Happy Saturday, hoopsters! We have just a medium four-game slate on tap for today in the Association, but even though we have a smaller slate, all games have at least a 238 or more point total! With that said, there should still be plenty of fireworks on this slate and their are plenty of great options to choose from including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, and Tyrese Haliburton! Let's dive in!

NBA DFS Tools to dominate tonight's NBA DFS slate!

Make sure to check out today's NBA DFS projections and NBA DFS ownership projections before finalizing your lineups today. We also have the NBA Consistency Report to help identify players that have exceeded value based off their current price tag this season and of course our NBA DFS Lineup Generator!

 

Check out today's NBA DFS Playbook Preview Show

Notable NBA Injury Updates

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Questionable

 

 

Teams on Back-to-Backs

Second Leg

 

PACE (Last 15 Games):

Pace definition: Pace is the total number of possessions a team uses in a game.

*key* Green is elite pace of play, Blue is decent pace of play, & Red is slow pace of play.

Green = Fast Paced team

Blue = Neutral Paced team

Red = Slow Paced team

Notable NBA Game Totals

 

Top Tier Core Plays:

 

Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF/C), Milwaukee Bucks

We all know the Bucks play with extreme PACE, sitting at 1st currently and where they have been all season, so the 238 total on this game is more than encouraging. Giannis is fresh off another masterful performance the San Antonio Spurs, where he recorded 80 fantasy points on a 44 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, a block, and two steals stat-line. Houston does have a much better defense than the Spurs, however, this will be a tougher match up for Giannis, but in the same facet - he is un-guardable and will get even the best bigs in foul trouble every game. Should expect another nice game from him tonight.

Tyrese Haliburton (PG), Indiana Pacers

No-brainer here as Hali is fresh off a 55-point fantasy effort against the Hawks last night, in which he only needed just 25 minutes of floor-time to consume 10 points, 18 assists, eight rebounds, with a block and two steals on the night. Typically, we don't love playing against the backcourt of the Celtics, but Hali is a rare exception to this rule here tonight. Haliburton can kill you in many ways and if he isn't scoring, we know he will be diming and if he has the shot going, that is when you get the ceiling games, as the rebounds and defensive stats come as well. 

Jayson Tatum (SF/PF), Boston Celtics

Celtics will host the Pacers as mentioned above and this game has a massive 247.5-point total as the highest total on the board for the four games going tonight. Much like his counter-part above in Haliburton, Tatum ALSO put up 55 fantasy points last night in his clash with the Jazz on his home floor and only needed 25 minutes to do so, as well. Tatum has turned it on lately and is back to putting up massive games. This game should fit his play-style very well as the Pacers love to get up and down the floor in transition with the 3rd overall PACE rank. Tatum has recorded 47+ fantasy points in four of his last five contests.

 

Mid-Tier Core Plays

Julius Randle (PF), New York Knicks

Randle is coming off of one, if not possibly his worst game this year for fantasy purposes against the Sixers. A game in which the Knicks still ended up winning by a final score of 128-92. This is pretty scary to note for real basketball purposes, as the Sixers got dusted on their home floor this badly with Randle having such an off game. Nonetheless, I believe Randle will be coming out tonight looking for the bounce-back, and what better team to get right on than the Washington Wizards? This screams 50+ fantasy point night for Randle, and I think we see him ball out here. Prior to last night's 1-for-11 shooting night, Julius had eclipsed 48 fantasy points in four-straight games. The fast-paced match up here tonight in Washington should be a great one for him.

Alperen Sengun (C), Houston Rockets

Sengun is smart enough to not get into foul trouble, and he did record 42 fantasy points earlier this season in Milwaukee against these Bucks. Sengun has been a top performer for the Rockets this season and he is easily the 1-2 option on offense. Sengun is seeing 30+ minutes a night, and this pace-up spot here against the Bucks is perfect for his play-style, as he is baby Jokic. The Rockets were torched by the Timberwolves last night, where Sengun only saw 25 minutes in the blow out, so he should be rested for tonight's match up. Before last night's dusting, Sengun had topped 50 fantasy points in three-straight games.

Tyrese Maxey (PG), Philadelphia 76ers

With the Sixers having multiple players down, Maxey will once again be the 2nd option here behind Embiid and should see a very nice game against this backcourt of the Jazz. Maxey finally had a better than average shooting last night against the Knicks, going 9-20 from the field, but 8-of-10 from the free throw line was huge in his 52-fantasy point effort ending the night with 27 points, four boards, nine dimes, a block, and two swipes. Hopefully, the Jazz can keep this closer with the injury woes for the Sixers and we get another 50+ fantasy effort here from Tyrese.

Fred VanVleet (PG), Houston Rockets

We absolutely love to exploit Damian Lillard defense and FVV is the perfect prospect to do so and his price is very enjoyable for this match up here tonight against the Bucks. VanVleet amassed 41 fantasy points in the lone meet earlier this season vs the Bucks, playing 39 minutes total and scoring 22 points, with two rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and one steal on the night. Fred's home/away splits do have a slight gap, but that is because the Rockets has taken care of business on their home floor this season when they should and have not had full starter minutes for many of those games, but tonight they come in as 6.5-point home dogs, so I fully expect the starters to play big minutes here.

