Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic shoots free throws during an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers in Dallas, Thursday, April 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
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Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 58.48 DK - 62.67
Luka is coming off a total monster of a game on Saturday against the Wizards, putting up 31 points, 20 assists, and 12 rebounds in 39 minutes. He now gets an even better matchup against the Kings. In this way, he just a great cash play once again. The only concern here is that the Mavericks choose to limit or rest Luka here considering how much he played on the front end of the back-to-back. We will have to watch out for that news over the course of the day. We might never truly know, but he’s worth the “risk” as it were considering the matchup and his ability to put up crazy lines.
Opponent - MIA
Proj Pts FD - 34.78 DK - 35.59
LaMelo came back from the broken wrist and looked no worse for wear right out of the gate. He played 28 minutes against the Pistons on Saturday and put up 11 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds while also adding some defensive stats as well. There are a couple of ways this could go for him on Sunday. They could rest him on the back-to-back if worried about his conditioning. They could also ramp up his minutes some considering he looked pretty damn good on Saturday. If he’s playing then the price on both sites is too cheap, but he’s especially a bargain on FanDuel. Hopefully, we get some clarity around the situation as the day goes on.
With Goran Dragic set to sit on the back-to-back then Kendrick Nunn (FD 5700 DK 5800) could be a good value.
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 36.88 DK - 37.87
Over his last four games, since Fox went down with injury, Halliburton has been averaging 17 shots per game and putting up 19 points, nine assists, and two steals per. That’s totally a great fantasy line and on Sunday should have a chance to add to it against the Mavericks. The price for Tyrese hasn’t come up to totally meet the new opportunity and I think he’s still a value here. The usage should remain high and he has significant scoring upside.
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 41.96 DK - 42.2
Déjouante Murray is currently questionable for this game and actually could be closer to doubtful. If he were to sit then DeRozan would be in a good spot to pick up some more minutes and usage. He’s played 36 more minutes in regulation in each of the last five games and in that stretch is averaging 30 points, 10 assists and five rebounds. Now some of those included OT games, but he’s still been putting up some crazy fantasy lines. This is a bad matchup against the Sixers and their defensive length, but DeRozan should have a higher minutes floor regardless and could pick up more offensive duties if Murray is out.
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 32.94 DK - 34.24
Barrett has played 40 or more minutes in five of the last seven games (one was an OT) which is about as high a minute's floor as you’ll ever see in the NBA in regular-season play. In that stretch, he’s averaging 21 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. You’d expect those numbers to be just a little higher considering the amount of run, but this offense still very much runs through Julius Randle. That being said, it’s hard to argue with the minutes and the Rockets will offer almost no defensive resistance.
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 37.07 DK - 39.26
Small forward is an interesting position on Sunday and we might need some more news to sort it all out. Porter is still a good play despite a disappointing game against the Warriors on Saturday. The Knicks are a good defense but as long as the game stays close Porter should play a ton. He’s still maintaining a relatively high usage rate with John Wall out of the picture and the price, while climbing, doesn’t represent his full opportunity in this offense now.
Jimmy Butler (FD 9800 DK 9000) could be interesting with Goran Dragic out of the lineup on the back-to-back.
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 25.49 DK - 25.96 Bailey is back from the extended injury absence and got thrown into the mix quickly when the Kings lost Metu. He might not get back into the starting lineup as well with the latter being doubtful for this game. Bagley isn’t a huge upside fantasy play, but he’s coming way too cheap if you think the Kings push his minutes up to 25-26 in this game. In his first game back he went for 11 points, four rebounds, and two steals in just 21 minutes. Just a little bump in run and he should be able to hit value.
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 24.74 DK - 24.65
It hasn’t totally worked out the last couple of games, but I think the intention is still to play Ariza upwards of 30+ minutes when the Heat are able to keep the game close. He needs to hit his threes to really get up there with the performance, but he’s also been able to rebound at a decent rate since joining the team. He’s averaged almost seven boards a game over the last eight games. But he’s also shot poorly from three over that time, going only 28% from beyond the arc. This is a good time to buy a little low at a thin position.
As it’s shaping up now, center could be a very tricky position on both sites. There are some okay, but not great options. Let’s go through a few of them and why they could potentially be in the cash game mix.
For starters, Robert Williams III (FD 5400 DK 5200) did actually get back into the starting lineup last game, but then was ultimately outplayed by Tristan Thompson off the bench. It’s hard to trust someone when that happens, but Williams can fill it up in limited minutes.
I’d like Deandre Ayton (FD 6600 DK 6700) in this matchup against OKC, but there is significant blowout risk for this game especially with OKC fully in the tank. They lost by a million points to the Pacers on Saturday and Phoenix is way better.
There’s an okay floor but not huge upside on Nerlens Noel (FD 5100 DK 4600) against the Rockets.
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