Well, we’ve reached the end of March. There’s now less than two weeks left in the NBA’s regular season and the injury reports are looking more and more funky for the few teams with truly nothing left to play for. It can make putting together a DFS lineup seem overwhelming, but I’m here to help.
Let’s go position-by-position and break down tonight’s five-game slate.
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POINT GUARD
Stud
Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks, $10,100 - With his teammates continuously falling at his side, Garland’s recently been asked to shoulder a huge offensive burden for the Cavaliers. In fact, since Mar. 12, no NBA player is logging more minutes per contest than Garland’s eye-popping mark of 41.3, as Cleveland desperately tries to regain a top-six seed in the East. That monstrous role, combined with Garland averaging 1.16 DKFP per minute played across this 10-game stretch, has translated into the All-Star registering at least 45.0 DKFP in seven of his last nine starts. As always, volume is king.
Value
Killian Hayes, Detroit Pistons vs. Philadelphia 76ers, $4,300 - Simply put, Hayes has been logging more minutes than usual the past few weeks and it’s paying dividends. The sophomore has managed at least 27.0 DKFP in six of his last eight contests, while the 32.5 minutes Hayes played in Detroit’s most recent contest is becoming less and less of a random occurrence. Factor in that Cory Joseph ($3,900; back) is questionable to suit up on Thursday, and there’s a very real chance that Hayes is starting against the 76ers.
SHOOTING GUARD
Stud
Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers at Chicago Bulls, $9,400 - So, I guess George didn’t really have much of a minutes restriction on Tuesday, did he? The All-Star returned to action in a gripping victory over the Jazz, scoring 34 points and 57.5 DKFP in 30.8 minutes of action. If that seems like a hyper-efficient performance — it is. However, it also took a jaw-dropping 40.5% usage rate to pull it all off. If George’s role looks similar this evening against a Bulls defense that’s been underwhelming for the better part of two months, he should have little trouble bringing back value at his lower than normal price.
Value
Malik Monk, Los Angeles Lakers at Utah Jazz, $5,500 - With both LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis ($8,900; foot) unavailable on Tuesday, Monk logged 32.3 minutes and hoisted up 10 three-pointers in the Lakers’ blowout loss to the Mavericks. Russell Westbrook ($8,600) was clearly the No. 1 offensive option for the team that night, but Monk was very much the next mouth to feed. In a matchup with a Jazz squad that’s allowing opponents to score 117.1 points per 100 possessions over its past 10 games, Monk should be able to thrive once again.
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SMALL FORWARD
Stud
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks at Brooklyn Nets, $11,800 - I don’t want to spend too much time on this, so here’s the only stat you need to prove Antetokounmpo’s viability. The last eight times the former MVP has exceeded 35.0 minutes of action, he’s averaging 71.1 DKFP, which includes Tuesday’s 75.0 DKFP performance against the 76ers. When the Bucks play a good team, you almost have to use Giannis in a few lineups.
Value
Lamar Stevens, Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks, $3,500 - I’m confused as to why Stevens’ price tag is down $200 from where it stood on Wednesday. With so many injuries to Cleveland’s roster, Stevens has become a mainstay in the team’s rotation and, generally speaking, he’s thrived in his expanded role. Heck, he dropped 16 points in 26.1 minutes last night against the Mavericks — the fifth-time in his last six games he’s exceeded 20.0 DKFP. Stevens is just too cheap.
POWER FORWARD
Stud
Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks, $11,400 - It’s going to be hard to squeeze both Durant and Antetokounmpo into the same build — if you have to choose one, I’m going with the Greek Freak — but a game stack with the two highest ceilings on the slate would be pretty sweet. Across his past five games, Durant is averaging 1.54 DKFP per minute played and that efficiency is even more tantalizing in an uptempo matchup with the Bucks. In fact, no Eastern Conference team has a quicker pace than Milwaukee over the past 10 contests (101.4).
Value
Patrick Williams, Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Clippers, $3,200 - It’s extremely debatable as to how much raw upside an asset like Williams possesses. Despite his lottery pick pedigree, Williams is a relatively passive offensive player, having registered just a 13.3% usage rate since his return from injury. Still, the forward saw his minutes spike to 24.4 in Tuesday’s win over the Wizards, signifying that Williams might just be back up to full-speed in terms of his conditioning. If 25-30 minutes is in the cards this evening, I have a hard time seeing how Williams doesn’t bring back value.
CENTER
Stud
Andre Drummond, Brooklyn Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks, $6,000 - While Drummond’s minutes are far from consistent night-to-night, the big man has looked incredible his past six games. Within that span, Drummond is averaging a robust 1.39 DKFP per minute played, and he’s managed to exceed 33.0 DKFP four times. Plus, at the end of the day, this matchup has an implied total of over 240 points. You’re going to want as many pieces of these two teams as you can afford.
Value
Moses Brown, Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks, $3,200 - While Atlanta is an uptempo team, between Clint Capela ($6,200) and Onyeka Okongwu ($3,400), they generally have a pretty traditional big man on the floor at all times. That’s good news for Brown’s viability, as he’ll likely make his second straight start in place of Evan Mobley (ankle) this evening. On Wednesday, Brown registered 22.75 DKFP in 21.0 minutes, and that was without even collecting a single blocked shot. He’s virtually a lock to return at least 6x value if he logs 20-plus minutes again.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $333K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
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