Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden dribbles during an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 38.88 DK - 42.89
The Wizards are still a game or two from getting Bradley Beal back in the mix, so I think we can continue playing Dinwiddie here in cash even with the price on the climb. He’s facing off against a Portland team that is ranked dead last on defense this season while also running a slightly above-average pace. It’s just a great matchup and Dinwiddie has been seeing an uptick in usage with Beal on the shelf. The former has taken 14 and 15 shots over the last two games respectively with double-digit assists in one of them. This is still a spot to run him out there and I think he will see heavier ownership even while pushing $7K on both sites.
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 39.31 DK - 43.44
The Cavaliers are having no luck with their point guards this season with Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio lost for the season and now recent addition Rajon Rondo banged up. But with the latter out on Friday, it was Garland’s game to fully take over. He got up 25 shots in his 37 minutes against the Spurs, scoring 32 points and adding eight assists. If Rondo is out again and we can project max minutes for Darius here then I think he’s a cash game play again, this time against a very weak Thunder team.
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 50.17 DK - 54.99
The Nets have been totally fine running Harden major minutes this season and that should be the case once again on Saturday. He’s double-doubled with points and assists in two of the last three games And he’s put up 25+ points in every game during that stretch. The Pelicans are among the worst defensive teams in the league this season, ranking 25th overall. Harden is getting a little pricey on DraftKings, but with enough savings elsewhere I think we can run him on FanDuel as one of the spend-up options.
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 31.08 DK - 34.04
Barton returned for the Nuggets last game though, only played 25 minutes as they ramped him back up. That should be increased in this game against the Lakers and he is a solid cash game play in the middle tier where it’s sometimes tough to find reliable roster adds. Barton’s 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists per game play at these price points, and it stands to reason he sees an uptick in the run against a faster-paced Lakers’ team. Again, this is more about salary filling than true upside, but I think Barton is in play here.
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 34.02 DK - 35.97
The Trailblazers remain banged up here and are still needing Little to play big-time minutes on the wing. He’s taken double-digit shots in four of the last six games and is taking almost six threes per game in that stretch. He’s put up 13 points and six rebounds over the last couple of weeks and this is a good matchup against the Wizards. The price on Little is getting close to the breaking point, especially on DraftKings, but in a close one, I think the minutes can push all the way into the upper 30s once again. This, combined with small forward being a weaker position puts Little very much in play.
Opponent - NY
Proj Pts FD - 19.92 DK - 21.85
Hunter is back now and joined the starting lineup for the Hawks on Friday. He was solid, playing 30 minutes and scoring 20 points on 7-10 shooting. The real story here is that he’s coming at the bare minimum on DraftKings which really helps round out lineups over there. We need to check his status on the back-to-back to see if the team is willing to run him right back out there. But we should have that news in plenty of time on this slate with the Hawks playing early against the Knicks.
Opponent - LAL
Proj Pts FD - 65.06 DK - 69.84
Jokic gets a good matchup against the Lakers who are randomly playing just the fastest pace in the league with an average defensive efficiency. Jokic is Jokic, one of the very best fantasy producers we have seen, averaging 26 points, eight assists, and now a career-high 14 rebounds per game. The Lakers have been going smaller lately with more Lebron James at the five. It will be interesting to see if they keep up with that here against one of the best centers in the league. Either way, I think Jokic is a clear cash play in this matchup.
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 37.54 DK - 41.23
Kyle Kuzma at above $8K in cash? Okie-dokie. But what would have seemed like crazy talk just a week or two ago is no longer that way. This dude has been elite over the short-term, putting up double-doubles in six of his last eight games. During that stretch, he’s averaging 26 points and 11 rebounds with some assists, blocks, and steals thrown in there as well. He’s taking more than 18 shots per game including around six from beyond the arc where he’s shooting 34%. Facing off against the worst defense is also a great spot and I think we can run Kuzma here, especially on DraftKings.
Opponent - NO
Proj Pts FD - 25.91 DK - 27.71
I think Sharpe will get the start once again here and is coming cheap enough to consider in cash on both sites. He’s got a bit of a fouling problem, something that isn’t likely to improve going against Jonas Valanciunas, but the price is fine to risk it here. Last game was rough, but Sharpe’s previous two saw him averaging 17 points and seven rebounds with minutes in the low-20s. He can clearly put it up with smaller minute shares which takes away some of the risk here.
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