This article is part of our FantasyAces NBA series.
RotoWire aims to help you win on Fantasy Aces, as we break down a few value plays for this weekend that can help you build your lineups. We'll highlight several priced no higher than $4,850, leaving plenty of room to fit in a few superstars.
Guards
E'Twaun Moore, CHI vs. MIA (Fri.) ($3,800): Moore appears highly likely to draw another start in Jimmy Butler's (knee) stead Friday, according to coach Fred Hoiberg. As he's done on several other occasions in place of Butler this season, Moore responded well to the opportunity Thursday versus the Spurs, finishing with 34.50 fantasy points against one of the toughest units in the league against shooting guards. That actually represented an improvement over his solid 27.50-fantasy point outing against the Bucks on Monday. While Dwyane Wade is certainly a plus defender, the Heat have given up their share of productive outings to shooting guards this season, and Moore is priced to return solid value considering the increase in playing time.
Devin Booker, PHO at GSW (Sat.) ($4,500): Booker has regained his shooting stroke and is returning outstanding value on his bargain price in recent games. He exploded for 45.25 fantasy points versus the Nuggets on Thursday, giving him two games over 40 fantasy points in his last three. He's also scored well over 30 fantasy points in two other games over the last five, and he should be locked into a high-scoring affair against the Warriors on Saturday night. While the Suns may well end up on the wrong side of a blowout, Booker has gotten his share of playing time even in lopsided losses. He therefore should have plenty of minutes in which to fire away, and potentially return the outstanding 8x-10x value that he's generated in several recent games.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, DET at CHA (Fri.), at PHI (Sat.) ($4,200): KCP has hit a nice stride over his last eight games, scoring between 20.25 and 29.75 fantasy points in six of those contests. He's also scored over 20 fantasy points in three straight and draws two favorable matchups over the weekend. The Hornets are allowing the fourth-most fantasy points (58.9) and third-most points (22.5) per game this season to shooting guards, while the Sixers come in ranked as the eight-worst (57.3) and third-worst (22.1) in those respective categories.
Forwards
Myles Turner, IND at DAL (Sat.), at ATL (Sun.) ($4,500): After a torrid run in February, Turner fell out of favor with the DFS world due to a string of sub-par outings. The bright side is that it dropped his price back to the mid-$4K range, where he represents a potentially under-owned value play for tournaments. He showed some signs of resurgence in his most recent game this past Monday, totaling 26.00 fantasy points against a tough Spurs frontcourt. Turner and the Pacers will finally take the floor again Saturday with a full four days of rest, and he'll walk into two favorable matchups over the weekend. The Mavs are allowing 61.5 fantasy points per game to power forwards this season, while the Hawks are right behind them at 60.7 per game. Additionally, both squads rank in the bottom 10 in rebounds given up to the position, with Atlanta yielding 11.5 boards per game, and Dallas checking in close behind with 11.3 surrendered per night.
Nikola Mirotic, CHI vs. MIA (Fri.) ($4,300): Mirotic appears to once again be hitting his stride, now that he's gotten three games under his belt following his extended absence due to an appendectomy. He played 28 minutes and scored 26.50 fantasy points in his last outing against the Spurs on Thursday, which came on the heels of 29.00 fantasy points versus the Bucks on Monday. Mirotic appears ready to take on a normal allotment of minutes at this point, and he should continue to be aggressive on offense with the Bulls trying to fill the scoring void created by Jimmy Butler's absence. He's also encouragingly hit multiple three-pointers in all three games since his return and also collected double-digit rebounds against the Spurs on Thursday.
Marcus Morris, DET at CHA (Fri.), at PHI (Sat.) ($4,300): The perennially underpriced Morris continues to return solid value nearly every time out, and he draws a pair of matchups this weekend that should facilitate favorable production. The Hornets and Sixers are both in the bottom 10 in fantasy points, points, rebounds and three-pointers allowed per game to small forwards, and Morris has continued to play well of late, scoring between 20.75 and 35.00 fantasy points in eight of his last 10, with the high figure in that range having come against Philadelphia on Feb. 24.
Nerlens Noel, PHI vs. BRO (Fri.), vs. DET (Sat.) ($4,850): Noel made a successful return from a two-game absence due to a knee injury on Wednesday, scoring 39.25 fantasy points in 32 minutes versus the Rockets. Although he was supposed to be on a minutes restriction in the mid-20s for that game, Noel got plenty of run in the continued absence of Jahlil Okafor (shin), and the latter could well miss at least Friday's contest versus the Nets. Noel will be in a favorable matchup whether he lines up at either power forward or center, as the Nets are in the bottom 10 against both positions in fantasy points and points allowed per game this season. The Pistons have proven to be more formidable down low against both fours and fives, but Noel has largely been solid over his last 10, scoring between 24.00 and 43.25 fantasy points in seven of those games.
Centers
Jared Sullinger, BOS vs. HOU (Fri.) ($4,700): Sullinger draws the premium matchup for power forwards on Friday, as the Rockets are allowing the most fantasy points (69.2), most points (23.4) and highest field-goal percentage (50.8) per game to power forwards this season. He's also been as steady as they come over the last 10 games, scoring between 24.75 and 47.25 fantasy points during that span, including three games over 30 fantasy points and seven with double-digit rebounds.
Robin Lopez, NYK at LAC (Fri.), at LAL (Sun.) ($4,350): Lopez draws the pair of weak Los Angeles frontcourts over the weekend, making him a solid value play at his stagnant price. He's scored between 30.00 and 37.50 fantasy points in three of his last four, while also going over 30 in two other contests and over 40 once in the six games prior. Meanwhile, the Clippers come in surrendering the seventh-most fantasy points (48.5), fourth-most points (21.8) and the most rebounds (16.6) per game to centers, while the Lakers give up the third-most fantasy points (50.1), ninth-most points (21.0) and fourth-most rebounds (15.9) to the position.
