Time to dive into the Saturday NBA slate that features eight games. The matchups don’t feature many storylines or hashtag “revenge” narratives and the Vegas totals are quite low with only two games topping 210 points. However, we could be in for some close games with half of the matchups coming in with a favorite of just four points or fewer. It may be a night for a full game stack in a GPP lineup hoping for an overtime or two.
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One Stud
LeBron James (SF/PF – CLE): $10,700 @ NO
If Anthony Davis sits out again on Saturday for the Pelicans it might be hard to look away from DeMarcus Cousins who went off on Thursday in Sacramento for 83.75 DraftKings’ points. However, since he won’t have the “revenge game” factor, I’m leaning toward the other side of the court with LeBron James who is priced at $1,200 less than Cousins and covers a harder to fill SF position against a Pelicans’ team that has allowed the eighth-most DK points to the position this season.
Time to dive into the Saturday NBA slate that features eight games. The matchups don’t feature many storylines or hashtag “revenge” narratives and the Vegas totals are quite low with only two games topping 210 points. However, we could be in for some close games with half of the matchups coming in with a favorite of just four points or fewer. It may be a night for a full game stack in a GPP lineup hoping for an overtime or two.
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
One Stud
LeBron James (SF/PF – CLE): $10,700 @ NO
If Anthony Davis sits out again on Saturday for the Pelicans it might be hard to look away from DeMarcus Cousins who went off on Thursday in Sacramento for 83.75 DraftKings’ points. However, since he won’t have the “revenge game” factor, I’m leaning toward the other side of the court with LeBron James who is priced at $1,200 less than Cousins and covers a harder to fill SF position against a Pelicans’ team that has allowed the eighth-most DK points to the position this season.
Core Plays
Marc Gasol (C – MEM): $8,000 vs HOU
Marc Gasol has been crushing value for the Grizzlies all season averaging over 47 DK points per game. His one “down” game did happen to come against his opponent on Saturday, the Rockets, but he still put up 37.25 DK points to just miss hitting five times his salary. Look for a home court bump and a better performance against a Rockets’ team that has allowed the third-most points to centers this year.
CJ McCollum (PG/SG – POR): $7,500 vs PHO
Choosing between C.J. McCollum and his backcourt mate Damian Lillard is always a difficult decision. I seem to lean toward choosing McCollum most nights since he fills a tougher position at SG and is usually cheaper. Lillard put up over 50 DK points in the season opener against the Suns but was without McCollum that night due to his one-game suspension. McCollum has scored at least 23 points in each of his four games this season and has been red-hot from the field shooting 52.5% and a remarkable 66.7% from three-point range. The Suns sieve-like defense won’t slow him down.
Ricky Rubio (PG – UTH): $7,300 vs LAL
Ricky Rubio is starting to mesh with his new teammates and has produced three double-digit assist games and has taken on more of a scoring role as well averaging 13.8 points per game. Rubio destroyed the Lakers last season averaging 16.0 points, 11.5 assists and 2.8 steals in four meetings. This year’s version of the Lakers hasn’t gotten any better at defending opposing PGs allowing the most DK points per game so far this season to the position. Rubio has a high floor and big upside.
James Johnson (PF – MIA): $6,600 vs BOS
Hassan Whiteside remains out for the Heat which has allowed James Johnson to see an increase in minutes and fantasy production over the last three games. Over the last three games with Whiteside out, Johnson is averaging 36 DK points per game. He also gets a favorable matchup on Saturday playing at home against a Celtics’ defense that has allowed the seventh-most DK points to opposing PFs this season.
Value Plays
Kelly Olynyk (PF/C – MIA): $5,400 vs BOS
Kelly Olynyk is not as safe as James Johnson, but he is also priced $1,200 lower. He will face his old team, the Celtics, for the first time and despite only playing 12 minutes on Wednesday, expect him to return to the 28 minutes per game he saw the first two games without Whiteside. In those two games, Olynyk averaged 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds (35.4 DK points) which would allow him to reach about seven times his salary. Only consider Olynyk in GPPs since his minutes are not guaranteed.
Rodney Hood (SG/SF – UTH): $5,100 vs LAL
Rodney Hood appears to be getting healthier after starting the season playing limited minutes due to a calf injury. Hood played a season-high 35 minutes on Wednesday while scoring 22 points. With three days of rest between games and a favorable matchup against the Lakers who have allowed 22 points per game to opposing SGs, Hood should be ready to take on the primary scoring role in Utah.
Ryan Anderson (PF/C – HOU): $4,400 @ MEM
Trevor Ariza will miss another game on Saturday which opens the door for Ryan Anderson to see an increase in minutes for the third straight game. Anderson has averaged 36 minutes over the last two games and posted a season-high 21 points (37 DK points) on Friday against the Hornets. Memphis is a tough matchup for opposing PFs but with big minutes Anderson should still be able to post solid numbers at a value price.
T.J. McConnell (PG – PHI): $3,800 @ DAL
Since rookie Markelle Fultz can’t lift his arms over his head, T.J. McConnell took on a larger role in the Sixers last game playing 28 minutes while providing his usual across the board fantasy production with six points, nine assists, five rebounds and six steals for 36.75 DK points. McConnell should see similar minutes again on Saturday against the Mavericks and while it is not the best overall matchup McConnell has shown over his career that he can stuff the stat sheet anytime he gets minutes.
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Brad Richter is a correspondent at FantasyPros and a contributor at DailyOverlay and GoingFor2. For more from Brad, you can view his archive or follow him @RotoPilot.