Welcome to the Saturday edition of FanDuel NBA lineup advice. Tonight’s main slate features nine games with plenty of high priced studs to choose from. As of this writing, there are only a handful of relevant players questionable to suit up tonight, which is rare at this point in the season. Choosing the best high-end plays and finding the value will be key tonight, let’s dive in.
Check out today’s NBA Shot from FanDuel 
Point Guard
Collin Sexton (CLE): $6,100 vs. GS
Sexton has been surprisingly consistent lately, averaging 34.5 FD points over his last nine games and falling below 30 FD points just twice over that span. He matches up against Golden State tonight, who give have given up the third-most FD points to point guards on average so far this season. He could very well top 40 FD points tonight, just like he did in his other recent plus matchups against Washington and New Orleans.
Others to consider:
Kyrie Irving (BKN): $8,900 at WAS
Irving torched the Bulls, who have given up the fewest average FD points to point guards this season, for 54 raw points on Friday night. Tonight he gets to take on a Wizards team with the worst defensive rating in the entire NBA, so he could be primed to explode offensively again.
Welcome to the Saturday edition of FanDuel NBA lineup advice. Tonight’s main slate features nine games with plenty of high priced studs to choose from. As of this writing, there are only a handful of relevant players questionable to suit up tonight, which is rare at this point in the season. Choosing the best high-end plays and finding the value will be key tonight, let’s dive in.
Check out today’s NBA Shot from FanDuel
Point Guard
Collin Sexton (CLE): $6,100 vs. GS
Sexton has been surprisingly consistent lately, averaging 34.5 FD points over his last nine games and falling below 30 FD points just twice over that span. He matches up against Golden State tonight, who give have given up the third-most FD points to point guards on average so far this season. He could very well top 40 FD points tonight, just like he did in his other recent plus matchups against Washington and New Orleans.
Others to consider:
Kyrie Irving (BKN): $8,900 at WAS
Irving torched the Bulls, who have given up the fewest average FD points to point guards this season, for 54 raw points on Friday night. Tonight he gets to take on a Wizards team with the worst defensive rating in the entire NBA, so he could be primed to explode offensively again.
Mike Conley (UTA): $3,700 at POR
If you’re looking to save some salary at the position Conley is a viable option tonight. He’s been slowly working his way back from a hamstring injury and was given the night off yesterday but has already been cleared to play tonight. He isn’t likely to break the slate, but he should have no problem paying off his bargain salary in a great matchup against the Trail Blazers.
Shooting Guard
D’Angelo Russell (GS): $7,600 at CLE
He may be listed as a shooting guard, but Russell functions more like a point guard for Golden State, easily leading the team with 82.3 touches per game and an average of 4.1 seconds per touch. He’ll once again be the primary ball-handler tonight when the Warriors take on the Cavaliers, who have given up the most FD points to point guards on the season and have the second-worst overall defensive rating in the NBA
Others to consider:
Bradley Beal (WAS): $9,600 vs. BKN
It’s impossible to ignore Beal, who’s averaged 56.6 FD points over his last three games. Stats and matchup aside, Beal has been pretty clear that he feels disrespected about being snubbed from the All-Star game. Look for him to make a statement on the court tonight as he tries to prove his point.
Jordan Clarkson (UTA): $4,500 at POR
Clarkson erupted with 42.4 FD points against the Nuggets his last time out on Thursday. It’s unreasonable to expect a repeat performance, but he should have no trouble paying off his modest salary against Portland, who have been getting burned defensively lately while giving up 129 points per game over their last five.
Small Forward
Trevor Ariza (POR): $4,800 vs. UTA
Since being traded to Portland Ariza has become a staple on the court, averaging nearly 36 minutes of playing over four games with his latest team. That time on the court has led to at least 29 FD points in three of the four games. His salary is slowly climbing, but he’s still too much of a discount to bypass tonight.
Others to consider:
LeBron James (LAL): $11,000 at SAC
There’s a massive $4,200 dropoff after James on tonight’s slate, so if you want ceiling at the position you’re going to have to pay up for it. All things considered, LeBron could still easily pay off his price tag as he’s capable of putting up 50+ points or a triple-double any time he steps on the court.
Joe Ingles (UTA): $4,700 at POR
Ingles, like most of the small forwards available tonight, doesn’t come with much of a ceiling. He isn’t likely to light up the scoreboard, but he averaged 6.6 assists per game while shooting nearly 42% from three-point range in January, which is enough to feel confident he’ll be worth his reasonable salary tonight.
Power Forward
Draymond Green (GS): $5,800 at CLE
Playing Green has been inherently risky this season, but his $5,800 price tag is impossible to ignore. It hasn’t gone up despite the 48.8 FD points he put up in Philly earlier this week or the fact that he’s averaged 35.3 over his last three games. He has triple-double upside whenever he plays a full allotment of minutes as he has over the past four games. His chances to outperform his salary increase when playing a bad defensive team like the Cavs tonight.
Others to consider:
Domantas Sabonis (IND): $8,400 vs NY
Sabonis has been a double-double machine this season. He sits behind only Andre Drummond and Giannis Antetokounmpo with 37 on the season and should have no problem racking up number 38 tonight against the Knicks.
Maxi Kleber (DAL): $3,900 vs. ATL
The Hawks have been dreadful against power forward this season, allowing the third-most FD points to the position on average. It may seem like Kristaps Porzingas is the obvious play here, but there’s a decent chance the Mavs limit him on the second half of a back-to-back set, opening up more opportunity for Kleber in the plus matchup.
Center
Hassan Whiteside (POR): $8,500 vs UTA
Whiteside leads the NBA with 3.1 blocks per game and should get plenty of chances to swat shots as he battles Rudy Gobert in the paint when the Jazz come to town tonight. He’s topped 55 FD points four times in his last seven games, usually on the back of blocks and rebounds. When he gets involved on the offensive side his ceiling is even higher, as he showed with his 69.6 FD performance last night against the Lakers.
Others to consider:
Rudy Gobert (UTA): $8,700 at POR
Gobert makes sense for all the same reasons as Hassan Whiteside. I prefer Whiteside because he’s $200 cheaper and comes with a higher upside, but Gobert is probably the safer play between the two. If I’m building a cash lineup, I’m probably starting with Gobert
Thomas Bryant (WAS): $5,000 vs. BKN
The Wizards have been utilizing Bryant more over their past two games and it’s translated to increased fantasy output for the third-year center. He’s averaged 37.3 FD points over his last two games and he gets a great matchup tonight against the Nets, a team that’s given up the third most FD points to centers on average this season.
There are a lot of ways you can play tonights slate, but if you start with the player featured at each position above you’ll have a solid core and still have $6,800/player for the remaining four roster spots. You can choose to fill those spots with safe players for cash lineups or take your shot at some upside and try to take down a tourney. Whatever you choose, make sure to pay attention to all the late-breaking news of the day. Good luck!
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Aaron Larson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Aaron, check out his archive and follow him @aalarson.
