Tonight’s schedule is very light for a Wednesday as college hoops are gearing up for the NCAA tournament and the NBA schedule is winding down before the playoffs. As such, the player pool is a bit top-loaded, so I’m recommending a classic “studs and scrubs” strategy made up of elite and pricey guys mixed with high-upside bargains, excluding the mid-tier options for the most part. To change it up, I set an eight-man lineup with those parameters that came in $100 under DraftKings’ $50,000 salary cap while using the required players at each position. I paid up for Steph Curry and James Harden and filled out the rest of my roster with high shooting upside guys and players who have recently been given extra playing time. Let’s get into it!
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Point Guard
Stephen Curry (PG/SG – GSW): $9,300 @ HOU
Curry has seemed to be out of sync recently (at least by his standards), though he has an excellent chance for a bounce-back game tonight against a Western Conference rival and a team the Warriors are likely to face in the playoffs. Curry has averaged just 39.5 DK Points in his last four outings, though his season average of 46.9 is much more encouraging. Kevin Durant (ankle) will sit tonight, leaving Curry to shoulder the load on offense in a shootout with James Harden. The Chef should be cooking tonight.
Tonight’s schedule is very light for a Wednesday as college hoops are gearing up for the NCAA tournament and the NBA schedule is winding down before the playoffs. As such, the player pool is a bit top-loaded, so I’m recommending a classic “studs and scrubs” strategy made up of elite and pricey guys mixed with high-upside bargains, excluding the mid-tier options for the most part. To change it up, I set an eight-man lineup with those parameters that came in $100 under DraftKings’ $50,000 salary cap while using the required players at each position. I paid up for Steph Curry and James Harden and filled out the rest of my roster with high shooting upside guys and players who have recently been given extra playing time. Let’s get into it!
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Point Guard
Stephen Curry (PG/SG – GSW): $9,300 @ HOU
Curry has seemed to be out of sync recently (at least by his standards), though he has an excellent chance for a bounce-back game tonight against a Western Conference rival and a team the Warriors are likely to face in the playoffs. Curry has averaged just 39.5 DK Points in his last four outings, though his season average of 46.9 is much more encouraging. Kevin Durant (ankle) will sit tonight, leaving Curry to shoulder the load on offense in a shootout with James Harden. The Chef should be cooking tonight.
Also consider: Russell Westbrook vs. BKN, Delon Wright @ ATL
Shooting Guard
James Harden (PG/SG – HOU): $11,200 vs. GSW
It’s hard to pay up over a fifth of your salary for any player, but Harden is worth it. He totaled 44 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds in his lone matchup with the Dubs this season, sitting out the most recent tilt between the two teams for rest purposes. Harden leads the league in points per game at 36.2 and is top-five in steals with 2.1. He’s also contributed 7.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds en route to a 62.0 DK point per game average. Fire him up.
Eric Gordon (SG/SF – HOU): $5,100 vs. GSW
Gordon has been a pure sniper recently, canning 26 threes over his last five games and shooting a ridiculous 51.0 percent from deep. His hot hand has yielded 22.0 points per game in that span and a very healthy 31.1 DK Points. In what’s sure to be a high-scoring clash of Western Conference powerhouses tonight, Gordon should be back in lineups.
Terrence Ross (SG/SF – ORL): $4,900 @ WAS
Ross is a great punt-play on most nights because of his low price and high upside. He’s a streaky shooter and has often chased great games with poor ones, but he looks to be in form right now, averaging 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in his last two games. In his two most recent matchups with the Wizards, Ross averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists.
Also consider: Donovan Mitchell @ PHO, Reggie Jackson @ MIA
Small Forward
Rodions Kurucs (SF/PF – BKN): $4,600 @ OKC
Kurucs has enjoyed his new role in the Nets’ starting rotation, producing some solid games. In his last four starts, he’s averaged 14.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.0 blocks, and 1.0 assists, shooting 64.7 percent from the floor and 61.1 percent from three. This should be a high-scoring game, and Kurucs will need to hit some shots to help his team keep pace with the Thunder.
Also consider: Paul George vs. BKN, Caris LeVert @ OKC
Power Forward
Kelly Olynyk (PF/C – MIA): $5,600 vs. DET
Olynyk will continue to start for the Heat alongside Bam Adebayo as the team gives Hassan Whiteside limited minutes off the bench. Aside from a one-point dud against Toronto, Olynyk has averaged 19.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists over his last seven games. Even more impressive than his recent stat lines is his shooting – Olynyk shot 60.2 percent from the floor, 60.6 percent from three, and 94.7 percent from the charity stripe in those seven games. The matchup with the Pistons isn’t as scary as it might look on paper.
P.J. Tucker (SF/PF – HOU): $3,800 vs. GSW
Tucker comes in tonight with a great price tag that fits our budget and also fits the theme of this lineup. He’s used primarily for his work on defense and cleanup duties on the glass, but Tucker can heat up quickly and score points when he’s hitting his threes. He’s averaged 35.1 minutes and 22.0 DK Points per game this season, making him a value play with upside as the Rockets will continue to hoist up shots from beyond the arc against rival Golden State.
Also consider: John Collins vs. MEM, Bruno Caboclo vs. ATL
Center
Bam Adebayo (PF/C – MIA): $5,400 @ MIA
Adebayo pairs nicely with his frontcourt partner Olynyk tonight, and both of them combined only cost me $11K. Adebayo has averaged 30.4 DK Points over his last seven games as the starting center, and he shouldn’t have a problem putting up similar numbers tonight.
Also consider: Andre Drummond @ MIA, John Collins vs. MEM
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Zachary Hanshew is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Zachary, check out his archive and follow him @zakthemonster.