Garion Thorne dives into tonight’s six-game NBA featured slate to find undervalued players to use in your DraftKings lineups.
The toughest battles always come towards the end, right? The final boss, if you will. It appears that’s what the NBA schedule makers had in mind when they mapped out this last week of the regular season.
We’ve got a pair of 15-game slates on the horizon, but before we get to that, there’s this mess on Wednesday. Of the 20 teams taking the court this evening, more than half are on the second night of a back-to-back. Woof.
For this article, we’ll be focusing on DraftKings’ six-game featured slate. Let’s find some value picks.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $100K Fadeaway [$25K to 1st]
PF Tidjane Salaun, Charlotte Hornets at Toronto Raptors, $4,400
Even with all of Charlotte’s injuries, Salaun isn’t starting games, though the rookie has seemingly found a groove as the team’s sixth man in recent weeks. To wit, in his last seven contests, Salaun is averaging 9.6 points and 7.1 rebounds. It’s a span of time where the former sixth-overall pick has exceeded 20 FPTS five times. It’s also a span that began with Salaun grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds and registering his second-career double-double against this same Raptors squad back on March 28. A repeat performance could be in the cards, especially if Jakob Poeltl ($7,400; hand) is unable to play through a questionable tag. Additionally, Salaun might see a higher usage rate that usual on Wednesday, as Mark Williams ($8,600) will likely rest on the second leg of a back-to-back set.
PG/SG A.J. Lawson, Toronto Raptors vs. Charlotte Hornets, $3,800
We’re digging deep. Two of the biggest question marks on this slate — aside from all the teams that have yet to submit an injury report — are the aforementioned Poeltl and Scottie Barnes ($8,700; hand), who is listed as questionable for Wednesday after missing Toronto’s past two games. If the duo is eventually ruled out, they’ll join Jamal Shead (rest), Ja’Kobe Walter (hip) and Ochai Agbaji (rest) on the sideline. If you didn’t notice, that’s basically every wing option the Raptors employ outside of RJ Barrett ($8,200), and Barrett is on his own minutes restriction. Needless to say, Toronto is going to need someone to step up on Wednesday and Lawson appears to be that guy. In his four games off the bench in April, Lawson is averaging 12.0 points and 3.3 rebounds with a 22.1% usage rate. He’s also shooting 60.0% from the field. It’s a small sample, but in a matchup with an underwhelming Charlotte defense, I’m expecting a decent scoring night from the 24-year-old Lawson.
SF/PF Kris Murray, Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz, $3,900
This tilt has the highest implied total of any game on tonight’s featured slate and it’s not difficult to see why. Not only does Portland rank inside the league’s top 10 in pace across its past 10 contests (100.1), but in that same stretch, Utah owns the league’s worst defensive rating (128.8). Regardless of who ends up playing for the Blazers, they shouldn’t find too much resistance in scoring on Wednesday — and who ends up playing is a bit of a mystery. Deni Avdija ($9,900; thumb) is questionable after missing Portland’s last contest, while Anfernee Simons ($6,700; forearm) is in danger of missing his fifth game in a row. Dalano Banton ($5,800) is the safe pivot here, though the guard’s price tag has steadily risen out of “bargain” range. So, instead, let’s talk Murray. In Sunday’s win over the Spurs, Murray logged 32.6 minutes off the bench, finishing with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and 32.25 FPTS. If Avdija is out again, Murray should easily be an asset that winds up at 6x or 7x value.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
