This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
DraftKings is starting the weekend in a big way for NBA contests, with Friday's $500K 3-Ball ($300 entry) and $125K Sharpshooter ($3 entry) as part of Championship Week. There are also four satellites to Saturday's $250K Thunderdome ($5,300), which is the final event of the promotion.
It's also a busy NBA weekend in real-life terms, with 10-game slates on Friday and Saturday, followed by a seven-gamer on Sunday.
There are a couple of teams that may rest starters, but with the Hawks playing their only game of the weekend at home (Sat. vs. BKN), things shouldn't get too crazy on that front.
Denver plays in San Antonio on the front end of a back-to-back Friday night, but the Nuggets have cut down on resting players not named Danilo Gallinari. Given that Denver has three days off following Saturday's home game against the Clippers, it won't be surprising if everyone besides Gallinari plays both games of the back-to-back. Still, the situation is worth keeping an eye on, as Friday would be a convenient time to rest some guys with minor injuries, and the Nuggets are unlikely to win either way.
Golden State is the bigger threat to rest starters this weekend, playing in Dallas on Saturday and San Antonio on Sunday. Draymond Green (shin) has already missed three consecutive games, while all of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut and even Harrison Barnes could miss one of the two games this weekend.
It makes sense for Steve Kerr to split up the rest between two days, but we should still have some nice low-pried options from the Shaun Livingston-Leandro Barbosa-Marreese Speights-David Lee bench quartet. And, if Kerr ends up resting a bunch of guys on one day, even James Michael McAdoo, Justin Holiday and Festus Ezeli could come into play.
On the other hand, there don't appear to be a ton of injury-related value plays this weekend, as most of the significant issues have been lingering for at least the past few games, allowing prices to adjust accordingly.
The Timberwolves, naturally, are an exception, but only because a rare bit of good news – the expected return of Kevin Martin (hamstring) – makes Zach LaVine ($6100), Lorenzo Brown ($4200) and Andrew Wiggins ($6800) less appealing for Friday's game against the Magic. Luckily, all hope is not lost, as LaVine still figures to see plenty of the court, while the expected absence of Anthony Bennett (ankle) could lead to even more minutes for Adreian Payne ($4300) and Justin Hamilton ($4800). I was burnt by Payne the last two times he played, but it's still hard to resist going back when he could get minutes in the mid-30s in a favorable matchup. I also like Hamilton, who is a bit pricier but does do a slightly better impersonation of a decent NBA player.
The Kings will likely be without Rudy Gay (concussion) for a pair of home games this weekend, and while that should lead to a sky-high usage rate for DeMarcus Cousins ($10,000), I can't get too excited about matchups with the Pelicans (Friday) and Jazz (Sunday). Cousins figures to be a very popular option Friday night, coming off a ridiculous showing of 85.25 DK points Wednesday against Houston.
Furthermore, Anthony Davis ($11,400) draws a dream matchup on the other side of this game, which will likely draw people to the Davis-Cousins combo. While I normally love to take superstars that are facing each other, I'll stick with just Davis for Friday. If Brow has a huge game but Boogie disappoints, a lot of those other lineups with Davis will essentially be busted.
I actually prefer to pair Davis with Sacramento's Omri Casspi ($4000), who had 36.25 DK points over 38 minutes in Gay's absence Wednesday night. Casspi will also be a popular play, but I'm hoping the sharpshooter gets hot from beyond the arc, which could force Davis to play through the fourth quarter, even if Boogie's struggling on the other side.
Elsewhere, Oklahoma City draws a dreadful Friday night matchup in Memphis, with Steven Adams (ankle) possibly joining the team's extensive injury list. It's hard to pay $7500 for Enes Kanter against the Grizzlies in any scenario, but I am keeping an eye on the inconsistent Mitch McGary ($4000), who could log big minutes out of necessity. The former Michigan Wolverine would still be impossible to rely on, but I like him as a high-upside tournament play, assuming Adams is out.
Given OKC's high-tempo, no-defense style, this is one of the rare times I'll be targeting a bunch of Grizzlies. Tony Allen (hamstring) and Zach Randolph (elbow) are both banged up, so it's still unclear exactly which guys should be targeted. Marc Gasol ($7200) and Mike Conley ($6100) are the safe bets, but I also think this is the best chance Courtney Lee ($3200) will have to break out of his prolonged slump, especially if Allen doesn't play.
Anyway, here are some of the top choices for the upcoming weekend (Fri.-Sun.) on DraftKings…
Point Guard
Elfrid Payton, ORL (Fri. at MIN, Sat. at MIL) $7500 – Payton's increased price has driven me away since he posted back-to-back triple-doubles March 18 and 20, but it's finally time to get back on this bandwagon. The rookie is getting 35-plus minutes every night, and he's topped 31 DK points in every game since going for those 3x2s. While I'm not quite as bullish on Saturday's matchup, Payton has enormous upside against the injury-decimated Timberwolves on Friday. I'm also a big fan of Nikola Vucevic ($7600) and Victor Oladipo ($7500) as well. While I'm hesitant to use more than one of Orlando's big three for a big-tournament lineup, the Vucevic-Payton pairing may be hard to resist against such a hopeless opponent.
