We have an eight-game slate on the NBA hardwood Saturday night. Things are still a little dicey trying to figure out new rotations for teams that made trades at the deadline. However, don’t be afraid to take a chance on some of the new faces in new places, especially if they have already played well with a positive playing time adjustment with their new squad.
Note that some of the stats referenced in this article are my custom DvP calculations that combine both season and last five games data along with blending similar positions production allowed together.
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One Stud
James Harden (PG/SG – HOU): $12,200 vs. OKC
Harden or Russell Westbrook? That is the question at the top for Saturday night’s slate. Harden’s numbers take a little bit of hit with Chris Paul playing and Westbrook is on a roll with eight straight triple-doubles. However, there are a few other PGs that I like on this slate, but SG is a tough nut to crack, so I’m going with Harden as my one stud of the night. Harden has averaged 30.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in two previous meeting for 53.3 DK points per game. However, in the home game, like Saturday’s will be, Harden put up 41 points on his way to 64.5 DK points.
We have an eight-game slate on the NBA hardwood Saturday night. Things are still a little dicey trying to figure out new rotations for teams that made trades at the deadline. However, don’t be afraid to take a chance on some of the new faces in new places, especially if they have already played well with a positive playing time adjustment with their new squad.
Note that some of the stats referenced in this article are my custom DvP calculations that combine both season and last five games data along with blending similar positions production allowed together.
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
One Stud
James Harden (PG/SG – HOU): $12,200 vs. OKC
Harden or Russell Westbrook? That is the question at the top for Saturday night’s slate. Harden’s numbers take a little bit of hit with Chris Paul playing and Westbrook is on a roll with eight straight triple-doubles. However, there are a few other PGs that I like on this slate, but SG is a tough nut to crack, so I’m going with Harden as my one stud of the night. Harden has averaged 30.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in two previous meeting for 53.3 DK points per game. However, in the home game, like Saturday’s will be, Harden put up 41 points on his way to 64.5 DK points.
Core Plays
Lauri Markkanen (PF/C – CHI): $7,500 vs. WAS
Markkanen is crushing it right now. He has scored at least 30 points in three straight games while also averaging over 12 rebounds per game during that stretch. He’ll look to keep his hot streak going at home in a very favorable matchup against the Wizards who have allowed increased production in points (+17.4%), rebounds (+6.5%), and assists (+10.9%) to PFs this season. He’ll also play against his former teammates, Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker, which could also add a little juice to the matchup.
Dennis Smith Jr. (PG – NYK): $5,900 vs. TOR
Smith Jr. has been given the keys to the Knicks offense after being acquired in the Kristaps Porzingis trade. In his last two games, he has averaged 28.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 7.0 assists while playing at least 35 minutes in each game. His matchup on Saturday against the Raptors isn’t ideal but given Smith’s reasonable price tag and big usage rate with the Knicks, he should still manage to find his way to exceeding five times value.
Bojan Bogdanovic (SG/SF – IND): $5,800 vs. CLE
Bogdanovic has been one of the biggest beneficiaries in the Pacers offense since the loss of Victor Oladipo. Bogdanovic has scored at least 21 points in four of his last five games and has made at least three three-pointers in four straight outings. He’ll also chip in with a few rebounds, assists, and steals as he has posted at least 34 DK points in three of his last four games. Bogdanovic gets a very favorable matchup on Saturday against the Cavaliers who have allowed increased production in points (+7.8%), rebounds (+12.3%), assists (+2.2%) this season.
Bobby Portis (PF/C – WAS): $5,400 @ CHI
Portis seems to be right at home playing for the Wizards with 30 points and six rebounds in his debut in 27 minutes of action. Speaking of home, he will return to Chicago to face the Bulls on Saturday night. He’ll have something to prove after getting dealt away by the Bulls at the deadline and if the first game with the Wizards is any indication, he will be given plenty of opportunities to put up numbers at his reasonable salary.
Value Plays
Terrence Ross (SG/SF – ORL): $5,000 @ MIL
Ross has been on fire for the Magic with at least 26 points in three of his last four games. In those three games, he has put up at least 42 DK points while making five or more three-pointers. He should keep on firing up three-pointers on Saturday against the Bucks who have allowed the 4th most three-point attempts to SFs this season. Ross may be a better GPP option due to his boom-or-bust potential that depends on his hot shooting.
Collin Sexton (PG – CLE): $4,800 @ IND
Sexton has scored 27 points in back-to-back games for the Cavaliers. In those outings, he has played at least 38 minutes and fired up at least 18 shots. He should continue to get the green light following the trades of some of his backcourt mates and while Kevin Love still tries to ramp up his minutes coming back from injury. Sexton’s matchup against the Pacers isn’t a good one but it is hard to imagine him still not reaching value on his still under $5k salary.
Marvin Williams (SF/PF – ATL): $4,600 @ ATL
You always want to get some exposure to the team that is playing the Hawks. While Kemba Walker is the obvious choice, he’ll cost you, so instead, I’ll look for a value option with Williams. Williams has averaged 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds for 28.3 DK points per game in three previous meeting with the Hawks this season. He also gives you some position flexibility against a Hawks team that has allowed increased production across the board to forwards this season.
Marquese Chriss (PF/C – CLE): $3,000 @ IND
Finally, we have the minimum-priced, Chriss. He made his Cavaliers debut on Friday and played 23 minutes while putting up 13 points and eight rebounds. With Kevin Love expected to sit out the second game of a back-to-back, Chriss should see at least 23 minutes against the Pacers on Saturday night. He could be a big part of the Cavaliers offense that has very few options and he showed some upside at times when given playing time earlier in his career.
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Brad Richter is a Featured Writer and Correspondent at FantasyPros and a contributor at DailyOverlay. For more from Brad, you can view his archive or follow him @RotoPilot.