This article aims to highlight some of the best NBA DFS Plays at every position for your cash game lineups. Keep in mind that the following player write-ups were constructed earlier in the day, and sometimes injury/rest situations can alter the fantasy landscape. Monitoring our NBA News & Headlines Feed throughout the day will keep you in the loop while giving you the subsequent DFS consequences of each information piece.
We’ll take a look at Saturday’s 5-game Main slate starting at 8:00 ET.
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POINT GUARD
Coby White – Chicago (vs. Sacramento) - DK: $6,100 / FD: $5,600 / Yahoo: $21
When these teams played in January, White had his best game of the season, a 36-point bonanza. He was able to take advantage of the league’s worst defense, and best overall and point guard matchup for fantasy to net us 50 fantasy points that night. Will he be that good again? It’s hard to say, of course, but all the right factors remain in place – Vegas likes this to be high scoring and close and the Kings have not improved defensively in the least. There are a lot of point guards to love tonight, and I’ll give you my favorite way to spend below, but I think White could be the best value at the position, so he’s where I’m starting. I will probably use three PGs on Yahoo and DraftKings, the position is so deep.
Also Consider: Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, De’Aaron Fox, LaMelo Ball (FanDuel $7800)
SHOOTING GUARD
Tyler Herro – Miami (at LA Lakers) - DK: $6,300 / FD: $6,300 / Yahoo: $22
Herro may very well be overlooked, even on a small slate, with Zach LaVine and Bradley Beal demanding a lot of attention. As with PG, I don’t have an issue spending here, as both LaVine and Beal are in better game and matchup situations than Herro. Yet Herro is so cheap for the production he’s been providing, and he’s been doing it vs. other quality defenses like the Clippers and Warriors. It certainly helps that the Lakers are without one of their best defenders in Anthony Davis, but Herro should be able to put up another 35-40 fantasy points for us tonight just based on his own ability to contribute in every statistical category.
Also Consider: Zach LaVine, Bradley Beal, Terry Rozier
Bargain options: Tyrese Haliburton, Desmond Bane, Gary Trent
SMALL FORWARD
LeBron James – LA Lakers (vs. Miami) - DK: $10,200 / FD: $10,500 / Yahoo: $48
As usual, SF is the position to groan about. There isn’t a ton to get excited about here, which is why it’s an easy decision to spend on James and forget it. He’s been as consistent as a player can be, and consistent at an extremely high level. Lock him in on this small slate and you won’t regret it.
Also Consider: Jimmy Butler, Gordon Hayward, Kyle Anderson
Bargain options: Derrick Jones, Malik Monk, Duncan Robinson, Mikal Bridges
POWER FORWARD
Thaddeus Young – Chicago (vs. Sacramento) - DK: $6,000 / FD: $6,500 / Yahoo: $19
Young is the most complete option at PF across all three sites tonight, which says something about the state of the position tonight. He’s always close to a double-double and is averaging about 30 fantasy points per game in his current role. The Kings are a good frontcourt matchup too, and as noted, this game has an over/under of 233 points and a narrow spread. There should be ample fantasy points on both sides, making Young an easy choice to fill this slot. I am also considering Draymond Green on DraftKings, where his salary is more acceptable, and Jae Crowder on all three sites (see below).
Also Consider: Draymond Green (especially on DraftKings), Kyle Kuzma, Robert Covington
Bargain options: Jae Crowder, Brandon Clarke
CENTER
Cody Zeller – Charlotte (vs. Golden State) - DK: $6,400 / FD: $5,100 / Yahoo: $20
This position, too, is all about value. I think Zeller is more likely to be worth it than Jonas Valanciunas or Deandre Ayton, the two most expensive options who face each other again tonight. Actually, Ayton had a good game vs. the Grizzlies, but Valanciunas was out that night. Ayton is a decent GPP play, as his salary has really dropped and Memphis does offer a pace boost and ranks eighth in overall fantasy points allowed, but I think he’ll have his hands full with Valanciunas healthy. Back to Zeller, and a game I haven’t said enough about, since the Hornets haven’t played in forever, and the Warriors, though highly ranked in defensive efficiency, play at a fast pace. The game total is 232 points, with the visiting Warriors favored by one point. I noted Ball, Rozier and Hayward as “also considers” for those reasons, but Zeller deserves a spot in lineups too. He’s near a double-double most nights, and has averaged 30 fantasy points per game in the last two. It’s easiest to justify him on FanDuel at that super low price.
Also Consider: Bam Adebayo (PF on FanDuel), Enes Kanter
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
Damian Lillard (PG – POR) With the outline above, it’s not too hard to find the money for Lillard in a second PG or G slot. Lillard ranks highest among point guards in player efficiency rating, and his 33.2 usage rate is the fourth-highest in the league. He’s the most expensive option (essentially tied with Curry on both FD and Yahoo) tonight, but in a matchup with the Wizards that carries a point total of 242, with Washington playing at the league’s fastest pace but ranking 26th in defensive efficiency, how can Lillard go wrong? The same factors apply to Russell Westbrook, so if you really need to save a few hundred salary dollars, I think he will also be worth the spend. Westbrook owns the sixth-highest usage rate in the league and Portland is the second-best PG matchup (after Sacramento).
Derrick Jones (F – POR) has played over 30 MPG in the last three, and is coming off a very complete effort (good for 36 fantasy points) against New Orleans. He’s cheaper than Carmelo Anthony ($4400 on FD and DK, $12 on Yahoo) and looks to be developing into a nice value play, especially in plus situations like this one vs. Washington.
Jae Crowder (PF – PHX) is the final value piece I’m going after tonight, in a F or utility slot. Memphis is a good forward matchup, and Crowder is playing terrific lately. He’s been over 30 fantasy points in three games straight, with well-rounded stat lines in each. Notably, he’s made 13 threes on 30 attempts in those games. Even if he is playing a bit over his head right now, he’s affordable enough to make value at 25 fantasy points (I’m still hoping for another 35 though).