Other options:Reggie Jackson, POR (Sat. at CHI, Sat. vs. MIA), $8500; Damian Lillard, POR (Fri. at LAL, Sat. vs. NO), $7800; George Hill, IND (Fri. vs. CHA, Sun. vs. MIA) $7500; Deron Williams, BKN (Fri. vs. TOR, Sat. at ATL) $6100; Mike Conley, MEM (Fri. vs. OKC, Sat. vs. WAS), $6100; Evan Turner, BOS (Fri. vs. MIL, Sat. at TOR), $5900; Norris Cole, NO (Fri. at SAC, Sat. at POR), $4000
Chris Paul, LAC (Sat. at DEN, Sun. at LAL); Goran Dragic, MIA (Sat. at DET, Sun. at IND); Trey Burke, UTA (Sat. at. PHO, Sun. at SAC); Kyrie Irving, CLE (Sun. vs. CHI)
Shooting Guard
DeMar DeRozan, TOR (Fri. at BKN, Sat. vs. BOS), $8000 – DeRozan is always a popular choice when Kyle Lowry (back) sits, but I'm hoping Wednesday's dud in Minnesota will throw people off the Canadian high-flyer's scent. Part of the problem Wednesday was that DeRozan only played 30 minutes in a blowout, down from the 39-to-42 that he usually gets in Lowry's absence. With games on Friday and Saturday that should be competitive, DeRozan will likely get back to his ball-dominant ways. Just be sure Lowry doesn't make a surprise return, as DeRozan can't be justified at this price when his backcourt mate suits up.
Other options:Jimmy Butler, CHI (Fri. vs. DET, Sun. at CLE), $8000; Victor Oladipo, (Fri. at MIN, Sat. at MIL), $7500; Arron Afflalo, POR (Fri. at LAL, Sat. vs. NO), $4300; Markel Brown, BKN (Fri. vs. TOR, Sat. at ATL), $4000; Courtney Lee, MEM (Fri. vs. OKC, Sat. vs. WAS), $3200; O.J. Mayo, MIL (at BOS), $3200
Monta Ellis, DAL (Sat. vs. GS); James Harden, HOU (Sat. at OKC)
Small Forward
Jeff Green, MEM (Fri. vs. OKC, Sat. vs. WAS), $5600 – I've probably rostered Green in a tournament once or twice all season, as he's a point-dependent player who doesn't have many huge scoring games. He seems to have a unique talent for slightly disappointing performances, with even his best games rarely being enough to give your lineup a big edge. However, all of the key Grizzlies are in play against Oklahoma City, and this is the perfect matchup for a point-dependent wing. I'll be a bit more hesitant if both Zach Randolph (shoulder) and Tony Allen (ankle) play, but Green still offers plenty of upside in that scenario, along with the expectation of a much lower ownership percentage. For Saturday, however, I'll have to look elsewhere at small forward.
Other options:Nicolas Batum, POR (Fri. at LAL, Sat. vs. NO), $3200; Tobias Harris, ORL (Fri. at MIN, Sat. at MIL); Omri Casspi, SAC (Fri. vs. NO, Sun. vs. UTA), $4000
Gordon Hayward, UTA (Sat. at. PHO, Sun. at SAC)
Power Forward
Anthony Davis, NO (Fri. at SAC, Sat. at POR), $11,400 – Friday's slate doesn't have a ton of star power beyond Russell Westbrook, who costs a whopping $12,500 for a game in Memphis. As the only other super-expensive player available, Davis is sure to be highly-owned, especially because of the ideal matchup. Brow is one of my favorite stars to fade on nights where he'll be highly owned, but this matchup is just too friendly to not put Davis in some lineups. I target players at all positions against Sacramento, and it helps that the Kings have nobody even close to capable of guarding Davis.
Other options:LaMarcus Aldridge, POR (Fri. at LAL, Sat. vs. NO), $9000; Pau Gasol, CHI (Fri. vs. DET, Sun. at CLE), $8200; Ersan Ilyasova, MIL (Fri. at BOS, Sat. vs. ORL), $6500; Ryan Anderson, NO (Fri. at SAC, Sat. at POR), $4600; Boris Diaw, SA (Fri. vs. DEN, Sun. vs. GS), $4300; Adreian Payne, MIN (Fri. vs. ORL), $4300; Mitch McGary, OKC (Fri. at MEM, Sun. vs. HOU), $4000
Blake Griffin, LAC (Sat. at DEN, Sun. at LAL)
Center
Zaza Pachulia, MIL (Fri. at BOS, Sat. vs. ORL), $5900 – Pachulia is a tough player to trust for DFS, especially with Jason Kidd yanking the Georgian big man's minutes around when things don't go well early on. The flip side is that Pachulia can put together some huge games when he gets hot early, as evidenced by outings of 41.25, 50.25 and 60.75 fantasy points within his last seven appearances. Given the favorable matchups this weekend, I'm betting Pachulia has at least one big game, if not a pair.
Other options:Nikola Vucevic, ORL (Fri. at MIN, Sat. at MIL), $7600; Marc Gasol, MEM (Fri. vs. OKC, Sat. vs. WAS), $7200; Jonas Valanciunas, TOR (Fri. at BKN, Sat. vs. BOS)
Rudy Gobert, UTA (Sat. at. PHO, Sun. at SAC); Al Horford, ATL (Sat. vs. BKN)
