FanDuel NBA: Saturday Value Plays

FanDuel NBA: Saturday Value Plays

This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.

12 teams are in action Saturday and there could be a number of high-scoring affairs. With the Warriors, Kings and Thunder all taking the court, DFS players should prepare to see the cash lines pushed to the higher end of the spectrum today.

Point Guard

Russell Westbrook, OKC at SAC ($10,600): Coming off a rest day mandated by head coach Billy Donovan, Westbrook should be locked and loaded in a plus matchup versus the Kings. Sacramento is officially in full tank-mode resting both Demarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo more frequently as they look bounce a few more ping pong balls. Expect Westbrook to take advantage of a Sacramento defense that has ranked in the bottom 10 in the NBA in fantasy points allowed to points guards for the majority of the second half of the season. You'd have to go back all the way to March 12 to find a date when Westbrook scored fewer than 40 fantasy points.

Toney Douglas, NOP vs. PHX ($5,500): DFS players who have been riding the Toney Douglas train over the past few weeks should expect to be rewarded Saturday at home against the Suns. Douglas recently came off a stretch in the middle of March when he paid off at least 5x his price in nine straight outings. Douglas should expect to continue to be leaned on offensively, with four of New Orleans' top five scorers out with injuries. With Brandon Knight ruled out for the season, expect Douglas to have his way with the second-worst team in the NBA in defending point guards.

Shooting Guard

Klay Thompson, GSW vs. MEM ($7,000): Thompson has scuffled a bit of late, but he does have a few benefits working in his favor. Memphis is heading into the second game of a back-to-back after traveling from a loss to the Mavericks in Dallas. The perimeter defense for the Grizz has really struggled in the second half, ranking ninth-worst in the NBA in shooting guard defense. Thompson has struggled to hit value over the past six games, but he now gets the benefit of a $600 discount from his March 30 price.

Zach LaVine, MIN at POR ($5,500): This matchup features one of the highest totals on the board (215), with both teams playing at a high pace throughout the season. After hitting a few speed bumps towards the end of march, LaVine bounced back with 35 fantasy points on the road in a big win against Golden State, and he followed that up with 28 fantasy points on the road in a win over Sacramento. His price is holding steady in the mid-$5K range, which means you're looking for another 30 fantasy points as a safe shooting guard option.

Small Forward

Maurice Harkless, POR vs. MIN ($5,400): Head Coach Terry Stotts has finally given up on the Noah Vonleh experiment, and Harkless has been an absolute destroyer since entering the starting lineup, returning at least 5x value over the past two weeks. Harkless has been a repeat offender in the stat-stuffing department, putting together two double-doubles in the last three games and racking up four steals and two blocks in his last outing versus Oklahoma City.

Power Forward

Mirza Teletovic, PHO at NOR ($5,300): The Suns have finally seemed to make a commitment to play Teletovic more minutes, and he has repaid them by averaging over 30 fantasy points per game of the past four. Teletovic has scored 24 points in two of the last three games, and has been averaging nearly 30 minutes per game during that span. Playing as a larger small forward or a stretch four shouldn't matter, as New Orleans has replacement players (who aren't good defenders) playing at both positions. While his skill set makes him more apt to be used in my GPP lineups, one can feel safe in knowing that Teletovic will only need about 30 fantasy points to hit value.

Center

Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN at POR ($8,800): This year's overwhelming favorite for the Rookie of Year Award finds himself in another advantageous matchup versus the Blazers on Saturday. Portland has tried (unsuccessfully) to slow down down opposing bigs, but they have zero shot blockers on their roster. In his last matchup versus Portland, he managed to score 46 fantasy points by racking up 23 points and 14 rebounds. Look for the Big Kat to extend his streak of 14 consecutive games with a double-double.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Joshua Hayes plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: fsinsiders, DraftKings: fsinsiders, Fantasy Aces: fsinsiders.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joshua Hayes
Josh Hayes hosts the RotoWire DFS Podcast, is a contributing host on the RotoWire Fantasy Basketball Podcast, and writes multiple FanDuel-oriented articles. Josh also appears frequently on 120 Sports, dispensing fantasy advice for NFL, NBA and MLB games.
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