Garion Thorne dives into Thursday’s three-game late slate to find undervalued players to use in your DraftKings lineups.
This is one of the more odd NBA slates I can remember in 2024-25 from a timing perspective.
The DraftKings main slate this evening is five games and it starts at 7:00 p.m. ET, as contests tipoff in Charlotte and Indiana. However, the next game doesn’t start till 10:00 p.m. ET, with a trio of Eastern Conference squads on the west coast.
If you just want to ignore those early games, this article is for you. Let’s go through some studs and values for the night owls. Let’s break down the three-game late slate.
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Guard
Stud
Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers vs. Milwaukee Bucks, $9,100 – With reports that Luka Doncic (ankle) is going to sit on the second night of Los Angeles’ back-to-back set, you’ll have to turn to Reaves as your big ticket guard. Consider that in the 85 minutes Reaves has logged without Doncic in the Lakers’ past five games, the 26-year-old is maintaining an eye-popping 38.8% usage rate and producing 1.58 FPTS per minute. Even if Reaves isn’t quite that efficient on Thursday, he’s going to thrive as a DFS asset as the No. 1 option.
Value
Devin Carter, Sacramento Kings vs. Chicago Bulls, $3,200 – This is one you’ll have to keep a close eye on. The Kings are also on the second night of a back-to-back, and in Wednesday’s surprising win over the Cavaliers Zach LaVine ($8,600; personal) was unavailable. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready to return this evening. If LaVine is sidelined again, that opens the door for Carter to have a massive impact. The rookie played the role of sixth man versus Cleveland, logging 30.7 minutes off the bench and finishing with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and 33.25 FPTS. The Bulls are a perfect DFS matchup. They’re uptempo and have surrendered the third-most FPTS to opposing point guards this season. At this price, in this spot, Carter is a must-play if LaVine sits.
Forward
Stud
Jimmy Butler, Golden State Warriors vs. Toronto Raptors, $8,200 – This is about as expensive as Butler’s been in 2025, yet his recent play certainly makes him worthy of this salary. Since March 6, Butler has managed to exceed 40 FPTS in five of his seven starts, headlined by a 52.5-point triple-double against the Blazers on March 10. It’s also a stretch where Butler is producing a team-high 1.20 FPTS per minute. There is some blowout potential in this spot, but the Raptors will have Scottie Barnes ($8,500), Immanuel Quickley ($6,600) and Jakob Poeltl ($6,000) available. That should be enough to keep things semi-close.
Value
Jordan Goodwin, Los Angeles Lakers vs. Milwaukee Bucks, $4,600 – Between the aforementioned Doncic and Reaves, there hasn’t much usage leftover for the rest of the Lakers’ rotation. However, Goodwin might suddenly be asked to carry a large offensive role with Doncic joining LeBron James (groin) and Rui Hachimura (knee) on the bench in street clothes. Goodwin has started each of the team’s past four games and has generally found a way to be productive. In that same stretch, Goodwin is averaging 30.2 minutes per contest — the fourth-highest mark on Los Angeles. He’s also registered at least 23 FPTS three times, with a high of 34.0 on Monday against the Spurs.
Center
Stud
Nikola Vucevic, Chicago Bulls at Sacramento Kings, $7,100 – Vucevic has been back for over a week now. His conditioning has built itself up to the point where the big man has logged over 30 minutes in each of his last two starts, including Wednesday’s 42.0 FPTS effort against the Suns. Yet, Vucevic still finds himself carrying a price tag this close to $7,000. I don’t get it, but I do love the savings. Vucevic’s usage rate was a team-high 28.2% last night. He remains the No. 1 offensive option when he’s healthy and he could shoulder an even larger load if the Bulls decide to rest Josh Giddey ($8,500) on Thursday, as the guard returned from a three-game absence in Phoenix. Either way, Vucevic is far too cheap.
Value
Colin Castleton, Toronto Raptors at Golden State Warriors, $4,300 – It’ll be interesting to see who gets bumped from Toronto’s starting five with Poeltl returning on Thursday. It’s going to be either Castleton or Jonathan Mogbo ($4,200). I’ll lean with the latter moving to the bench, as Castleton has now started three of the Raptors’ last four contests, including a start alongside Poeltl on March 12 against the 76ers. Castleton’s exceeded 20 FPTS in each of his last five games. It’s also a span where he’s averaging 9.6 rebounds. At this price, he’s viable if you’re looking to punt at center.
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