Houston Rockets' Fred VanVleet brings the ball up the court against the Washington Wizards during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
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Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 64.45 DK - 69.79
Most nights it makes sense to consider playing Luka Doncic in cash games. When he’s playing one of the worst defenses in basketball, then you are going to really want to smash the lock button. In close games, Luka is good to play around 40 minutes with the Mavs needing every bit of run from him. And over the last month or so, he’s averaging a crazy 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists per game. A true triple-double every single night has him making sense even at these crazy prices.
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 47.21 DK - 50.2
The Rockets are still without Alperen Sengun and will be for the foreseeable future. That’s left a lot of production for the dudes who remain with Fred VanVleet, getting major minutes and usage in the short term. His shots per game are up about 15% and over the last three, he’s averaging 20 points, 10.7 assists, and five rebounds. Sure, the price has come up, but it’s in line with production. Now, he gets the league’s worst defense in the Washington Wizards who are playing shorthanded. This is a very easy play.
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 43.09 DK - 47.09M
Similarly, Jalen Green has become a much more reliable fantasy threat in the short term with Sengun on the shelf. And over the last month, the dude has seen a steady diet of minutes and shots. He’s averaging almost 25 points per game in that stretch, taking more than 20 shots in each of his last two games as well. Green can heat check with the best of them and the price on both sites is still totally reasonable considering the context and the matchup.
Amen Thompson (FD 7800 DK 5900) is still very much in play on DraftKings.
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 27.28 DK - 30.61
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 37.24 DK - 38.06
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 29.04 DK - 31.87
The Wizards might get Kyle Kuzma back for this game, but they are still going to be without Tyus Jones, Deni Avdjia, and Marvin Bagley at least. Last game, that meant starts for Justin Champagnie and Patrick Baldwin Jr., both of whom played 30+ minutes in the starting lineup. Champagnie was excellent from a fantasy perspective, tallying 14 points and eight rebounds when it was all said and done.
Baldwin, meanwhile, did get up 11 shots, though they only scored six points. He did tack on seven rebounds and four assists, though, so at these punt prices, it would be a fine play if he were starting again.
And with Corey Kispert, he represents at least a guy on the Wiz whose seen real, projectable minutes throughout the course of the season. The price isn’t crazy for him in the $5K range and he’s been known to hit threes in bunches when things are going right. He’s shooting better than 40% from beyond the arc over the last month.
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 39.58 DK - 42.38
With Alperen Sengun out, it sure seemed like Jabari Smith Jr. was in line for a major fantasy spike. After all, he was starting at center and it appeared like both the usage and rebounding (at the very least) would have him a smash play. That didn’t happen at all in the first game, and even last time out, he played *only* 32 minutes. That led to 20 points on 13 shots along with seven rebounds. Fine enough, though still under expectation.
That being said, he’s still an easy cash game play on this slate against the hapless Wizards who will have very little in the way of defense to slow the Rockets down.
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 31.47 DK - 31.39
Opponent - SA
Proj Pts FD - 22.91 DK - 22.54
It sure would be nice if one of these guys was the clear minutes dude for the Mavericks at center, though as it stands they are mostly chopping it down the middle. On FanDuel, that makes for a tough sell because of the price points. But on DraftKings, it gets much closer. Neither are bank-breakers, and Lively is especially cheap at $4K.
If you think the Mavericks trend bigger to try and deal with Victor Wembanyama, then rolling either, or both of these guys in cash could make sense. On a per-minute fantasy basis, they are both very good. It’s just that neither really top 24 minutes consistently.
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