Here is a look at some important NBA daily fantasy advice to consider for Saturday’s NBA slate. After celebrating Christmas Day with five consecutive games, the NBA schedule ramps up big time on Saturday with an absolutely loaded schedule featuring 26 different teams in action. That means plenty of tough decisions when it comes to finding the perfect balance between superstar players and the type of sleeper bargain options that allow us to plug in stars and build around them.
Weak Defense To Target: Washington Wizards
Washington has won three to climb closer to the .500 mark, but they have been far too inconsistent to trust them at this point especially when you consider how bad they have been at their own end of the floor. The Wizards rank 25th in the NBA in scoring defense this season with an average of 105.0 points allowed per game. While the Nets haven’t exactly lit up the scoreboard of late they have been much better at home than on the road and should be able to put up some decent numbers at the offensive end of the floor. Target Washington’s defense by using players like Jarrett Jack and Bojan Bogdanovic, who have put up decent numbers of late, but are still available at a very reasonable price in Daily Fantasy Leagues.
Player Who’s Hot Right Now: DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are just three games back of the Cleveland Cavaliers for top spot in the Eastern Conference standings and DeRozan is a big reason for it. He actually leads the NBA in points per game over the last week of action. DeRozan has averaged 29.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game over the past seven days as he’s been playing at an all-star caliber. With Toronto set to visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, it’s worth using DeRozan as a core player that you build your roster around. The Bucks are known as a defensive-minded team under Jason Kidd, but they haven’t been of that quality this season. They are ranked 18th in the NBA in points allowed per game at 102.0 this season.
Injuries, Rest Create Opportunities For…. Bobby Portis, Gary Harris
Chicago Bulls’ center Joakim Noah suffered a slight left tear in his shoulder that will keep him out two to four weeks and, while Taj Gibson has helped pick up the slack, the main beneficiary of the injury has been Portis, who has thrived of late from a fantasy perspective. Portis has averaged 13.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.0 assist and 1.0 three-point shots per game over the last week of action and should be in for another strong performance against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets aren’t expected to have Emmanuel Mudiay back in the lineup anytime soon and, with Jameer Nelson and Danilo Gallinari both nursing nagging injuries, the opportunity is there for Gary Harris to step up. Harris has averaged 9.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game over the last week of action and could be a strong value play for Saturday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Highest Scoring Game Of The Night: HOU @ NO
Both the Rockets and the Pelicans struggled out of the gate this season but they have both shown flashes of playing at a higher level of late with offense the key for both teams. Houston ranks fourth in the NBA in points per game while New Orleans ranks seventh in that department and considering neither team has played at a very high level at the defensive end of the floor this should be the highest scoring game of the night. James Harden and Anthony Davis are the obvious options, but also consider using Terrence Jones and Trevor Ariza for the Rockets as well as Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon for the Pelicans as decent secondary options.
