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The NBA is back in full swing. After six games on Friday, there will be five games to choose from on Saturday. The slate gets underway at 1 p.m. ET with the Miami Heat vs. the Denver Nuggets and concludes with the Raptors vs. the Lakers at 8:30 p.m. ET.
There are plenty of studs available to choose from – LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, etc. – so you’ll need to find some strong values if you want to jam them into your lineups. Luckily, there are a host of strong options to choose from.
Set your lineups here: NBA $1M Saturday Shootaround [$200K to 1st]
SG/SF Torrey Craig, DEN vs. MIA, $3,000
The Nuggets are dealing with a few key injuries at the moment. Will Barton and Gary Harris have already been ruled out for Saturday’s contest vs. the Heat, and Jamal Murray is listed as questionable.
That could result in a big workload for Craig, who is priced at the absolute minimum. Craig is far from a fantasy monster – he’s averaged 0.69 DraftKings points per minute this season – but it’s hard to ignore someone who could play 30-plus minutes at just $3,000. Craig has played at least 25 minutes in 12 games this season and he’s averaged 21.71 DKFP in those contests. That would be better than 7x value on his current salary.
PG Aaron Holiday, IND vs. PHI, $4,000
OK, so Holiday isn’t exactly under $4,000, but I’m going to cheat here. He has the potential to be one of the offensive focal points for the Pacers today, so I’m comfortable making an exception for him.
The Pacers are another team dealing with a host of injuries in Orlando. Domantas Sabonis has already left the bubble after sustaining a serious ankle injury, so it seems like his season is over. Victor Oladipo initially opted out of the restart, but there is growing optimism that he will actually suit up. Malcolm Brogdon was a late addition to the injury report after suffering a cervical strain. Ultimately, there’s a chance that the Pacers will be without all three players vs. the 76ers.
If that happens, expect Holiday to be one of the best values of the day. He’s increased his usage rate by +4.9% with all three players off the court this season, resulting in an average of 0.98 DKFP per minute.
PG/SG Jordan Clarkson, UTA @ OKC, $3,900
The Jazz entered the bubble with a huge hole in the team’s rotation. Utah lost Bojan Bogdanovic to an injury and he ranked third on the team in minutes per game and second in usage.
If the Jazz’s first game is any indication, Clarkson is going to be asked to fill that void.
He filled up the stat sheet over 32.2 minutes in that contest, finishing with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Overall, he racked up 37.25 DKFP at just $4,200.
With that in mind, I’m not sure why his salary actually decreased for today’s contest vs. the Thunder. It is definitely a tougher matchup but Clarkson should continue to see all the minutes he can handle. His game is very fantasy-friendly – he’s averaged 0.95 DKFP per minute as a member of the Jazz – so expect him to continue producing while on the court.
SF/PF Michael Porter Jr. & PF/C Bol Bol, DEN vs. MIA, $3,000
I’m going with a two-for-one special here. The Nuggets aren’t nearly as thin in the frontcourt as the team is in the backcourt but these guys are just too talented. They have been heavily featured during the scrimmages in Orlando and both are capable of averaging well over 1.00 DKFP per minute.
Their workload shouldn’t be as safe as Craig’s, but they should feature into the rotation. Ultimately, they have plenty of upside at the absolute minimum.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is mlamarca) 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 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.