The NFC Divisional round showdown between the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals has the potential to dominate the spotlight on Saturday night but with a full slate of NBA games there is no doubt that basketball fans will be excited about the potential to make some serious money in NBA Daily Fantasy Leagues. The action gets underway at 7 PM on the east coast with the Milwaukee Bucks visiting the Charlotte Hornets and won’t wrap up until the early morning hours with the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers set to clash on the west coast in the late game. Here is a look at some important advice to consider when building your optimal lineup in Daily Fantasy Leagues for Saturday’s NBA action.
Weak Defense To Target: Los Angeles Lakers
It’s no surprise that the Lakers have the fewest wins among the Western Conference teams and a big reason for that is the fact that they have ranked among the bottom-five teams in the NBA in scoring defense for pretty much the entire year. Los Angeles has allowed an average of 105.8 points per game this season for the third-worst mark in the NBA and are coming off a game where the Golden State Warriors blew the doors off the barn, scoring 116 points. That should create some sneaky good sleeper opportunities when they visit the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. Although the Jazz are knwon as a low-scoring team and not necessarily one to trust from an offensive standpoint, this is a reasonable spot to go with them. Gordon Hayward is the obvious fantasy star for Utah but it’s also worth considering Rodney Hood and Trey Burke as strong value options since the Jazz have the potential to put up some fantasy numbers with the Lakers in town on Saturday night.
Player Who’s Hot Right Now: Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
Golden State Warriors MVP Stephen Curry and Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins have been fantasy studs all season and will continue to be but one player that has flown under the radar a little bit despite being on fire of late is Isaiah Thomas of the Celtics. Thomas has averaged 21.6 points, 6.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 three-point shots and 1.3 steals per game over the past week of action and the best part about plugging him in to your lineup in Daily Fantasy Leagues is that it won’t cost nearly as much as it would to play Curry or Cousins.
Injuries, Rest Create Opportunities For… Mario Chalmers, Shane Larkin
Mario Chalmers has settled in to a comfortable role for the Memphis Grizzlies this season as the perfect bridge at the point guard position and with Mike Conley dealing with an Achilles injury he should continue to play substantial minutes as a strong value play against the New York Knicks. Chalmers has averaged 10.3 points, 3.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game over the last week of action and should be in for another strong performance on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets are dealing with a severe lack of talent and it doesn’t help that Jarrett Jack will be sidelined for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. However, the team’s lack of scoring options has created opportunity in Daily Fantasy Leagues for those looking for a strong sleeper option for Saturday night in Shane Larkin. Brooklyn’s replacement for Jack as the starting point guard scored 17 points with five assists and two rebounds in their 110-104 win over the Knicks on Wednesday night and will need to have another strong performance when the Nets play the Atlanta Hawks in their second game in as many nights on Saturday.
Highest Scoring Game Of The Night: SAC @ LAC
Both of these teams rank in the top-five in points per game this season with the third-ranked Kings averaging 106.2 and the fifth-ranked Clippers averaging 103.9 points per game so there shouldn’t be any doubt about the potential for this game to become a shootout. Cousins is the obvious fantasy stud for Sacramento but Omri Casspi has been a quality value option all season and should be again in this contest. Meanwhile, J.J. Redick continues to put up solid fantasy numbers for the Clippers while Jamal Crawford is always a threat to go off in Daily Fantasy Leagues.
