6,500) gets a huge bump with Mobley out, especially since it will likely be Dean Wade ($3,000) entering the starting lineup. In the last three games that Mobley has missed, Allen finished with 55.75, 41.5 and 52.25 FPTS.
Sam Merrill or Isaac Okoro will likely start at shooting guard. Merrill is a three-point specialist while Okoro is a defensive specialist. Neither are fantasy relevant.
De’Andre Hunter will likely start for Strus at small forward. He doesn’t do much outside score, but could see an uptick in usage rate. Over the last four games, he’s finished with at least 20 FPTS in all, with two over 30 FPTS while playing fewer than 30 minutes. He should go over that threshold on Thursday.
