We’re rounding the final corner of the NBA season, with most teams having 18 or fewer games left to play. Things are as exciting as ever even on tonight’s five-game slate as the Sixers and Heat battle for playoff seeding and the Dubs and Spurs duke it out in a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals. Some teams to target tonight include the Heat and Thunder, both of which run a sloth-like pace that will be raised due to the up-tempo nature of their opponents. Of course, every recommendation below is based on currently available information. As always, make sure to check injury reports before lineups lock so you’re using the most accurate information and avoiding a big fat zero in your lineup.
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Point Guard
Kemba Walker (CHA): $9,000 vs BKN
Here’s betting that Kemba bounces back in a big way from his dreadful 1/9 shooting performance against Philly Tuesday night. The Sixers have the fifth-best defense this year by Net Rating, and Kemba went 3/6 from the free throw line so maybe he was just off. Brooklyn is the perfect medicine: No team has allowed more FanDuel points to point guards this season. Despite the pristine matchup, Kemba’s ownership may be down after burning so many people on Tuesday. Russell Westbrook is also a fine play if you can afford him, especially given the Suns up-tempo pace.
We’re rounding the final corner of the NBA season, with most teams having 18 or fewer games left to play. Things are as exciting as ever even on tonight’s five-game slate as the Sixers and Heat battle for playoff seeding and the Dubs and Spurs duke it out in a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals. Some teams to target tonight include the Heat and Thunder, both of which run a sloth-like pace that will be raised due to the up-tempo nature of their opponents. Of course, every recommendation below is based on currently available information. As always, make sure to check injury reports before lineups lock so you’re using the most accurate information and avoiding a big fat zero in your lineup.
Create FanDuel lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Point Guard
Kemba Walker (CHA): $9,000 vs BKN
Here’s betting that Kemba bounces back in a big way from his dreadful 1/9 shooting performance against Philly Tuesday night. The Sixers have the fifth-best defense this year by Net Rating, and Kemba went 3/6 from the free throw line so maybe he was just off. Brooklyn is the perfect medicine: No team has allowed more FanDuel points to point guards this season. Despite the pristine matchup, Kemba’s ownership may be down after burning so many people on Tuesday. Russell Westbrook is also a fine play if you can afford him, especially given the Suns up-tempo pace.
Tyler Johnson (MIA): $5,200 vs PHI
There aren’t a ton of great point guard values on the slate, but Johnson is always intriguing at his price given his immense upside. In his second game back from a quad injury, Johnson led the team in minutes (38) and poured in 42.6 FanDuel points. While expecting the same performance isn’t realistic, the matchup is one to exploit. Philadelphia plays at the league’s fifth-fastest pace and allows the fifth-most FD points to point guards. It’s ok that Johnson logs minutes at both backcourt positions because the Sixers are equally forgiving to shooting guards.
Shooting Guard
Devin Booker (PHO): $8,200 @ OKC
If you’re already itching to get Booker into your lineups, you’ve come to the right place. We already know the Suns run at a fast pace, which is always a boost for his stat line. Now he gets to faceoff with the Andre Roberson-less Thunder and their ever-growing shooting guard abyss. Due to the constant shifting of the position, the Thunder have allowed the second-most FanDuel points to shooting guards over its last ten games. The slate-high implied total on this game should mean good things for fantasy points.
Jaylen Brown (BOS): $5,200 @ MIN
Simply playing the trends here. Over its last ten games, the only team allowing more FD points to shooting guards than the Thunder is the Timberwolves. Turns out that Jimmy Butler guy is pretty good at defense. Brown’s price is palatable and only requires 26 FD points to hit value. If Kyrie Irving (knee) is limited at all, it could afford Brown some extra run in a great matchup.
Small Forward
DeMarre Carroll (BKN): $6,300 @ CHA
After being traded as essentially a salary dump this offseason, Carroll has to be one of the most pleasant surprises of this NBA season. Per Rotoworld’s Steve Alexander, the Nets forward is averaging 19 points, 7.2 boards, 3.0 assists and 3.6 3-pointers over his last five games. Charlotte has allowed the ninth-most FanDuel points to small forwards this season and struggles to keep Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on the floor due to his offensive issues. This game could be a sneaky source for FanDuel points as both Brooklyn (7th) and Charlotte (12th) rank in the top-12 in pace league-wide.
Justise Winslow (MIA): $5,000 vs PHI
If you’re not looking to pay up for Paul George, then try Winslow on for size. Playing arguably the best basketball of his young career, Winslow has hit at least 5x value in six of his last seven games. As mentioned above, Philly’s up-tempo pace should be fruitful for Heat players that are used to slowing things down. This is more a tournament recommendation than a cash play because Wayne Ellington (quadriceps) may be back from his four-game absence. Still, Winslow played a (tied for) team-high 38 minutes on Tuesday, so it’s hard to envision Ellington’s return hurting his minutes to the point where he can’t keep his value-hitting streak going.
Power Forward
Carmelo Anthony (OKC): $6,000 vs PHO
Melo is coming off a solid 23/4 game in which he knocked down three from beyond the arc and grabbed three offensive rebounds over 32 minutes. Melo’s price is lowered from a few recent down performances, but when healthy he’s played 30+ minutes in 16 straight games. Tonight he gets the added bonus of the Suns’ fourth-fastest tempo and Phoenix’s league-worst FanDuel power forward defense. Phoenix also sports the worst Defensive Rating in the league and the Thunder subsequently have the highest implied team total of the night (119). All of the four principle Thunder contributors are in play.
Davis Bertans (SAS): $4,400 @ GSW
Pau Gasol has already been ruled out with a shoulder injury. Bertans is priced based on his 15.4 minutes per game average, but he’s played 21 minutes per game whenever Pau sits this season. His low price means he only needs 22 FD points to hit 5x value, something he can easily achieve in 21 minutes given his three-point prowess. Golden State plays at the league’s third-fastest pace, so it’ll be prudent to fit some Spurs into your lineup where you can. This game has the second-highest implied total on the slate (221).
Center
Dwight Howard (CHA): $8,400 vs BKN
Sure, Dwight has been struggling lately, but nothing says “get back on track” like a date with the Nets. As I’ve written about before, the Nets have been incredibly forgiving to centers this year, allowing the most FanDuel points per game to the position. The difference between the Nets center defense and the second-worst Bulls is the same as the difference between the Bulls and the 13th-worst Clippers. Dwight may have turned a corner with his 30-point explosion on Tuesday night, and the matchup is as good as it gets.
Eli Weiner is a FantasyPros Correspondent. You can follow him on Twitter @eweiner_bball.
