We made it. The final Friday of the NBA regular season, which also means my final basketball DFS article for 2022-23. [Graduation by Vitamin C starts playing] We’ve all shared some good times in this space. Finding some great values while simultaneously making fun of the Spurs twice a week. I’ll cherish it always.
Anyway, teams are still aggressively tanking. Let’s talk about it.
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PG/SG Shake Milton, Philadelphia 76ers at Atlanta Hawks, $3,900
Following Thursday’s loss to Miami, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey reported that Joel Embiid (rest) will not even travel with the 76ers to Atlanta — a pretty clear sign he will not be playing on the second leg of Friday’s back-to-back. Obviously we don’t have the rest of the injury report just yet, but if I had to guess, James Harden ($9,400) won’t be available, either. Add in the murky status of Tyrese Maxey ($8,200; neck) and De’Anthony Melton ($5,800; calf), and you’ve suddenly got a dearth of guards on Philadelphia’s roster. That opens the door for Milton. Heck, we sort of saw a dress rehearsal for this in the second-half versus the Heat. With Maxey inactive, Melton in the locker room and Harden riding the bench in a blowout, Milton finished with 10 assists and 30.5 DKFP in 26.5 minutes of action. This should come as no surprise. In the nine games Milton has started in 2022-23, he’s averaging an eye-popping 37.6 DKFP. Paul Reed ($5,000) and Jalen McDaniels ($4,100) should be viable, too.
SF MarJon Beauchamp, Milwaukee Bucks vs. Memphis Grizzlies, $3,600
I’m very curious to see who ends up starting this game for the Bucks. As of writing, here’s what we know. Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee), Khris Middleton (knee), Jrue Holiday (rest), Brook Lopez (rest), Grayson Allen (ankle) and Pat Connaughton (ankle) have been ruled out for Friday’s tilt with the Grizzlies. That does leave some veteran pieces as possible usage magnets — including the likes of Bobby Portis ($7,800), Wesley Matthews ($4,900), Joe Ingles ($4,900) and Jae Crowder ($4,800) — yet what’s the point of sitting nearly everyone and leaving those veterans to log huge minutes? A few of those guys are important rotation pieces in the playoffs, after all. I could see a scenario where Milwaukee fully embraces the “load management” lifestyle and simply gives an asset like Beauchamp 30-plus minutes of run. The forward did have a stretch in November where he saw at least 30 minutes in three straight contests, registering 34.0 DKFP on two of those occasions. There’s some ceiling here if the opportunity is presented.
PG Ayo Dosunmu, Chicago Bulls at Dallas Mavericks, $3,800
You can’t ever assume anything when it comes to NBA injury reports, but I will say it would be surprising for DeMar DeRozan ($8,400; rest) and Zach LaVine ($8,200; rest) to suit up on Friday. Their literal designation on the IR is rest. Granted, they’re both currently questionable — which is super weird — but I digress. If the writing on the wall is truly legible and Chicago sits its stars with the team locked into the No. 10 seed, keep an eye on Dosunmu. The sophomore hasn’t been making as much noise in 2022-23 as in his rookie campaign, but that’s mostly due to a microscopic 14.7% usage rate. However, that figure jumps to 18.2% with DeRozan and LaVine off the floor. Dosunmu’s also logged heavy minutes this season with even just one of the duo missing. In fact, Dosunmu played a whopping 42.5 minutes in a mid-February loss to the Pacers with DeRozan sidelined. Coby White ($5,000) would be viable, as well, but with a price tag at $5K, there’s far less safety in the former lottery pick.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $200K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is theglt13) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.