After my best week of the season, we’re back to it for the weekend. Many basketball eyes will be focused on the NCAA tournament, but we’re here to grind some NBA profits. What that has done is limit us to just four games. That’s slightly disappointing, but there’s still a lot to discuss!

If you have any comments or questions, reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel

Check out today’s NBA Tip-Off from DraftKings

Most Value Per Dollar 

With only four games on this ledger, the player pool is extremely thin. What makes it even more fragile is the fact that we have numerous studs expected to sit. That’s leaving value across the board, and it should lead to a balanced lineup in terms of salary. When looking at the betting landscape, we project all of the home teams to be decent favorites. It’s tough to know what the spreads will look like now with so much injury news to be dealt with, but all four home teams could be big favorites. With that in mind, let’s get into some of the value on this slate!

If you’d like to see more information on how the betting landscape will be for this slate, check out BettingPros.

Below is a list of the top players of the day expected to generate the most value relative to their salary. These are ranked in order.

Andrew Wiggins (GSW) $6,300
It sounds like Golden State will be without Stephen Curry, Kelly Oubre, and James Wiseman, leaving Wiggins to feast. Wig has a 29.8 percent usage rate with those three off the floor and could be looking at 40 minutes and 20 shot attempts. That’s big news for a guy who’s already averaging 30 DK points per game with those on the floor. Not to mention, Memphis surrenders the most fantasy points in the NBA to opposing small forwards. In this role on Friday, Wiggins had 40 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals in one of the best games of his career.

Richaun Holmes (SAC) $7,300
Holmes is in this section pretty much every day for me, and recent results are a good indicator of my recent heater. The big man has scored at least 30 DraftKings points in eight-straight outings, generating a 40-point average in that span. Facing Philly is usually tough, but Holmes benefits from not facing Joel Embiid and his stifling defense.

Dwight Howard (PHI) $6,000
The Embiid mention in the previous write-up is a good river into this one. Many people expected Tony Bradley to be the guy when Embiid went down, but Superman has come out of the telephone booth and made TB irrelevant. Howard has actually scored at least 21 DK points in six-straight games, combining for 69 DK points over his last two outings. That shouldn’t be hard to duplicate in a matchup like this, with Sacramento surrendering the third-most fantasy points to opposing centers.

Jordan Poole (GSW) $5,100
With all of those Warriors out, Poole might end up playing a huge role. We love that for a guy who’s already performing extremely well, averaging 28 DK points per game since returning from injury last week. That’s a heck of a run from a player this cheap, and we truly believe he’ll be looking at 30 minutes and 15 shots here with Golden State being so shorthanded.

Ben Simmons (PHI) $9,100
Simmons is also stepping up in the absence of Embiid, averaging 1.3 DK points per minute with him off the floor this season. That’s a ridiculous rate from a guy who regularly plays 35 minutes, and it’s no surprise when you see that he’s scored at least 31 DK points in 16-straight games while averaging 42.3 fantasy points per game in that span. The best part of this play is the matchup, though, with Sacramento owning the NBA’s worst defensive rating.

Ja Morant (MEM) $7,200
There aren’t too many high-end options out there, but Morant is a great play around $7K. The 21-year-old has seen his price drop because of a shooting slump, but we’re still talking about a dude with a 35-point average. Facing a B-Team Warriors squad only adds to his value, with Golden State playing at the NBA’s second-fastest pace. In their three career meetings before Friday, Morant has at least 35 fantasy points each of them.

Ivica Zubac (LAC) $5,100
Zubac has always been a per-minute monster, and he’s finally getting the playing time we’ve been waiting for. The big man has played at least 35 minutes in back-to-back starts, scoring at least 33 fantasy points in both of those games. That playing time is really all we can ask for, and Zoo is pretty much a double-double machine if he gets 30-plus minutes a night. Hosting the Hornets is another great opportunity at another monster game, with Charlotte surrendering the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing centers.

Brook Lopez (MIL) $5,000
If you’ve been reading my articles, you probably could have seen this coming. Lopez has been in here for two weeks straight, and he’s actually in his best stretch of the season as well. The former Nets star has at least 30 fantasy points in four of his last five games, averaging over 33 DK points per game in that span.

Check out our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet for the top bets of the day

Studs Worth Their Salary

• Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) $11,100: Giannis would be an easy play no matter how many games there were, but he’s an absolute lock on a four-game slate. We say that because he’s got at least 57 DraftKings points in 14 of his last 16 games, averaging over 63 fantasy points per game in that span.
• Kawhi Leonard (LAC) $9,200: It’s pretty weird to see Kawhi in this price range. This guy has been a $10,000 player for much of the last three years, and it’s hard to understand why we see a $1,000 discount. We’re talking about a guy who’s averaging 46 DK points per game, dropping at least 42 fantasy points in 10 of his last 13 games. The matchup is tasty, too, with Charlotte surrendering the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards.
• Tobias Harris (PHI) $8,800: With Embiid out of the lineup, Harris is the focal point of this Philly offense. That’s clear when you see that he has a 28 percent usage rate with him off the floor while averaging 1.2 DK points per minute. We obviously love the matchup against the Kings, and it’s scary for them, with Toby scoring at least 42 DK points in each of his last three games.

Notable Players to Fade

• Kyle Anderson (MEM) $5,100: Now that Morant and Jonas Valanciunas are healthy, Anderson has taken a major step back in the offensive totem pole. That’s crystal clear when you see that he’s failed to crack 25 fantasy points in each of his last seven games, averaging an ugly 20 DK points per game in that span. Golden State’s defense isn’t too shabby either, ranked seven in defensive efficiency rating.
• Malik Monk (CHA) $3,900: Monk was amazing about two weeks ago, but now that Devonte’ Graham is back, MM is starting to see his carriage turn back into a pumpkin. Malik has now played 20 minutes or fewer in each of his last five games, scoring 0.3 DK points across 14 minutes in his most recent game. Gross!
• Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kelly Oubre, and Marvin Bagley could all sit here.

Create DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool

Beyond our daily fantasy basketball content, be sure to check out our Daily Fantasy Basketball Tools. Our Lineup Optimizer allows you to build winning DFS lineups in seconds for Cash and GPP contests – to our DFS Cheat Sheets – that helps you get a quick read on the day’s players we’ve got you covered this fantasy basketball season.

Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.