NBA $15,000 SATURDAY: TIPS & SELECTIONS
NBA Saturday features 10 games once more, most notably the battle of LA with the fourth placed Clippers facing the fifth placed Lakers without LeBron James.
In the East, third vs sixth collide when the Pistons face the Pacers, and an intriguing match up also looms in seventh placed Charlotte hosting the Nets who are knocking right on the door in ninth.
Russell Westbrook and the Thunder play host to the bottom of the West Suns, so expect some fireworks from Russ in that one.
There is $15,000 up for grabs in the Saturday jackpot tournament.
Lauri Markkanen – PF – $13,160
Markkanen was somewhat tamed in his last game, putting up 16 points with seven boards, but in the two games prior he put up back to back 30 plus point nights, with nine triples spread across the two performances. He continues to log big minutes in a Bulls front court that remains without Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis. The Wizards are allowing the second most points in the league, the fourth most triples in the league, and have the clear worst rebounding differential in the league. Put all of this together and it makes for a juicy spot for the Finnish sniper.
Kris Dunn – PG – $12,520
Doubling up on the woeful Wizards defense, Kris Dunn will be excited to take his chances as well. While he will have his hands full defending John Wall, the enigmatic Wizards star has not been charitable at times with his own defense this year. Dunn has been stuffing the stat sheet of late, putting up eight rebounds and seven assists in each of his last three games, with five steals across that stretch too. He was limited to just nine points in his most recent game, but had put up double digits in five straight games prior, including multiple 20+ point efforts. If Dunn can continue his efforts with his rebounding and passing, with a points bump from an inviting Wizards defense, he can have a big night.
Lonzo Ball – PG/SG – $11,220
With LeBron James out, currently listed day to day with a groin injury, there is 35 minutes extra a game that need to be covered for the man who has the ninth highest usage rate in the NBA. Not only do those minutes need to be filled, someone needs the ball in their hand, orchestrating the Lakers to try to fill the LeBron void. In their last game, the Lakers found their man to step up in Lonzo Ball who posted a 20 point triple double, his second triple double this month. The Lakers may have fallen to a last second dagger, but Ball showed more than enough to be looked to as the man for this contest. The Clippers have the 25th worst defense in the NBA, a great bounce-back proposition.
Jalen Brunson – PG – $6,130
With Dennis Smith Jr still out of action, and now the target of trade rumours, Brunson continues to log good minutes at the point for the Mavericks including 33 minutes in his last outing. He hasn’t converted this into a huge game yet, his season high for points is 17, but he has scored double digits in back to back games, resulting in Draftstars scores of 22 and 23.75 his third and fourth highest efforts of the season. He gets a good match up here against the disappointing Pelicans 27th ranked defense. If you need to take a flyer near the bottom of the price barrel, Brunson with the minutes he is getting is one of the most trustworthy options.
Langston Galloway – PG/SG – $6,990
Galloway has been really feeling it in his last two games amassing 40 points, with seven triples and seven boards in that stretch. It is important to note that those games came against the two worst defenses in the NBA, and now the Pistons come up against the Pacers, the best defensive team in the NBA. With that said, Galloway is a low price option, so if you need to make a sacrifice somewhere, he may be the guy to roll the dice on while he’s got the hot hand.
Enter the NBA $15,000 Saturday tournament.
NBA SCORING SYSTEM
Point Scored = 1 point
Missed Field Goal = -0.25 points
Missed Free Throw = -0.25 points
Assist = 1.5 points
Rebound = 1.25 points
Turnover = -0.5 points
Steal = 2 points
Block = 2 points
3 Point Made Bonus = 1 point
Double-Double = 2 points
Triple-Double = 2 points
NBA