Even after the Spurs-Hornets game was moved to earlier in the day, the NBA has five games on the board for the main fantasy basketball slate on Saturday night. Eight of the 10 teams in the player pool had Friday off, with the Pelicans and Grizzlies the only teams playing for the second day in a row. While both of those teams have been great matchups to go against in fantasy basketball, their opponents are just a few of the options to consider as strong NBA DFS stacks due to matchups and opportunities. The three teams listed in this post are in strong positions to form the core of your DFS fantasy basketball lineups this Saturday.
Especially at this point in the season, be sure to keep a close eye on the daily injury report, where you can keep track of who is in and who is out for this slate. Some big names like Jalen Johnson, Josh Giddey, Coby White and Nikola Vucevic are already on the injury report, and more will likely be added as the day goes on. Be sure to check the latest injury news before tip-off and adjust your lineup if needed.
The NBA DFS main slate includes various contests and payout structures on DraftKings, headlined by the NBA $200K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st].
Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls
The Heat and Bulls are each going to be missing key pieces throughout their rotation in the first game of their back-to-back set in South Beach. The Heat at home are a slightly better stack to build around with more pieces that bring upside. Miami has typically been playing at a fast pace and putting up plenty of points this season, and that should continue against the undermanned Bulls on Saturday.
The Heat will be without Tyler Herro and Norman Powell, while Davion Mitchell is also doubtful. Since Herro and Powell take so much of the offensive workload, the rest of the rotation will have to step up and carry more work.
Core Plays: The clear preferred option for the Heat should be Bam Adebayo ($8,300), who has shown a very high ceiling and can be a true centerpiece to stack around. He has over 45 fantasy points in four of his last six games and is coming off a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead the Heat past the Bulls in the first game of this home-and-home set. Without Powell, Jaime Jaquez Jr. ($6,100) will be a solid secondary play. He had 48.5 fantasy points in that win over the Bulls, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. He’s a volatile play but stuffs the stat sheet enough to bring a very high ceiling.
Value Options: Pelle Larsson ($5,200) is another strong, stat sheet-stuffing option to consider in the midrange, as he helps fill in the minutes in the backcourt and on the wing. Larsson had at least 29 fantasy points in three of his last seven games, including Thursday’s game against the Bulls, when he had 31 fantasy points in 29 minutes. A more affordable value play is Dru Smith ($4,500), who has over 27 fantasy points in three of his last four games and has stepped up with big games against the Jazz, Magic and Bulls over that span. He’s still coming off the bench, but his work on both ends of the floor in his recent games makes him a strong option in the backcourt.
Atlanta Hawks at Indiana Pacers
The Hawks visit the Pacers in another Eastern Conference rematch. The Hawks beat Indiana, 132-116, in Atlanta on Monday night and will now visit the Pacers on Saturday. The Pacers have been a good matchup most of the season and the Hawks have a lot of upside with usage available, especially in their frontcourt. Onyeka Okongwu and Kristaps Porzingis will remain out at center, while Jalen Johnson is questionable after missing Thursday’s game with a hamstring injury. If Johnson ends up sitting, the rest of the Hawks’ lineup would have to hoist a heavy workload in what should be a smash spot.
Core Plays: If Johnson plays, he’ll have a high ceiling himself as a pay-up play to build around, but if he sits, Dyson Daniels ($7,300) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker ($7,300) will both be strong plays. Daniels continues to earn his nickname as the Great Barrier Thief with awesome defensive stats and his non-scoring contributions give him a high floor. When he’s aggressive and scoring on offense, he has an extremely high ceiling as well, as he showed with 45.75 fantasy points against the Pacers on Monday and 48 fantasy points against the Celtics on Wednesday. NAW has been a more consistent scorer, and he also flashed a high ceiling with 56 fantasy points against the Bucks a few weeks ago.
Value Options: The lead bargain value option from the Hawks is Christian Koloko ($3,600), who had six points, seven rebounds and 21.2 fantasy points against the Rockets without Okongwu and 24.5 fantasy points in just 17 minutes against the Pacers on Monday. Mouhamed Gueye ($4,100) also has upside but only had 10.75 fantasy points on Thursday. Asa Newell ($3,500) was also back from the G League for Thursday’s matchup and had 15.75 fantasy points in 20 minutes. Corey Kispert ($3,900) also picked up more minutes and had 26.5 fantasy points in 31 minutes. While he won’t help much at center, Kispert can be part of the fill-in solution for Johnson if he misses a second straight game.
Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat
The Bulls are giving almost their whole lineup an off day as they start their two-game series in Miami against the Heat. The Bulls listed Josh Giddey, Tre Jones and Jalen Smith as out, while Coby White and Nikola Vucevic are doubtful.
It’s challenging to figure out exactly who will do what in the Bulls’ rotation with so many players missing, but the players that remain will likely bring good value since they’ll get a heavy workload.
Core Plays: One of the most versatile remaining players for the Bulls will be guard Ayo Dosunmu ($5,400), who has stepped up with huge games in the past when he serves as the feature in the offense. Dosunmu had 37.75 fantasy points against the Heat in Chicago on Thursday and has over 29 fantasy points in three straight and five of his last seven. Matas Buzelis ($6,000) is the other key contributor in the regular rotation still remaining available. He had 20 points and 33.5 fantasy points against the Pacers on Wednesday, and he followed that up with 37.75 fantasy points the following night against the Heat. He has at least 33 fantasy points in three of his last four and six of his last eight.
Value Options: Things could get weird in the frontcourt without Vucevic and Smith. Patrick Williams ($3,300) and Lachlan Olbrich ($3,000) will likely end up playing most of the minutes at center with Julian Phillips ($3,000) also in the mix in small-ball lineups. Kevin Huerter ($4,200) should also be an outstanding value since he has been stepping up already for the Bulls and will get all the work he can handle. Check out the Bulls’ lineup before tip-off to see if you can solve the puzzle of who is getting playing time, because there should be value available with so much usage up for grabs.
