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Saturday’s NBA DFS slate consists of three games. As the season winds down, unconventional slates appear. With strange slates comes opportunity. Anyone can win these large fantasy basketball tournaments at DraftKings.
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Matchups
Denver Nuggets at Utah Jazz
The Nuggets present a normal matchup with a 111.7 Defensive Efficiency Rating (16th) but a disadvantageous 99.6 in Pace (24th).
The Jazz present a favorable matchup with a 113.9 Defensive Efficiency Rating (24th) and a favorable 102.3 in Pace (9th).
Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Clippers
The Trail Blazers present a favorable matchup with a 115.7 Defensive Efficiency Rating (27th) but a disadvantageous 100 in Pace (20th).
The Clippers present a normal matchup with a 111.9 Defensive Efficiency Rating (19th) and a normal 100.1 in Pace (19th).
Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs
The Timberwolves present a normal matchup with a 111.2 Defensive Efficiency Rating (11th) and a favorable 102.7 in Pace (7th).
The Spurs present a favorable matchup with a 117.7 Defensive Efficiency Rating (30th) and a favorable 103.1 in Pace (2nd).
Guard
Studs
Tre Jones, San Antonio Spurs vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, $6,500 — How is Tre Jones a DFS NBA stud? Welcome to the Saturday April 8 slate. While the Easter egg hunts are raging, Tre Jones could also be raging on this three-game afternoon slate. The Spurs’ rotation is as radical as can be reasoned. However, amidst this madness, Jones is getting minutes. He has scored 29 DKFP in 29.6 MPG for an average return of 6.2x over the last seven games.
Value
Norman Powell, Los Angeles Clippers vs. Portland Trail Blazers, $6,100 — This is clutch time for the Clippers. Saturday’s game, like Wednesday’s 125-118 win over the Lakers, is a significant game. On Wednesday, Powell scored 41.5 DKFP. He played 32 minutes and started in the game before that. Powell is primed to play minutes in a soft matchup against what remains of Portland’s roster. Also, it’s somewhat of a revenge game. The Blazers traded Powell to the Clippers last season.
Bones Hyland, Los Angeles Clippers vs. Portland Trail Blazers, $5,500 — There are landmines on this slate. Some teams are down and out. Their rotations are unpredictable. Their players are not great. Bones isn’t great. The No. 1 seeded Nuggets kicked him to the curb for a bag of magic beans. It wasn’t so much that Hyland wasn’t a quality player, but he did not work in the Denver system. Hyland is the same player for LA, but LA has nothing else so he works. Denver didn’t need a care-free shooter on their second unit. The Clippers don’t mind. Hyland is an upside play. He’s a shooter. On a small slate, in a very soft matchup — the Blazers’ second unit might as well be zombies and the slow zombies not the fast ones — Hyland should see a higher rate of his shots fall.
Shaquille Harrison, Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Clippers, $4,800 — He is a professional basketball player. Portland has shut down their starters and they’re resting the backups. Over the last week, Harrison has been playing minutes in the middle twenties and scoring just under a fantasy point per minute.
Forward
Studs
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs, $8,400 — The 2023 iron man will again suit up. This is a must win and it’s an easy win. It’s possible that Minnesota rests players on the wild Sunday slate, but they can’t get cute on Saturday. They’ve got to win and they must take the Spurs seriously. On paper, this should be an easy win and light game for Edwards. That’s on paper. In real life, the Spurs’ random rotation, whoever that may be, could embrace the role of spoiler and create a game environment filled with DFS opportunities.
Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers vs. Portland Trail Blazers, $10,400 — There have been quite a few rough nights for Kawhi lately. Saturday could go sour, but on a three-game slate, avoiding Kawhi is dangerous. Avoiding the leader of the Clippers, in a game with playoff seeding on the line, is not advisable. Leonard dropped 40 real-life points on the Pelicans last Saturday. He took 28 shots in 43 minutes. He was less active in 43 minutes in the Clippers’ win over the Lakers on Wednesday (41.25 DKFP). It’s boom or bust, but the bust isn’t terrible and the boom is slate breaking. This is a big game and an easy matchup. If Leonard fires up 28 shots, then he will be in the winning lineup on Saturday.
Value
Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs, $5,700 — The T-Wolves have something to play for and they’re playing a soft opponent. The Spurs will likely roll out a third-string unit on Saturday. They will play hard but they’re still scrubs. The Spurs’ starters play terrible defense and up-tempo basketball. These Spurs should be much worse. This is a dream matchup for Minnesota.
Dominick Barlow, San Antonio Spurs vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, $3,800 — The Spurs are a mess but that’s the way it is down the stretch in the NBA. Barlow played 30 minutes on April 2 and scored 39 DKFP. He played 21 minutes on April 4 and scored 16.75 DKFP. While the latter may be disappointing, it could work as a value play on a three-game slate. Cheap minutes in an up-tempo matchup are a valuable commodity on this Saturday slate.
Center
Studs
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs, $8,300 — Minnesota plays on Saturday and Sunday. Playoff seeding is on the line. The team needs to step up. KAT needs to fire the engine up for the playoffs. The T-Wolves last played on Tuesday and Towns scored 48.5 DKFP in a 107-102 win at Brooklyn. The matchup gets easier on Saturday but no less important.
Value
Damian Jones, Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets, $4,300 — With C Walker Kessler out for the remainder of the season, someone had to step up. Jones played 32 minutes and scored 28.5 DKFP in Tuesday’s 133-135 loss to the Lakers. Jones doesn’t appear to be very good, but these are cheap minutes from a player that wants to show out.
Jabari Walker, Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Clippers, $5,800 — And so concludes the weirdest targets article of the 2022-23 season. There is one more regular season article tomorrow and it is primed to be another fiasco. Here were are, considering Jabari Walker without hesitation. He wasn’t even in the league five seconds ago, but he’s getting plenty of minutes each night with Portland shutting down their starters. Walker is playing north of 20 minutes with the second unit and his usage rate is above 25%. With just six teams to choose from, Walker is an appealing value pick.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is greenflagradio2) 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.