RADIO
Maybe the NBA doesn't want to compete with the NFL on Thursday night. Maybe I just never paid attention. Either way you slice it, the barren Thursday night NBA schedule has made this weekly DraftKings lineup article more challenging than it may be otherwise (now that I think about it, Thursday has been rather light over the past few seasons if my memory serves me correct). I won't complain, though. After all, some hoops beats no hoops 100-percent of the time.
Only three games on tonight's slate, but should be three good ones as we have a potential NBA Finals matchup up north between the Warriors and Raptors, a face-off of two up-and-coming, young contenders in the West with the Clippers heading to Sacramento, and any time the Lakers hit the hardwood people take notice (although, I'm not sure why... I am sure why -- LeBron James -- L.A. is just yet to live up to the hype). In other words, the lack of options overall doesn't necessarily equate to a lack of options in our dfs lineups.
Per usual, I'll be focusing on the mid-to-lower-priced options here in hopes of providing you those essential lineup fillers needed to optimize your DraftKings lineup. (I find no value in explaining that Kevin Durant is a solid option - we all know he's good at basketball.) And should DraftKings not be your thing (get that checked out), Jake has you covered with today's FanDuel lineup picks. Oh, and be sure to take a look at the injury updates prior to the opening tip; I will not be held liable for your negligence in that regard.
DraftKings DFS Guards
Buddy Hield - SG/SF, vs LAC ($5,700)
Solid defense is one of the reasons the Clippers have the best record in the Western Conference and third-best record in the NBA. Hield is one of the reasons the Kings currently find themselves in the mix for their first playoff berth since the 2005-2006 season.
Favor the latter.
Ole Buddy boy has put up at least 10 points in 19 of the Kings 20 games and sits second on the team in minutes per game at 31.1 with a 23.4 usage rate while putting up a little over 15 shots per game. In other words, he's a major key in this offense and I'd imagine that won't not be the case all of a sudden tonight. Both of these squads rank in the Top-10 in pace, this game has the highest over/under implied point total of the night (235), and Buddy Buckets should get his buckets... He's also been surprisingly solid on the boards and is likely to dish out a few assists as well.
Aaron Holiday - PG, at LAL ($3,700)
There's a chance Victor Oladipo returns tonight (though doubtful), and should that be the case, go ahead and disregard the following paragraphs. Thank you.
Following nine-straight DNPs, Holiday logged 15 minutes when Oladipo went down against the Hawks and dropped 12 points, grabbed three rebounds, and handed out two assists off the bench. Not bad, but it was the Hawks. So, yeah, catches the eye but then it's like, it was the Hawks. Well, Oladipo has missed the last five contests, and Holiday has proven it was in fact his baller status; not the Hawks.
The little Holiday brother has averaged 20.7 minutes over the Pacers last five -- contributing 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists -- and has double-figure scoring efforts in each of these five. (Excluding Tuesday night against Phoenix. He did nothing Tuesday night against Phoenix.) He's one of the lowest priced guards on tonight's slate -- who is likely to see decent run -- and should provide a solid ROI enabling you to go big elsewhere.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Pascal Siakam - PF, vs GS ($6,100)
I still love Pascal Siakam. Unabashedly.
You might see that red "1st" next to opponent rank in regards to his matchup with the Warriors, but I think it's safe to say that the Warriors are not the same team without Draymond Green. Let alone, Stephen Curry. Neither will be in action tonight, and the Warriors DefRtg has dropped from 108.8 to 110 while their rebound rate has gone from 51.4 to 50.4-percent over their last six games sans Green. Not a huge drop, but when you factor in it's only been a six-game stretch, it kinda is.
Siakam's run of 14-straight double-digit scoring efforts came to an end last Friday, but he's picked right back up averaging 15.5 points over his last two - he's also pulled down at least six boards in seven of his last eight games. When it comes to value, few guys offer more than Siakam -- given his affinity to fill up the box score -- and in a matchup which isn't as tough as it might be against a healthy Warriors squad, you can roll him out with confidence tonight.
Brandon Ingram - SG/SF, vs IND ($5,800)
Ingram turns the ball over like pancakes, or apples, and this is not cool. It's also likely to cost you a few fantasy points as DraftKings penalizes turnovers. Nonetheless, there's a chance Lonzo Ball misses this game (ankle) and Rajon Rondo won't be back for at least another week; Ingram could be the Lakers de facto PG. If so, I don't think that means he'll suddenly become a threat to flirt with a triple-double, but it definitely doesn't hurt his chances. Regardless, he's dropped double-figure points in 11-straight contests, has been solid on the boards, and while I really wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to again crush on Marvin Bagley III, I'll take a rain check. (Low key plug.)
DraftKings DFS Center
Boban Marjanovic - C, at SAC ($3,500)
Marjanovic puts up 1.48 DraftKings fantasy points per minute of action which is more than any other center on tonight's slate and fewer than only Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, and Nikola Jokic overall at the position. Impressive. Problem is, he's only seeing about 11 minutes per game. Not impressive. Luckily, Marcin Gortat missed last night's game with back spasms (not lucky for him) and is listed as questionable tonight. Boban saw 19 minutes in his absence and provided 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 29 DK fantasy points and you can expect similar production tonight should Gortat again be unable to go (or limited).
