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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 Wednesday’s two-game slate starting at 7:30 ET.
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POINT GUARD
Ben Simmons – Philadelphia (vs. Atlanta) - DK: $7,600 / FD: $8,500 / Yahoo: $35
The question is really whether Simmons is cheap enough to compensate for the likely fantasy difference between he and Young tonight. I think so. Simmons is home, and Young is dealing with a shoulder issue, which could limit his fantasy upside. My goal is three stars in the lineups tonight, and Simmons is clearly the easier path to that end.
Also Consider: Trae Young
SHOOTING GUARD
Donovan Mitchell – Utah (vs. LA) - DK: $9,000 / FD: $9,700 / Yahoo: $39
Giving Mitchell the nod here because he’s back home, but this is a very close decision and a good place to hedge some lineups tonight. At his worst, he’s scored 30 real points against the Clippers in Round 2, with three rebounds and four assists. As long as Mike Conley remains out, Mitchell is going to keep up the high usage, highly consistent scoring role he thrives in. Even if Conley returns, Mitchell is a great play; he’ll garner less defensive attention and benefit from Conley’s distribution skills.
Also Consider: Paul George
SMALL FORWARD
Furkan Korkmaz – Philadelphia (vs. Atlanta) - DK: $3,800 / FD: $4,300 (SG) / Yahoo: $10 (SG)
With Danny Green sidelined, both Korkmaz and Matisse Thybulle were in contention for extra minutes and usage. It seems that Korkmaz is the more valuable play right now, as he’s played 25 and 27 minutes in the last two games, scoring double-digit points in both games with a few significant peripherals include two steals in Game 3 and two blocks in Game 4. He made five three-pointers in those two games, and while he isn’t going to make impact of one of the stars on this slate, he’s dirt cheap across the board and fills the SF, G or F slot on every site. Positional eligibility plays a role here, so see below for other options to consider given the absence of the obvious SF play, Kawhi Leonard, tonight.
Also Consider: Joe Ingles (Yahoo), Nic Batum (FanDuel)
POWER FORWARD
John Collins – Atlanta (at Philadelphia) - DK: $6,000 / FD: $6,600 / Yahoo: $22
Having rostered him on my season-long NBA fantasy team, I can vouch that Collins was largely a huge disappointment this season. He had some moments, but was not what I was hoping for. In this round of the playoffs, he’s come back from the dead somewhat, with a few memorable alley-oop dunks, two double-digit rebound games, and two games with at least 20 real points. He double-doubled for the first time in the post-season Monday night. Since I’m investing in the other two 76ers’ stars, I’m low on salary and Collins is the solid play for the price I’m settling on at PF.
Also Consider: Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris Sr.
CENTER
Joel Embiid – Philadelphia (at Atlanta) - DK: $10,300 / FD: $11,000 / Yahoo: $47
There’s really not much choice at center. Clint Capela has been terrible opposite Embiid and Rudy Gobert, my second choice, has mostly been underwhelming. He’s popped a couple times, and it will be interesting to see what happens with him now that Leonard is off the court – that’s why I have him as an alternative GPP play. Embiid continues to play tough through the knee issue, racking up another big 21-rebound double-double despite missing most of his 20 field goal attempts in Game 4. Expect a better offensive performance back in Philly tonight, and roll with Embiid as usual in all formats.
Also Consider: Rudy Gobert
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
Paul George (G – LAC) is at his best when Leonard is drawing the opponent’s defensive attention, allowing him to get more open looks, so while it might be tempting to assume that George will simply double his output with Leonard missing the rest of this series, I’m less confident. I predict a small boost to his already impressive output and have no issues with using him under the proper expectations – about 50 fantasy points is fair. Expect higher roster percentages on George than Mitchell, for sure.
Nicolas Batum (F – LAC) and Marcus Morris Sr. should both benefit from Leonard’s absence tonight. Morris has been playing heavy minutes and finally found his three-point shot in Game 4, making 4-of-5 from long range after missing 15-of-16 in the first three games of this series. Batum has played 32 and 35 minutes in the last two games, up significantly from the first two. He’s been returning just under a fantasy point per minute and has back-to-back 30-plus fantasy point games now with stats in every category. I expect the opportunity for both guys to increase in value tonight at very reasonable salaries. You’ll use price and positional eligibility as your guide when deciding to roster one or both Clippers’ forwards.
