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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 four-game slate starting early at 1:30 ET.
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POINT GUARD
Damian Lillard – Portland Trail Blazers (vs. Denver) - DK: $9,600 / FD: $10,500 / Yahoo: $43
I don’t feel good about spending up for Russell Westbrook tonight. He looks truly questionable, and while I suspect he will convince the powers that be to let him play tonight, I doubt we’re going to get enough to reach value at this salary. So, Lillard is my top PG play. He’s steadily competed vs. the Nuggets through the first three games of the series, and will no doubt be going 110 percent to even the series at home tonight. He’s the perfect high-floor, high-upside play for any contest on this slate, and I’d use him over Jokic in the captain/MVP if you’re playing the showdown for the savings (where that matters).
Also Consider: Mike Conley, Jrue Holiday
For Value: Goran Dragic, Facundo Campazzo
SHOOTING GUARD
Tyler Herro – Miami Heat (vs. Milwaukee) - DK: $5,200 / FD: $4,400 / Yahoo: $16
Herro is the riskiest play I’ll lay out here. Miami has their backs against the wall today, and while this series may not be winnable, a home game in which Giannis Antetokounmpo is less than 100 percent gives them a decent chance to extend it. Herro could be playing a lot better than he has been. Shooters slump and they break out of slumps, and this play is me expecting that to happen today. If his shot is falling, the minutes will follow and he has a chance to be one of the best values of the day. When finding ways to save on these small playoff slates, I’m usually looking for underperforming guys like Herro to break out for a big gain.
Also Consider: Bradley Beal, Jordan Clarkson
For Value: Bryn Forbes, Seth Curry, Monte Morris
SMALL FORWARD
Kyle Anderson – Memphis Grizzlies (vs. Utah) - DK: $6,100 / FD: $6,600 / Yahoo: $21
My season-long love of Anderson is free to shine today as the SF position is one of the least inspiring on this slate. Anderson just makes for an easy mid-range, high-floor, consistent cash game play. He has a notable 10 steals through the first two games of this series, and is becoming as much a face of this young, but driven, contender as Ja Morant. There’s no reason to spend much more on other small forwards who are performing in this 30-35 fantasy point range.
Also Consider: Khris Middleton, Michael Porter Jr., Bojan Bogdanovic
POWER FORWARD
Aaron Gordon – Denver Nuggets (at Portland) - DK: $5,300 / FD: $5,400 / Yahoo: $15
Speaking of uninspiring positions, if you don’t break the bank on Antetokounmpo, who is probable tonight with a groin injury, PF is pretty barren. Tobias Harris is also probable, but with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid active, his upside is limited. Jaren Jackson, Jr. is too expensive for what he’s been doing on the court, so, like with Herro, I’m going with the guy who could be a lot better than he has been. Gordon has averaged about 30 MPG in the first three games of this series, and produced perfectly respectable stats in each, ranging from 22-29 fantasy points per game. He may get more playing time given his success as a defender, and that creates opportunities for stats on both ends of the court. He is absolutely a safe play in any contest at this salary.
Also Consider: Giannis Antetokounmpo
CENTER
Jusuf Nurkic – Portland Trail Blazers (vs. Denver) - DK: $6,900 / FD: $8,000 / Yahoo: $29
It’s never easy to fade Jokic, and if you can afford him, by all means, go for it. It’s too tough to fit him and Lillard for most of my lineups tonight, so I’m taking the discount route at center. Nurkic has been at least as good as, if not better than, every other center in this slate (Jokic excluded, obviously), yet he is significantly cheaper than Rudy Gobert, Joel Embiid, and Jonas Valanciunas on all three sites.
Also Consider: Nikola Jokic
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
Bryn Forbes (G – MIL) took over the second half after Donte DiVincenzo was injured in Game 3, and is the likely candidate to benefit from DiVincenzo’s absence. In three games vs. Miami recently in which Forbes played 20 minutes (one a regular season game), he has exceeded value with between 18-30 fantasy points per game. In those three games, including Games 2 and 3, he shot 64 percent from three-point range. In two of them, he scored over 20 real points. For minimum or near minimum salary, Forbes is the key to another star player in your main slate lineups. Our DFS Optimizer projects him for about 25 fantasy points today.
Facundo Campazzo (PG – DEN) is not as cheap as Forbes, but he is finding his rhythm in this series, improving with every successive game. He notched 38 fantasy points in Game 3, and has been filling the stat sheet in every category including a block in each game and seven steals so far. With 30-32 MPG, he’s locked into a high-floor role and makes for a solid mid-range guard play today.
