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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 eight-game slate starting at 7:00 ET.
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POINT GUARD
CJ McCollum – New Orleans (vs. Sacramento) - DK: $9,000 / FD: $8,800 (SG) / Yahoo: $32
There are a couple standout games tonight, and this is one of them. With a 235.5-point total, and a pretty narrow spread, both of these teams deserve a hard look when building lineups tonight. We are seeing the old McCollum since his move to the East – his scoring is amazing (30 PPG since the trade) but he is also kicking in a ton of rebounds and assists, while nabbing around two steals per game in the last five games. His floor is equal to anyone in his range, and I like the game factors for him more than for his higher-ceiling, higher-salaried alternatives (like Harden or SGA).
Also Consider: Gabe Vincent, Brandon Goodwin, De’Aaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Maxey, Aaron Holiday
SHOOTING GUARD
Tyrese Haliburton – Indiana (at Orlando) - DK: $8,800 / FD: $8,600 / Yahoo: $36
A very similar argument works for Haliburton tonight. He has thrived in Indiana so far, and he has also thrived when playing the Magic. Haliburton has averaged 47 fantasy points per game against them in two games this season, including a full line Monday night. Like McCollum, I’m after the solid floor he’s shown, not dipping below 40 fantasy points since his trade. The Pacers get a nice pace bump, and the Magic rank fourth in overall fantasy points allowed to their opponents this season. The lack of defense on both sides has Vegas putting the over/under at 232.5 points and the Magic are the slimmest of home favorites. Close and high-scoring games are the best opportunity for these high-floor guys to show off some upside.
Also Consider: Donovan Mitchell, Will Barton, James Harden, Tre Mann
SMALL FORWARD
Harrison Barnes – Sacramento (vs. New Orleans) - DK: $6,400 / FD: $6,300 / Yahoo: $23
Barnes is a player that can have the occasional off game, but it’s not often enough for his salary to be quite this low (especially on FanDuel). He had just one game under 25 fantasy points in February, while he had seven of 35 fantasy points or more. I already noted the nice game factors for this one, so while you could easily spend more at this position, I really like the way Barnes’ lower salary fits with my core lineup on all three sites.
Also Consider: Jimmy Butler, Khris Middleton, Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, Cam Johnson, Buddy Hield, Keon Johnson, Kelly Oubre
POWER FORWARD
Evan Mobley – Cleveland (vs. Charlotte) - DK: $7,200 / FD: $7,200 / Yahoo: $30
This game might not have the highest point total, but Cleveland players should enjoy a fantasy-friendly matchup with the Hornets. Charlotte plays at the league’s second-fastest pace, ranks fifth overall in fantasy points allowed (top five to opposing frontcourts as well), and ranks 29th in rebounding rate. Mobley hasn’t been crazy-good in the wake of the guard injuries, but he has double-doubled in the last two games with a few assists and at least two blocks per game in the three since the break. He’s yet another very solid option with demonstrated upside against weaker opponents.
Also Consider: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Wendell Carter Jr., Aleksej Pokusevski, JaMychal Green
CENTER
Deandre Ayton – Phoenix (vs. Portland) - DK: $6,800 / FD: $6,800 / Yahoo: $25
Ayton is always cheaper than I expect, which may be because I’m a Suns fan… You might think he’s cheap because he can be so volatile, but in reality his fantasy points’ standard deviation is quite a bit lower than many of the more expensive centers (+/- 9.9 vs. +/- 11-12 for guys like Embiid, Wood and Sabonis). Clearly, he doesn’t have the upside of Embiid, but in a favorable matchup with a Trail Blazers team that ranks 28th in defensive rating and gives up the seventh-most overall fantasy points, I feel confident he’ll reach value. The Suns are big favorites in another high-scoring game tonight, and coming off back-to-back losses, I think they’ll be looking to make a statement win in the West.
Also Consider: Nikola Jokic, Jarrett Allen, Bobby Portis, Jonas Valanciunas
Additional Notes
Cameron Johnson (G/F -- PHX) is not done yet! With Devin Booker landing in the COVID protocols, Johnson should continue to pick up some extra usage even with Cameron Payne expected to play tonight. Aaron Holiday is another cheap guy to keep an eye on. I’m worried Payne might be a little rusty after such a long lay-off, so I view Johnson as the safest Suns value play tonight.
Gabe Vincent (PG – MIA) is a way to stick with the solid lineup theme tonight, while building in some needed salary relief. Assuming that Kyle Lowry is out again tonight, I’d expect Vincent to play 30-ish minutes tonight, and while the matchup with the Bucks isn’t a great one, Vincent has put up decent numbers when given the opportunity, including when facing other good defensive teams.
JaMychal Green (F – DEN) is coming off his best game of the season, in which he played 27 minutes and scored 20 points with 10 rebounds. That opportunity came as the result of the Nuggets’ blowout win over Portland on Sunday, so normally I wouldn’t pay it much mind. However, the Nuggets are in the exact same, or better, situation tonight as huge home favorites over the Thunder. Oklahoma City is the second-best fantasy matchup in the league, and Green is cheap enough and maybe riding enough of a confidence-boosting performance to meet value with relative ease if he plays 20-plus minutes tonight.
To Spend or Not To Spend: it’s always the question. Studs are studs for a reason, and recent 70-fantasy point games from Harden, Embiid, Jokic, or Giannis justify their high salaries. Tonight, though, I’m not buying any of these players in cash games. Whether it is an exceptionally tough matchup, poor past performance in said matchup, or too much blowout risk, the risk and salary constraints these players impose tonight is outweighing the potential rewards.
