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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 Thursday’s 5-game slate starting at 7:30 ET.
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POINT GUARD
Anfernee Simons – Portland (vs. San Antonio) - DK: $4,900 / FD: $5,200 / Yahoo: $14
With Damian Lillard sidelined at least 10 days, Simons should step into a fairly large role, one he has occupied in the past with great value. Simons has actually been really solid the last three games, with between 29-37 fantasy points in each. He gets the best PG matchup of the small slate as well as a significant pace bump from the Spurs. He’ll be popular, but should be one of the best ROI plays tonight.
Also Consider: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dejounte Murray, Tyus Jones, Alex Caruso
SHOOTING GUARD
Landry Shamet – Phoenix (vs. Detroit) - DK: $3,100 / FD: $3,800 / Yahoo: $10
Shamet is another injury-induced salary-saving play. With Devin Booker sidelined with a hamstring strain for at least a couple games, I expect both Shamet and Cameron Johnson to see increased minutes and usage. Mikal Bridges is another candidate for increased value, but Shamet is the cheapest of all, which is important in trying to fit in two star forward tonight. At these salaries, he probably won’t tank your lineups even with a disappointing 15 fantasy point line. It probably doesn’t need to be said that the matchup with Detroit is a fine one: the Pistons give up the seventh-most fantasy points overall, rank sixth in turnover rate, and dead last in rebounding rate.
Also Consider: C.J. McCollum, Zach LaVine, Dillon Brooks, Alec Burks/Immanuel Quickley
SMALL FORWARD
Luguentz Dort – Oklahoma City (at Memphis) - DK: $5,700 / FD: $5,600 / Yahoo: $19
Dort was a nice play Wednesday night as well as tonight. Josh Giddey is likely out again tonight which creates additional opportunities on offense for Dort, and Memphis is one of the best matchups out there. The Grizzlies rank 30th in defensive rating, giving up the third-most fantasy points overall and to small forwards. The game should be fast-paced and given some of the surprising Thunder games where they’ve hung with much better opponents, perhaps closer than the spread indicates. That’s where Dort is at his best.
Also Consider: Khris Middleton, DeMar DeRozan, Cameron Johnson, Scottie Barnes, Keldon Johnson, Mikal Bridges
POWER FORWARD
Julius Randle – New York (vs. Chicago) - DK: $9,500 / FD: $8,500 / Yahoo: $35
I think we can fit both Randle and Antetokounmpo tonight with all the value, and that’s what I’m aiming to do. Randle has been above his average when playing the Bulls this season with a notable 13 rebounds per game and 23.5 points per game. He’s coming off a very near triple-double effort vs. the Nets, which hopefully indicates that he set to thrive in the Knicks new system.
Also Consider: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
CENTER
Jusuf Nurkic – Portland (vs. San Antonio) - DK: $7,000 / FD: $6,700 / Yahoo: $27
Nurkic is kind of in a groove lately, hitting 30-plus fantasy points in each of his last four games. I like the matchup for him; it’s the highest over/under of the slate and the Spurs play at the fifth-highest pace while giving up the 10th-most overall fantasy points to opponents. He’s definitely another Trail Blazer who will be relied upon to pick up some slack with Lillard out and his mid-range salary works well in tonight’s build.
Also Consider: Deandre Ayton, Jakob Poeltl, Nikola Vucevic
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Jaren Jackson Jr. (PF – MEM) If you aren’t comfortable saving with Shamet, you might need to drop from Giannis or Randle to Jackson, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Jackson played great without Morant Tuesday night, scoring 25 points with five blocks against Toronto. He’s a regular source of blocks and rebounds, so with additional scoring opportunities should reach value with ease until his salary goes up.
Derrick Rose (G – NYK) is the big beneficiary of Kemba Walker’s benching, and he responded with a huge line vs. Brooklyn Tuesday night: 16 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds with zero turnovers. While Alec Burks also had a big game, his salary has risen dramatically ($7000 FD, $6500 DK, $17 Yahoo), while Rose’s is still super low on two sites ($5500 FD, $4800 DK, $17 Yahoo). At this point in their respective careers, I trust Rose more than Burks to provide steady high-end production if given the minutes.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (F – MIL) As I always say, play him if you can. This blurb is just to more emphatically say that yes, you can, tonight. Even with Randle and Gilgeous-Alexander, this works. I noted above what Jackson did vs. Toronto recently; Giannis should double his output in the same matchup. Toronto ranks 24th in defensive rating, while Giannis is the third-highest scorer, sixth-highest rebounder, and ranks 11thin blocks on a per-game basis. It’s interesting that the Bucks are only 4.5-point favorites on the road, a line that gives hope for a full four quarters of the Greek Freak.
