RADIO
The 2018-19 NBA season is quickly winding down. With the calendar hitting March, not only does it mean that Spring is almost here but also that the NBA playoffs are on the horizon. While there are only seven games on the 20th Friday of the campaign, five of the contests on today's slate have playoff implications of some sort.
There are two "must watch" games tonight, which are the Nets hosting the Hornets and the Clippers visiting the Kings. Brooklyn is currently seated sixth in the East, but the Nets are 5-8 in their last 13 outings including 2-4 at home. Charlotte is also trending downward as the Hornets have dropped seven of their previous nine games. Still, the Hornets are ninth in the conference and just three games behind the Nets. To add more intrigue, two of the three games between the teams this year have been filled with drama. That includes the last matchup on February 23rd where D'Angelo Russell tied a career high with 40 points in the Nets 117-115 victory.
Meanwhile the race out West is a little tighter as six games separate six teams. The Clippers, who are currently eighth in the conference, have shown to be pretty good on the road and have taken the first three high-scoring matchups this year with the closest game being a nine-point difference. The Kings are ninth in the conference though they are only two games behind the Clippers and have been very good at home. However, Sacramento is 3-10 against Pacific division foes and have lost four of five overall since the trade deadline. On the other hand, Los Angeles is 3-2 over their last five and 9-3 against division opponents. For the rest of the article, I have provided my daily fantasy basketball lineup for DraftKings on 3/1/19. As always make sure to check the status of players before the opening tip.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Malcolm Brogdon: PG/SG @LAL ($5,600)
With so few games on tap, there are a lot of fantastic options at point guard. Surprisingly some of the best values at the position are at the higher end with Kyrie Irving, D'Angelo Russell, Kemba Walker, Jrue Holiday, and Zach LaVine all having appealing matchups.
Given all that, I decided to feature Brogdon as he has played extremely well all season, although particularly so over the last 16 games. Plus, the Lakers have been awful on the defensive end especially against the top-eight teams in the East. They also have had trouble containing opposing backcourts all year -- meaning that Eric Bledsoe is also a quality play. Additionally, the over/under for the game is set at 236 points so a lot of scoring is expected.
Brogdon, who has been on fire over the last five contests, has scored in double-figures in a season-high 16 consecutive games. The 26-year-old also has been more consistent rebounding the ball lately, posting five or more rebounds in 11 of those outings. He is averaging 17.4 points, 1.8 triples, 5.1 rebounds, and three dimes while shooting 49 percent from the floor and 42 percent from long distance since January 18th.
Devin Booker, De'Aaron Fox, Lou Williams, Brandon Ingram, and Spencer Dinwiddie are also solid plays. However, Dinwiddie is coming off a thumb injury that cost him a month's worth of games. Elfrid Payton, as well as Patrick Beverley, are inexpensive options who could have huge games. Meanwhile, Tyler Johnson has played well lately and has a quality matchup against the Pelicans.
If you need a guard to fill out your lineup Ryan Arcidiacono, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Frank Jackson, Jamal Crawford, and Shaquille Harrison are punt options.
Bogdan Bogdanovic: SG/SF Vs. LAC ($5,300)
The 26-year-old is arguably coming off the best game of his career in his outing versus the Bucks. The second-year pro tallied 28 points on 10-for-22 shooting from the floor, including 5-for-8 from beyond the arc, in that game. He also grabbed eight rebounds, doled out eight assists, blocked one shot and came up with two steals.
Bogdanovic has started the past four games and should see his role increase with Marvin Bagley having already been ruled out with a knee injury. The Serbian national has scored in double-figures in three of those four games. He also has compiled six rebounds and six assists in each of the last two outings. In 12 starts this year, Bogdanovic is averaging 14.7 points along with five rebounds, five assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.9 three-pointers while shooting 39.5 percent from the floor and 34.3 percent on three-pointers.
The 2014 first-round draft pick is averaging 19.3 points despite shooting 40 percent from the floor along with four assists and 2.7 caroms versus the Clippers this season. Bogdanovic has played better at home than on the road this year.
Kelly Oubre Jr., Jeremy Lamb, and Jaylen Brown have played well lately. Danny Green, Joe Harris, Mikal Bridges, Kevin Huerter, Wayne Selden, Rodney Hood, and Pat Connaughton are cheap and/or punt options.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Trevor Ariza: SF/PF @BOS ($5,800)
Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James are absolutely the top two plays here. There is some concern about both players however, with one being how James matches up against an improved Antetokounmpo? The question surrounding Antetokounmpo concerns how much will he play, mainly if the Bucks build a huge lead?
Ariza has struggled shooting the ball over the past three games, but he is coming off a solid double-double performance against the Nets where the 33-year-old posted 51 DK fantasy points by filling the stat sheet. Ariza, who has scored in double-figures in six of his last seven games, is producing 16.6 points along with 2.2 treys, seven rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.7 steals over the past five games.
The 15th-year pro compiled 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists for 34 DK fantasy points in the teams earlier meeting. The C's, who have given up the fifth fewest points to opposing power forwards this year, has been much more amicable over the last 10 games. During the past 10 contests, Boston is allowing 23.2 points, 10.6 boards and 3.7 assists to opposing power forwards.
Kyle Kuzma, Jeremy Lamb and Harrison Barnes are other mid-level options. For players that want to go with cheaper alternatives, Marvin Williams, Al-Farouq Aminu, Maurice Harkless, an JaMychal Green are quality options.
Montrezl Harrell: PF/C @SAC ($6,400)
The 25-year-old had a very productive February. While his rebounding numbers were slightly down from the 7.1 caroms that he averaged in January, Harrell produced two double-doubles and reached double-figures in 10 of the 11 contests. He averaged 18.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.6 blocks while shooting 65.4 percent from the floor for the month.
Harrell saw a slight increase in usage for the month. His 12.1 shot attempts a game were a season-high as he took 10 or more shots in nine of the 11 games.
The fourth-year pro has dominated the Kings in the three meetings this year, compiling 23.7 points along with 7.3 boards, and two blocks while shooting 65.4 percent from the floor.
Julius Randle and John Collins are poised for a big game tonight. Anthony Davis could be a bargain at $6,700, although he is on a 20-to-25 minutes restriction. Nikola Mirotic is a good mid-level option.Darius Miller, Omari Spellman, and Harry Giles are cheap/punt options.
DraftKings DFS Centers
Cody Zeller: C @ BKN ($5,800)
The 26-year-old has played extremely well over the last nine games. He has scored in double-figures in seven straight games while collecting at least seven boards in each of his February appearances, Zeller put up season-best numbers in every category this past month as he totaled 13.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, two assists, 1.1 blocks, and one steal this past month.
Zeller has been pretty productive versus the Nets this year despite not shooting very well from the floor. The sixth-year pro has compiled 10.3 points, 10 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.7 blocks over three games against them.
Jusuf Nurkic, Deandre Ayton, Dewayne Dedmon, Jarrett Allen, Marc Gasol, Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Willie Cauley-Stein, Thomas Bryant, and Ivica Zubac are also viable options. Ed Davis is a good punt option if he sees his typical 18-to-20 minutes of action.
