RADIO
The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on February 21st, 2019. Leonard Francis II provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
I won't pretend as if I found no pleasure in All-Star Weekend. It was fun. The dunk contest, while anticlimactic, did provide me with the Oscar-worthy, short film comedy that was the John Collins air plane dunk. Hamidou Diallo Vince Carter-ing over Shaq was impressive. And, while Dennis Smith Jr. missed eleventy attempts, he had me jumping out of my seat with each one. The world's introduction to the beauty that is Joe Harris' jumper was long overdue, and of course, Steph going Steph in the three-point shootout is always a marvel. Even the game itself had its moments. Still, I find solace to the utmost degree as my fingers disperse the following sentiment...
Welcome back, NBA. You've been missed.
The return of meaningful NBA action comes to us tonight in the form of a five-game slate -- the Suns and Cavs also play -- so there's a decent amount of value to be had in our DraftKings lineups. Below you'll find a few of my favorite mid-to-low-priced values which are not intended to be building blocks, but guys to help fill out your lineups around the higher-priced options (I see no value in explaining how Jusuf Nurkic makes for a solid play). Be sure to keep an eye on the injury reports as well, as several key players could potentially return to the lineup tonight with a few more possibly finding themselves dapperly dressed on the bench for the evening.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Collin Sexton - PG, vs PHX ($4,900)
The break came at a good time for both Kevin Love and Cedi Osman -- as they make their way back from injury -- and while having these two at full strength will likely to eat into Sexton's production, the Cavs offense still runs primarily through his hands. Oh, and did I mention they're playing Phoenix?
Sexton went into the All-Star break playing some of the best basketball of his young career. He comes out of the break facing a porous Suns defense which allows most opposing players to play the best basketball of their lives. Hard to not like his odds tonight.
Dwyane Wade - PG/SG, at PHI ($4,300)
Wade threw a pass off the backboard. Said pass was then caught by LeBron James who proceeded to dunk the pass using both of his hands. This exchange happened early in the third quarter of Sunday night's All-Star game. NBA Twitter got all emotional over the "last" such connection between the two, LeBron used the word "bittersweet" any time someone even uttered a word that contained the letters D or W, and pretty much universally, people acted as if the duo played together for like 16 seasons and/or this "last" alley-oop was some monumental moment worthy of eternal looping.
... Now that that's over with, Wade returns to the LeBron-less Heat who find themselves tied (record-wise) with the eighth-seeded Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference standings. And if Miami is to overtake the Pistons, or the Hornets, or the Nets, they'll need Wade to produce at a level similar to the 14 points, four rebounds, and five assists he put up over his last 20 games heading into the break. Tough draw against Philly out the gates, but even in a down game, the production should exceed his salary.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Kelly Oubre Jr. - SG/SF, at CLE ($5,800)
The 13 points, four rebounds, and one assist Oubre put up over 29 games with Washington to start the season have seen a slight uptick -- 15 points, five rebounds, two assists -- over the 28 games he's played while wearing Phoenix's purple and orange. Over last 10 games, however, he's dropping 17 points to go with five rebounds, and three assists and, unsurprisingly, all 10 of those games were played without the services of T.J. Warren who's slated to miss his 11th-straight game tonight.
With Josh Jackson moving into the Suns starting five for those 10 Warren-less bouts, Oubre is the only Sun averaging double-figures off the bench. In fact, he's putting up more than twice that of Richaun Holmes' eight - which land second on the list of reserves. In other words, he's likely to put shots up by default and that's a more than welcomed supposition considering the Cavs are one of the few teams who are as dreadful as his Suns are on the defensive side of the ball.
Jake Layman - SF/PF, at BKN ($4,500)
For you Oregonians, and Blazers fans alike, these next few words do not apply to you. For the rest of us, there's this guy that nobody ever talks about who plays basketball for the Portland Trailblazers. This guy goes by the name of Jake Layman, and he's very good at playing basketball.
Now no, his season totals -- eight points, three rebounds, one assist, 15 DraftKings fantasy points per -- do not support this statement. My eyeballs do, though. As do the 14 points and four rebounds he's averaged over his last 15 games. As do the 11 double-digit scoring efforts he's put up over those last 15 along with the nine 20-plus DK fantasy point performances, six 25-plus pointers, three 30-plus pointers, and the two of 40 or more. Like Oubre, Layman has done the heavy lifting for the Blazers bench, and while the Nets present a sneaky-tough matchup, he has the rare combination of floor, upside, and savings.
DraftKings DFS Centers
Marquese Chriss - PF/C, vs. PHX ($4,500)
The obvious answer here is Boban Marjanovic at $3,500 with Joel Embiid out tonight, but if you want to go against the grain, Chriss has been providing excellent value of late. I know, it's hard to trust the guy based on a four-game sample. Especially when you consider he played in just 16 of a possible 54 games with his prior team, Houston, who decided just not to play him. He hasn't been hurt for most of the season, he just didn't play. That's never a good sign for a big man playing for a team struggling to find an interior presence... But, here we are.
Ridiculously affordable salary aside, Chriss has averaged 14 points and six rebounds over that four-game sample with Cleveland, and even more appealing is the fact that Phoenix has allowed the fourth-most points in the paint, the fifth-most rebounds, and the most second-chance points since January 1st.
