Finding value on Saturday night’s six-game main slate on DraftKings comes easily with a variety of players already ruled out and another situation to watch closely. This sets up perfectly to roster at least one and maybe even two of the high-priced studs over $10k if things fall right. We also get a rematch of the epic Spurs/Thunder matchup from Thursday night that went two overtimes and produced over 300 total points. So, let’s get after Saturday night’s six-pack of games on the hardwood!
Note that some of the stats referenced in this article are my custom DvP calculations that combine both season and last five games data along with blending similar positions production allowed together.
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One Stud
Russell Westbrook (PG – OKC): $11,800 vs. SA
I am not going to talk you away from using any of the trio of five-figure options on the slate including Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook. If I must choose one, then give me Westbrook who has the safest floor and just as high of a ceiling as the other two. Westbrook was fantastic in Thursday’s matchup against the Spurs with 24 points, 24 assists and 13 rebounds. Sure, he is not likely to match those numbers again on Saturday, but I doubt the Spurs figured out how to stop him over the last couple of days which means he should be good enough for his usual triple-double stat line.
Finding value on Saturday night’s six-game main slate on DraftKings comes easily with a variety of players already ruled out and another situation to watch closely. This sets up perfectly to roster at least one and maybe even two of the high-priced studs over $10k if things fall right. We also get a rematch of the epic Spurs/Thunder matchup from Thursday night that went two overtimes and produced over 300 total points. So, let’s get after Saturday night’s six-pack of games on the hardwood!
Note that some of the stats referenced in this article are my custom DvP calculations that combine both season and last five games data along with blending similar positions production allowed together.
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
One Stud
Russell Westbrook (PG – OKC): $11,800 vs. SA
I am not going to talk you away from using any of the trio of five-figure options on the slate including Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook. If I must choose one, then give me Westbrook who has the safest floor and just as high of a ceiling as the other two. Westbrook was fantastic in Thursday’s matchup against the Spurs with 24 points, 24 assists and 13 rebounds. Sure, he is not likely to match those numbers again on Saturday, but I doubt the Spurs figured out how to stop him over the last couple of days which means he should be good enough for his usual triple-double stat line.
Core Plays
Donovan Mitchell (PG/SG – UTH): $8,500 vs. CHI
As you probably know by now, the Jazz are playing without three guards including Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum and Raul Neto. This leaves a bunch of minutes for the players that remain, led by Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell also gets a 9.1 percent usage increase with the current players out. He has scored 33 points in each of his last two games while topping 50 DraftKings points in both outings. He “only” had to play 33 minutes on Friday night’s game which was at home, so no concerns from me regarding him playing on a back-to-back set in another home game on Saturday against the Bulls.
Andrew Wiggins (SG/SF – MIN): $7,000 vs. NO
One of the other situations to keep an eye on for Saturday is the status of Karl-Anthony Towns. He injured his ankle on Friday night but did return to the game. With the Timberwolves playing the second game of a back-to-back, they may choose to give Towns the night off if his ankle swells up overnight. Rostering Andrew Wiggins is a solid bet even if Towns plays with the Timberwolves playing in a great game environment on Saturday as a small home underdog to the Pelicans in a game with one of the highest Vegas totals on the slate. If Towns does sit out, then Wiggins turns into a great option who sees a 9.2 percent usage bump with Towns off the floor.
Joe Ingles (SG/SF – UTH): $6,000 vs. CHI
Joe Ingles doesn’t benefit with an increase in minutes due to the Jazz injuries, but he does get a small usage bump (3.6 percent). He put up a double-double on Friday with 14 points and 12 rebounds and has topped 33 DK points in each of his last two games. He draws a favorable matchup on Saturday against the Bulls who have allowed increased production in points (+1.2%), rebounds (+1.1%), assists (+7.3%) and steals (+7.4%) to SGs this season.
Josh Jackson (SF/PF – PHO): $5,600 vs. DEN
Another injury that will benefit other players is the expected absence of Devin Booker who is doubtful to play on Saturday. Over the last two games that Booker hasn’t played, Josh Jackson has started and played around 30 minutes per night. If you look at his last three games, which includes the game Booker left early with the injury, Jackson is averaging 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He has at least 30 DK points in each of those outings and will look to continue to the streak against the Nuggets on Saturday. The matchup isn’t ideal but he is still reasonably priced while playing significant minutes.
Value Plays
Royce O’Neale (SF – UTH): $3,900 vs. CHI
The last Jazz player that benefits from their current injury situation is Royce O’Neale. He got all the minutes he could handle on Friday with 40 minutes against the Lakers. He turned those minutes into 32.75 DK points with 17 points and seven rebounds while knocking down five three-pointers. His salary only made a modest increase heading into Saturday’s matchup with the Bulls. After jacking up 12 three-pointers on Friday, he’ll face a Bulls team that has allowed the seventh most three-point attempts to SFs this season. Bombs away!
Patty Mills (PG/SG – SA): $3,800 @ OKC
The Spurs will continue to be without Rudy Gay when they take the court against the Thunder on Saturday night. Patty Mills has been one of the beneficiaries of Gay’s absence playing at least 26 minutes in each of the last three games. During that stretch, he is averaging 27.3 DK points per game while putting up 13.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Not bad for a player who is still under $4k.
Marco Belinelli (SG/SF – SA): $3,400 @ OKC
The other cheap Spurs option that has benefited from Gay’s absence is Marco Belinelli. He has played at least 21 minutes in each of the last three games and has scored at least 14 points in two straight outing including 19 against the Thunder on Thursday. He is priced at a near minimum salary still and give you SG/SF position flexibility.
Gorgui Dieng (PF/C – MIN): $3,100 vs. NO
This last recommendation is a speculative option that is based on the news we get from Minnesota regarding Towns status for Saturday night. If Towns is out, Gorgui Dieng should see a significant spike in his playing time against the big frontcourt of the Pelicans. Dieng produces well on a DK points per minute basis averaging 1.02 DK points per minute. If he can get 25 or 30 minutes on Saturday and do the math, you see he could reach about 10x his minuscule salary.
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Brad Richter is a correspondent at FantasyPros and a contributor at DailyOverlay. For more from Brad, you can view his archive or follow him @RotoPilot.
