After a big Friday night of NBA action, we have a smaller slate to navigate on Saturday. Today I’ll be giving advice on the FanDuel main slate, which features four games that all start at 7:00 PM ET or later. You’ll notice that most of the suggestions today come from the matchup between the Rockets and Bulls in Chicago, which has a healthy 233.5 point expected total and Houston favored by just six points. New Orleans vs. Charlotte is also a nice game to attack with it’s 232 expected points and more under the radar players. With all that in mind, here’s some advice at each position tonight.
Check out today’s NBA Shot from FanDuel 
Point Guard
Russell Westbrook (HOU): $10,000 @ CHI
Don’t overthink this one. Westbrook hasn’t been under $10,000 all season, so this is probably about as cheap as you’ll ever get him. Other DFS players might be turned away by the fact that he’s only averaged 31.2 FanDuel (FD) points in his last two games played, but he also averaged 55.5 FD points in the first five games of the season. With the Rockets only favored by six points in the highest projected scoring game of the night, Westbrook is in a prime spot to pay off what is a relatively low price tag.
After a big Friday night of NBA action, we have a smaller slate to navigate on Saturday. Today I’ll be giving advice on the FanDuel main slate, which features four games that all start at 7:00 PM ET or later. You’ll notice that most of the suggestions today come from the matchup between the Rockets and Bulls in Chicago, which has a healthy 233.5 point expected total and Houston favored by just six points. New Orleans vs. Charlotte is also a nice game to attack with it’s 232 expected points and more under the radar players. With all that in mind, here’s some advice at each position tonight.
Check out today’s NBA Shot from FanDuel
Point Guard
Russell Westbrook (HOU): $10,000 @ CHI
Don’t overthink this one. Westbrook hasn’t been under $10,000 all season, so this is probably about as cheap as you’ll ever get him. Other DFS players might be turned away by the fact that he’s only averaged 31.2 FanDuel (FD) points in his last two games played, but he also averaged 55.5 FD points in the first five games of the season. With the Rockets only favored by six points in the highest projected scoring game of the night, Westbrook is in a prime spot to pay off what is a relatively low price tag.
Others to consider:
Tomas Satoransky (CHI): $5,100 vs. HOU
If you’re playing Westbrook, you should feel comfortable running it back with the Bulls starting point guard. Again, it’s the highest expected point total of the night and Satoransky is coming off of two nights’ rest and his best game of the season, so he has the potential to handsomely pay off his $5,100 price tag.
Terry Rozier (CHA): $7,300 vs. NO
He’s coming off his worst game of the season, but Rozier couldn’t ask for a better opponent to bounce back against. The Pelicans have given up a league-high 62.37 FD points per game to point guards, So Rozier could have a nice ceiling game tonight.
Shooting Guard
Zach LaVine (CHI): $7,900 vs. HOU
Once again I’m targeting a player in the expected high-scoring game at the United Center tonight. LaVine is averaging over 32 minutes and healthy 28% usage on the season, and his counterpart on the other side of the court, James Harden, isn’t exactly known for his defense.
Others to consider:
James Harden (HOU): $11,700 @ CHI
If you can find the salary space, running it back with James Harden makes perfect sense. He has a ridiculous 40.7% usage rate on the season, so it wouldn’t be shocking for him to put up 70+ FD points again in tonight’s fast-paced game.
Dwayne Bacon (CHA): $4,200 vs. NO
Bacon is definitely a tournament only play, but tonight is as good of a night as ever for him to go for a big game. The game with the Pelicans is expected to total over 230 points and Bacon has a 23.5% usage rate while averaging career-highs in every fantasy category, though his minutes have been sporadic.
Small Forward
Chandler Hutchison (CHI): $3,600 vs. HOU
There’s aren’t any reliable stud plays at the small forward position tonight, so it’s a good place to look for value. Otto Porter has already been ruled out, with Hutchison named the starter in his place. Have I mentioned how much I love attacking this game between the Bulls and Rockets? He may be a chalky play, but it’s tough to leave Hutchinson out of your lineup given the opportunity.
Brandon Ingram (NO): $8,800 @ CHA
Ingram is the most expensive small forward on the slate, so you’re certainly paying for upside here. He’s scored over 45 FD points in 4-of-8 games this season, so he has a legitimate shot to pay off his salary against the Hornets
Solomon Hill (MEM): $3,600 vs. Dallas
If you feel like saving some serious salary and taking your shot, Hill is your guy. It’ll only take 18 FD points to hit 5X value, which he did in back-to-back games earlier in the season. Pairing Hill with Hutchison opens up tons of salary, allowing you to pay up at more lucrative positions tonight.
Power Forward
Lauri Markkanen (CHI): $7,000 vs. Houston
Here we are at the United Center again. The Bulls third-year power forward is at his lowest salary of the season tonight as he takes on the Rockets, who are giving up the most FD points to power forward on the season. Markkanen has 60+ FD point upside, as we saw in the season opener, and there’s no better scenario than tonight to hit that mark again.
Others to consider:
P.J. Tucker (HOU): $5,500 @ CHI
Death, taxes, and P.J. Tucker playing at least 32 minutes. It’s getting redundant at this point, but that amount of minutes in this matchup can’t be ignored. Tucker has a safe enough floor for cash games and a high enough ceiling for tournaments.
Eric Paschall (GS): $6,500 @ OKC
Paschall appears to be trending in the wrong direction, but he has seen at least 33 minutes per game in Draymond Green’s absence, who will remain out tonight. He’s coming off of a down night Friday, which should keep his ownership low, even though he put up 51.6 FD points as recently as Monday.
Center
Jahlil Okafor (NO): $4,800 @ CHA
The Hornets have been one of the teams to target against centers so far in the young season as they’ve given allowed an average of 66 FD points to centers of opposing teams, the second-most in the entire NBA. Okafor has been starting while Derrick Favors slowly works his way back from a knee injury, and it’s unlikely that Favors will see an uptick in minutes in the second half of a back-to-back tonight, giving the former lottery pick massive upside tonight.
Others to consider:
Clint Capela (HOU): $8,900 @ CHI
The Bulls have given up the fourth-most FD points to centers so far this year, so even though he’s the most expensive center on the slate, Capela could pay off in spades tonight. He’ll have two days’ rest coming off of his best game of the season, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him match the 61.2 FD performance he put up in his last game.
Dwight Powell (DAL): $5,100 @ MEM
Powel is coming off of a brutal game in a plus matchup against the Knicks last night, so this is a definite contrarian play. He’s far from a guarantee, but he could have a surprising bounce back tonight against the Grizzlies. He’s averaged a solid 28 minutes over his last four games and, given those minutes, always has a chance to notch a double-double.
Here’s an example lineup you could roll with tonight. It’s more suited for tournaments, which is my preferred format is smaller slates like tonight.
PG: Russell Westbrook – $10,000
PG: Tomas Satoransky – $5,100
SG: Zach LaVine – $7,900
SG: James Harden – James Harden – $11,700
SF: Chandler Hutchison – $3,600
SF: Solomon Hill – $3,600
PF: Lauri Markkanen – $7,000
PF: P.J. Tucker – $5,500
C: Jahlil Okafor – $4,800
This lineup, even with two of the three highest-priced players on the slate, gives you $800 of wiggle room to tweak your entry accordingly as news is updated throughout the day.
Good luck out there tonight!
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Aaron Larson is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Aaron, check out his archive and follow him @aalarson.
