Friday’s six-game DraftKings NBA DFS main slate offers several opportunities to capitalize on injured frontcourts, with Evan Mobley out for Cleveland and Zach Edey and Quinten Post unavailable for Memphis. Those absences put two affordable big men right in our scope. Here are three players worth targeting at their current salaries.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $300K Friday 8’s [$100K to 1st]
PF/C Isaiah Stewart, Memphis Grizzlies at New Orleans Pelicans ($3,900)
Stewart’s cheap, reliable, and best of all, available. With both Edey and Post out, he’ll likely get the opportunity to start for the Grizzlies tonight against a Pelicans team that’s probably going to be without Yves Missi, and thus will have little frontcourt size to challenge Stewart. Stewart started 13 games last season, putting up 12.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 2 BPG in 26.9 MPG. If he reaches a 25+ minute role tonight, he should easily return value in this spot against a friendly matchup.
Per-36 minutes this season, Stewart is putting up 21.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG on 64.7% shooting from the field.
C Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat ($5,700)
Allen just reminded us of his fantasy ceiling, giving us 11 points, 14 boards, and two stocks against the Knicks for 39 FPTS. His 32 minutes were a welcome sight after his recent knee injury, a good bit above his season average of 25.4 MPG. His workload should continue tonight with Evan Mobley sidelined.
Allen is putting up 12.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 29.4 FPTS. He’ll have to battle with two big bodies tonight in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, both elite rebounders in their own right, but his current role and elevated minutes are still likely to return value on investment. Additionally, the Heat play at the league’s third-fastest pace, which is another boost for Allen’s potential fantasy production tonight. More possessions means more opportunities to score points, grab rebounds, and block shots.
SG/SF Meleek Thomas, Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat ($4,500)
Another potential beneficiary of Mobley’s absence is the rookie out of Arkansas, Meleek Thomas. He’s averaging 13.1 PPG while shooting 48% from three through nine games, which is an outstanding mark for the young gun. He’ll have a nice matchup tonight against Miami’s ugly, ugly perimeter defense, which is currently surrendering a league-high 16.1 triples per game.
He’s already commanding a 21.6% usage rate in just 23 MPG, and with Sam Merrill also out tonight, he could be looking at a 30 minute workload. Thomas will have the chance to show Kenny Atkinson that he deserves more minutes tonight.
Against the Knicks, Thomas popped for 14 points, four boards, two steals, and a pair of triples in just 22 minutes, good for 25 FPTS. His early shooting percentage will be tough to sustain, but we’re getting just the right price for a player with some nice upside and additional opportunity.
