The Toronto Raptors have stormed back in their first round series with the Indiana Pacers to remind everybody they are still the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back from a surprising home loss to the Dallas Mavericks to take a 2-1 series lead, and the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers have each taken 2-0 series leads with their respective best-of-7’s set to continue on Saturday. With eight teams in action, there will be plenty of options to choose from when building the optimal lineup in NBA fantasy. Here is a look at the optimal lineup for Saturday’s DraftKings Daily Fantasy Leagues.
PG: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Salary: $10,900
The Thunder had the appropriate response to their Game 2 loss as they beat up on Dallas to take Game 3 131-102. Westbrook went off for 26 points, 15 assists, two steals and a block with two three-point shots to live up to his status as one of the highest priced players in DraftKings tournaments. That will be the case again on Saturday but as long as he continues to produce at a high level he will be worth plugging in to your lineup as one of the top star options on the NBA fantasy board.
SG: Josh Richardson, Miami Heat
Salary: $3,800
Richardson has averaged 33.0 minutes for the Heat in their first two games of the series and he is coming off a solid performance in Game 2 in which he scored 15 points, two rebounds, two three-point shots, an assist and a block. Those are solid numbers for a guard that is set to play big minutes again in Game 3 yet is available at under $4K in DraftKings tournaments. We will be locked in with two of the most expensive options o n the board from Oklahoma City so it only makes sense to compliment with a strong NBA fantasy value option in Richardson.
SF: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Salary: $10,200
Durant was even better than Westbrook in Game 3 as he finished with a game-high 34 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and three three-point shots. Durant is still one of the most lethal scorers in the NBA and he will look to give Oklahoma City a 3-1 series lead on Saturday with an opportunity to end the series in five after letting their fans down in Game 2.
PF: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
Salary: $6,100
While it is more likely than not that the Thunder continue to roll in Game 4, we can still see the veteran Nowitzki really pushing Oklahoma City as the Mavericks throw everything they have at them to even the series. Nowitzki has averaged 17.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in this series and if he can match his assist total from Game 3 with five then he will be the perfect fit at the power forward position for Saturday.
C: Enes Kanter, Oklahoma City Thunder
Salary: $5,100
Kanter provided a spark off the bench in Game 2 with 21 points, eight rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in just 22 minutes. There is no doubt that he was able to expose the Dallas big men inside and produce at a very high level in a short amount of time. We will bet on that being the case again in Game 4 with Kanter locked in as our third and final entry from the Thunder.
G: Cory Joseph, Toronto Raptors
Salary: $3,300
Joseph has provided a spark off the bench for Toronto in its series with 24 minutes in each of the first three games. He has averaged 14.6 points, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game versus the Pacers in the series and as long as he continues to produce the Raptors will lean on him as a veteran point guard that seems unfazed on the big stage.
F: Luol Deng, Miami Heat
Salary: $5,800
Deng played 37 minutes of Game 2 for Miami and there is every reason to expect him to play big minutes for the Heat as they look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. Deng scored 16 points with six rebounds, one assist, one block, one steal and two three-point shots in his last outing and at $5.8K he is an excellent fit for our final forward position.
UTIL: Jeremy Lin, Charlotte Hornets
Salary: $4,200
Lin represents the best value with the remaining cap space we have available, especially with the Hornets at home for Game 3. Lin has averaged 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists through the first two games but he could easily top those averages at home with better shooting numbers. Lin is just 4-11 from the field and 0-3 from beyond the arc in the series but if his shot start to fall it will lead to a strong performance for a desperate Charlotte team in Game 3.
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