With the NBA’s regular season coming to a close, the league is opting for some huge slates in the closing stretch of the season. 20 of the league’s 30 teams will take the court tonight, with all 30 playing again on Friday and Sunday and zero games on Saturday.
The first six games of the day are on DraftKings’ featured DFS slate for tonight’s contest, with the final four on a separate night slate. Here are three must-start players for the main slate of games:
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $100K Fadeaway [$25K to 1st]
SF/PF Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz, $9,900
Avdija missed Sunday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs with a thumb injury and is officially questionable for tonight’s contest as well, so despite having had four full days to recover from the injury, it’s worth keeping an eye on the injury report in case he doesn’t play. But if the 24-year-old Israeli does suit up, he will likely produce like a star, especially if Anfernee Simons ($6,700) misses his fifth straight game with a forearm issue. Avdija has posted a 32.1% usage rate over the team’s last five games, the league’s sixth-highest among 144 players who have appeared in at least 120 total minutes across that span. In those games, Avdija has averaged 32.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists (61.6 FPTS) per game.
In my best bets column, I already backed Toumani Camara ($6,200) to put on a show against Utah. But the Jazz are so bad that Camara can go off without sacrificing any of Avdija’s touches. Over its last 10 games, Utah’s numbers are eye-popping: a defensive rating that’s more than six points per 100 possessions worse than any other team besides Phoenix and the most points, most assists, and second-most rebounds conceded. Avdija is a fairly well-rounded player, as one of just five players to average at least 20 points, nine rebounds, and five assists per game since the All-Star break, and with Walker Kessler ($6,900), Lauri Markkanen ($7,600), John Collins ($7,000), and Cody Williams ($3,000) all out, this Jazz team doesn’t have the length to contend with Avdija’s six-foot-nine frame and relatively quick release.
PG Immanuel Quickley, Toronto Raptors vs. Charlotte Hornets, $7,900
The Raptors’ rebuilding project has resulted in tons of value options, since they’ve opted for some interesting lineup decisions, such as resting 25-year-old Quickley and 24-year-old RJ Barrett ($8,200) every other day. Tonight, while both Quickley and Barrett are supposedly active, it’s Jamal Shead ($5,300) getting a rest day, in addition to Ja’Kobe Walter ($5,200), who’s out with hip tightness and Scottie Barnes ($8,700) being questionable with a hand injury. Combine that with the fact that Gradey Dick is out for the season and Brandon Ingram ($8,000) is still without a timetable for return after spraining his ankle on December 7, and you can see how Quickley’s usage rate might be astronomical tonight.
Any Toronto player should have a chance to thrive against a Charlotte team that has had the league’s worst net rating and fifth-worst defensive rating since the All-Star break. The Hornets have been horrible, allowing the ninth-most points, sixth-most rebounds, and 14th-most assists per game across that span, and they still need to lose at least one more game to secure themselves the third-worst record in the NBA and a 14% chance at the first overall pick in the 2025 Draft. Miles Bridges ($9,100) and Mark Williams ($8,600) — Charlotte’s two best players — will both get the day off.
PG Davion Mitchell, Miami Heat at Chicago Bulls, $5,500
Although he’s only the league’s second-best player with his own first initial and last name who wears a red No. 45 jersey and plays in the Eastern Conference, Mitchell has been a consistent role player for a Heat team that still has a chance of hosting a Play-In Tournament game, whether as the No. 9 seed or the No. 8 seed. This game will help determine which seed Miami will get, given that the two teams are currently slated to face off against one another in the 9-10 Play-In matchup. It’s an important enough matchup that Andrew Wiggins ($6,900), who’s been out for the last six games with a hamstring issue, although that shouldn’t impact Mitchell’s minutes. You kind of know what you’re going to get from him — he’s recorded between 11 and 20 points (20.75 and 35.5 FPTS) in 10 of his last 11 games.
His ceiling might be a little higher against Chicago, given that the Bulls have played at the league’s second-fastest pace all season. Chicago has been pretty solid lately — 12-7 since the start of March — but that doesn’t mean it’s been any better than average on either side of the ball. Since that span, the Bulls have still allowed the eighth-most points and fourth-most assists per game. Reserve guard Lonzo Ball ($4,700), a solid perimeter defender, remains out, and Tre Jones ($6,800) is likely to miss the game as well, with Josh Giddey ($10,100) questionable. Chicago lacks back-court depth, so Mitchell should be able to feast.