Lauri Markkanen (SF/PF), Utah Jazz

Like the spot here for Markkanen, as the Sixers are down two really good players for their defense in Harris and Melton. This should soften up this Sixer's defense considerably, and we all know Lauri is the focal point to the Jazz team. Markkanen is averaging roughly 41 fantasy points on the road this season, and has recorded 43+ fantasy points in four of his last five road games. I do expect this game to be a closer affair than the spread says, and I do expect the Jazz to hang around all night making Lauri a nice contrarian play here tonight.

Derrick White (PG/SG), Boston Celtics

White is likely my second favorite Celtic to play tonight at his price tag. White did accrue 38 fantasy points earlier this season the last time these two teams faced-off, scoring 18 points to go along with four boards, eight dimes, a steal and a block across 36 minutes of action. Fully expect this game to go down to the wire here tonight, and we should expect big minutes once again out of the starters. White has been excellent this year and guards generally have better luck against the Pacers fast-paced game environment, unless your name is Giannis. 

 

Value Tier Core Plays

Jalen Green (SG), Houston Rockets

With Tari Eason already ruled out, this should leave more of the heavy lifting of scoring on the first unit here for the Rockets. We will continue to fade this backcourt of the Bucks any chance we get, and Green has been heating up lately on this home game stretch the Rockets have had. Over the last five games, in which have all been in Houston, Green has recorded 31, 30, 34, 47, and 38 fantasy points in those games. Couple that with the fact that the Rockets get a huge pace-up spot here and a lovely match up, Green has an excellent chance once again tonight to eclipse the 30-fantasy point mark.

Isaiah Hartenstein (C), New York Knicks

Slated to be heavily chalky as much of the Knicks are here tonight in this excellent match up vs the Wizards, but the Wizards have and will continue to struggle against the center position. Hartenstein has the starting role more than locked up and this is an A+ match up as stated. Isaiah has seen 33+ minutes in four-straight games now since the trade sending Barrett and Quickley to Toronto, and as a result he has recorded 30, 34, 47, and 40 fantasy points in those four games. Elite spot.

Tyus Jones (PG), Washington Wizards

Don't exactly love a ton of Wizards here tonight, but I do think if they want to compete in this game, then Tyus will have to have a nice game. If there is one weak(er) link to this Knick defense, it is Jalen Brunson. Seeing as how OG will likely be deployed on Kuzma or Deni, this should leave things open for Tyus to create and facilitate. Jones was having a nice little run, but his minutes had gone back to somewhat sporadic, but mostly due to the fact the Wizards are not good. This is mainly a tournament play for tonight, but it is a good way to get different and if he happens to have a 30+ fantasy point night, which I can see happening, he would do you a lot of good in tournaments.

Kelly Oubre (SG/SF), Philadelphia 76ers

Easily think you can run up to 3, maybe even 4 Sixers here tonight and still feel more than comfy. Really like the uptick Oubre has seen lately getting back into the groove the starting SF. Oubre saw his largest minutes total since returning from the rib injury last night, where he played 31 minutes even in the blow out, scoring 15 points to go along with seven rebounds an assist, and three swatted shots in route to 31 fantasy points. Over his last three games as he has seen extended run, Oubre has recorded 27, 31, and 31 fantasy points. Great match up, they will need him here tonight with being down two starters, and could see him easily putting up against nice game.

Simone Fontecchio (SF/PF), Utah Jazz

If you want a cheaper run-back in this Jazz/Sixer game, I think Fontecchio is a nice look here tonight for his price. He only saw 18 minutes last night as the Celtics routed the Jazz early on in the game, so he should be good to go here against Philly. Prior to last night, Fontecchio had started and played 31, 29, and 35 minutes while recording 30, 42, and 36 fantasy points, so we have seen the nice upside he can bring. As long as Jazz can keep this game competitive, he should see 28+ minutes.

Josh Hart (SF/PF), New York Knicks

Love that Hart has the dual-position eligibility here and is super cheap tonight. That is also why everyone in the industry also loves Hart tonight and he is a top-three highest rostered player projected currently. Hart is playing 28+ minutes most nights, and has topped 25 fantasy points in three of his last four games. He is fresh off a 40-fantasy point effort last night against the Sixers, and that is also likely a contributing factor to his expected rostership here tonight. Nonetheless, a sub $4k player that is playing 28+ minutes against one of the worst defenses in basketball is very hard to ignore.

Amen Thompson (PG/SG), Houston Rockets

Another cheap tournament play here is Amen Thompson for the Rockets. Over his last three games, Thompson has seen 28, 20 and 20 minutes while recording 30, 19, and 20 fantasy points in those games. He is a roughly a fantasy point per minute player with nice upside when given extended run. The Rockets have already ruled out Tari Eason and Dillon Brooks is also questionable to play. If Brooks also sits, this is a nice spot to take Amen at the cheap price and should expect him to see 20 or more minutes against an awful backcourt defense in the Bucks at home.

 

Player Pool

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