It’s the last day of March — also the penultimate Friday of the NBA regular season — and we’ve got a monster slate on our hands. 13 games. 26 teams. An indescribable amount of injuries. This is basketball. You know how it goes by this point.
How can you sift through the noise and find the right value options for your lineups? Just keep reading, my friend.
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C Sandro Mamukelashvili, San Antonio Spurs at Golden State Warriors, $5,000
Alright. Let’s play our daily game of trying to figure out how the Spurs are tanking on this particular night. Zach Collins (injury management) and Jeremy Sochan (knee) have already been ruled out, while Devin Vassell ($6,100; knee) is questionable. Can we expect a couple more additions before tip-off? I definitely wouldn’t rule it out. However, in this cloud of uncertainty there is a silver lining: Mamukelashvili. The big man has been everything you could want from a late-season, free agent pick-up. Mamukelashvili is fresh on the heels of registering 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and 34.0 DKFP against the Jazz on Wednesday. He’s averaged a healthy 26.8 DKFP in the three starts he’s made for San Antonio this season and, since March 17, he’s producing a very noteworthy 1.12 DKFP per minute played. Mamukelashvili should start once again with Collins sidelined, and I’d be shocked if he doesn’t bring back at least 5x value.
SF/PF Kevin Knox II, Portland Trail Blazers vs. Sacramento Kings, $5,000
If you want a microcosm of the last three weeks for the Blazers, look no further than Wednesday’s loss to this same Kings team. Keon Johnson (finger) was coming off a very encouraging performance against the Pelicans and he was set to see big minutes in that evening’s contest. Instead, Johnson broke his finger in warmups and will now likely miss the remainder of the season. Woof. With Damian Lillard (calf), Jerami Grant (quad), Jusuf Nurkic (knee) and Anfernee Simons (foot) already ruled out, that left Portland with just a seven-man rotation — which is why Knox ended up logging an insane 39.4 minutes of action. The former lottery pick didn’t shoot well, yet thanks primarily to 12 rebounds and sheer volume, he’d finish with 30.0 DKFP. Considering who’s left on this roster, I really can’t see a scenario where Knox doesn’t see at least 30 minutes in Friday’s rematch. Also keep an eye on Nassir Little ($5,600), who was just 4-for-17 from the field in the Blazers’ 120-80 loss, but almost played 40.0 minutes. Any shooting regression and he’ll be very viable.
SG/SF Norman Powell, Los Angeles Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies, $4,800
One of the many pieces of news hanging over this slate is the status of Kawhi Leonard ($9,900; personal), who missed the Clippers’ victory over the Grizzlies on Wednesday. With Paul George (knee) out for the foreseeable future, Leonard missing another content on Friday would open up a ton of usage for the secondary and tertiary options on Los Angeles’ roster. One of the first names on that list? Powell. The wing made his return from an 11-game absence against Memphis, scoring 13 points and logging 24.2 minutes. Even if Leonard’s able to suit up this evening, I’d still expect Powell’s role to only grow over the final week of the regular season as he attempts to get his legs back. It’s not like he looked tired on Wednesday, though. In fact, Powell’s 27.5% usage rate ranked third on the team. Take this opportunity to roster Powell now before his salary shoots back up into the $6K range.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $200K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is theglt13) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.