It’s only a two-game slate in the NBA on Monday night, which means value plays are going to be at a premium.
With that in mind, here are my top couple low-salary picks for this evening’s action on the hardcourt.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $350K Shootaround [$100K to 1st]
PG Ty Jerome, Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat, $5,000
It’s currently unclear if Darius Garland ($7,000; toe) is going to be available for tonight’s contest, after the All-Star was unavailable for Game 3. Garland is listed as questionable, yet with the one-seed Cavaliers up 3-0 in this series, it would certainly not surprise me if Cleveland was extra careful with the health of its point guard. It’s also not like Jerome needs Garland in street clothes to be viable in DFS. Jerome did rack up 13 points, 11 assists and 39.25 FPTS with Garland sidelined on Saturday, but the reserve guard also notched 28 points and 41.25 FPTS with Garland active back in Game 1. Jerome was also an efficiency stud throughout the regular season, averaging 1.17 FPTS per minute played. In general, this just feels like a “rising tide lifts all boats” environment for the Cavaliers, who are scoring 134.1 points per 100 possessions in this series. Miami can not stop Cleveland, so Jerome will continue to do damage, even if he’s only logging 20-25 minutes.
C Steven Adams, Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors, $3,500
Let’s zig while everyone else is zagging. Most people are going to be looking at the Warriors’ rotation for some value this evening, as Jimmy Butler ($8,200; glute) remains a question mark to suit up for Game 4 — though he did participate in shootaround on Monday morning. If Butler sits, Quinten Post ($4,000) should get another start, and Gary Payton III ($3,400) will likely get some serious run off the bench. Still, you know where there’s no doubt about playing time? With the Rockets. Aside from some garbage time in Game 2, Houston has run out the exact same eight-man rotation for this whole series. That means Steven Adams should be looking at roughly 20 minutes of action once again on Monday. The veteran big man produced 1.01 FPTS per minute during the regular season and Adams has twice exceeded 20.0 FPTS in the first three games against Golden State. That might not seem like much, but with a price tag this close to the minimum, there’s real value here.
