The NBA season is in full swing and we’ve seen enough games that we can start to take advantage of trends and matchups. For this article, I’ll be focusing on FanDuel’s main Saturday slate, so I won’t be able to take advantage of 227 expected points between the Pelicans and Thunder, but I’ll still have some high-scoring matchups to attack with five of the seven games on the slate predicting at least 222 combined points. We also have heavy hitters Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns serving suspensions from their fracas Wednesday night, which opens up plenty of value on their respective teams. Here’s a look at some suggested players at each position tonight.
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Point Guard
Ben Simmons (PHI): $9,500
Simmons is no stranger to a six-figure price tag, so he’s definitely in play at $9,500, especially considering the extra usage he’s in line for with Embiid forced to sit this one out. Simmons has historically put up good fantasy totals when Embiid is out of the lineup, including the 48.8 FanDuel (FD) points he logged last week without the All-Star center. It wouldn’t be shocking for him to put up a triple-double tonight against the Blazers, who give up the fifth most FD points to point guards on average.
The NBA season is in full swing and we’ve seen enough games that we can start to take advantage of trends and matchups. For this article, I’ll be focusing on FanDuel’s main Saturday slate, so I won’t be able to take advantage of 227 expected points between the Pelicans and Thunder, but I’ll still have some high-scoring matchups to attack with five of the seven games on the slate predicting at least 222 combined points. We also have heavy hitters Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns serving suspensions from their fracas Wednesday night, which opens up plenty of value on their respective teams. Here’s a look at some suggested players at each position tonight.
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Point Guard
Ben Simmons (PHI): $9,500
Simmons is no stranger to a six-figure price tag, so he’s definitely in play at $9,500, especially considering the extra usage he’s in line for with Embiid forced to sit this one out. Simmons has historically put up good fantasy totals when Embiid is out of the lineup, including the 48.8 FanDuel (FD) points he logged last week without the All-Star center. It wouldn’t be shocking for him to put up a triple-double tonight against the Blazers, who give up the fifth most FD points to point guards on average.
Others to consider
Jamal Murray (DEN): $6,600
His price tag is more than fair considering he’s capable of putting of 40+ FD points on any given night. He could be in store for a big stat line tonight when he takes on the Magic, who are playing the second half of a back-to-back after getting trounced by Milwaukee last night.
Isaiah Thomas (WAS): $4,900
Thomas appears to have found the fountain of youth in D.C. The former All Staf hit over 5X value in both games he’s played so far this season and is in a good spot to do so again tonight against the Timberwolves.
Shooting Guard
Jordan Poole (GS): $3,900
Poole may be the best value play on the board tonight. The rookie out of Michigan has stepped into the starting lineup for the Warriors while Stephen Curry is sidelined with his broken hand. He put up 20.5 FD points Friday night and should be safe to put up a similar stat line tonight when he and the Warriors take on the Hornets.
Others to consider
D’Angelo Russell (GS): $9,400
Russell is priced up, but he’s probably worth it as the only true scorer left for Golden State. There’s no reason to fade him coming off of his 47.6 FD point performance of Friday.
Khris Middleton (MIL): $7,600
Call this one a hunch if you will, but Middleton hasn’t seen one of his signature blowup games yet this season. He’s shooting 63% from the field and 43% from deep so far this season and could be in line for a solid bounce back after a relatively down performance Friday.
Small Forward
Kelly Oubre (PHO): $6,600
Oubre’s salary still hasn’t caught up to his value. Even with his $6,600 salary tonight he would have hit 5X value in four out of his five games so far this season. He’s putting up career numbers so far this year with the Suns, including the second-highest usage on the team behind Devin Booker. He’s in line to pay off his price again tonight in Memphis.
Others to consider
Pascal Siakam (TOR): $9,000
Siakan is the second-highest priced small forward on the slate, but he’s also been one of the best players in the league so far this season. He’s seeing career numbers in nearly every category now that Kawhi Leonard has left town, including one of the highest usage rates in the NBA at 32.6%.
Davis Bertans (WAS): $4,400
Bertans has put up 29.9 and 27.6 FD points in his last two outings, averaging over 6X value based on his salary tonight. He’s been seeing consistent minutes and usage with Washington and there’s no reason to fade him tonight against Minnesota.
Power Forward
Al Horford (PHI): $6,900
Horford is listed as a power forward, but he’s likely to start at center in Joel Embiid’s absence tonight. He put up 44.3 FD points last week when Embiid was held out, and the veteran big man could easily put up 40+ FD points again tonight in Portland coming off of two day’s rest.
Others to consider
PJ Washington (CHA): $6,700
The rookie out of Kentucky is coming off of his best game of the season against the Kings on Wednesday and now takes on the Warriors in what could be a paced up game. He’s shooting a ridiculous 52% from deep while averaging 15.8 points and 7.0 rebounds in five games so far this season.
Anthony Tolliver (POR): $4,100
Toliver has put up at least 22 FD points in consecutive games with Zack Collins missing time with a shoulder injury. The journeyman forward has averaged over 27 minutes on the court without Collins and should be a safe play to hit 5X value at his bargain price tag tonight.
Center
Thomas Bryant (WAS): $7,700
Bryant has put up over 48 FD points in two of his past three games and should be another beneficiary of Towns’ absence on the other side of the court. The third-year center is averaging a double-double with points and rebounds on the season so far, not to mention 2.3 blocks per game.
Others to consider
Nikola Jokic (DEN): $9,700
This is only the fourth time in the calendar year that Jokic has been priced under $10,000. He hasn’t put up huge numbers in the past few games but is capable of putting up a triple-double and 70 FD points on any given night.
Kyle O’Quinn (PHI): $3,500
O’Quinn is a candidate to see increased minutes for the 76ers with the Embiid suspension. He’s not likely to have a massive game but should be fine at the minimum salary if you’re looking to pay up at other positions.
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Here’s an example of a lineup you can confidently roll out tonight. It’s a max salary lineup and is more suited to cash games, so you can tweak it as you please with other players mentioned above or your favorite players in tonight’s games.
PG: Ben Simmons
PG: Isaiah Thomas
SG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Jordan Poole
SF: Kelly Oubre
SF: Davis Bertans
PF: Al Horford
PF: P.J. Washington
C: Thomas Bryant
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Aaron Larson is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Aaron, check out his archive and follow him @aalarson.