NBA Starting Five: Saturday, March 26th
The Starting 5 Series will provide Grinders a quick look at the day’s top positional plays, analyzed through the lens of our Daily Research Tools. Today, we’ll take a look at the Defense vs. Position 3-Week sheet to give us a look at what players might be in favorable matchups tonight. I always like to look at 3-week averages, because there are so many injuries and rotation moves throughout the season.
It’s a fun nine game Saturday slate, so let’s get it going! Salaries for today are taken from FanDuel.
Point Guard – Damian Lillard vs. PHI – $8,700
Lillard has an elite matchup tonight, and should strongly be considered in all formats tonight. The blowout is always something you have to worry about against the 76ers. Portland is 4-6 in the last ten games, and they’re in a four-team battle for the last three spots in the West.
The 76ers are allowing the most fantasy points to opposing points guards over the last three weeks. Lillard has a 35% usage rate this season, and he’s averaging over 38 fantasy points per game over his last ten. Lillard only put up 17 fantasy points in the game in Philly earlier this year, but he only shot 22% from the field. I hope this will turn some people off him tonight.
Shooting Guard – Zach LaVine vs. UTAH – $6,300
Every once in a while I like to write up tough matchups as well. LaVine is playing a ton of minutes right now, but doesn’t have a lot of upside. Utah is allowing the second fewest points to opposing shooting guards over the last three weeks. Minnesota has played Utah twice this season, LaVine played 31 minutes in the last game, and had 21.7 fanduel points. He shot 75% from the field in that game, and still only ended with 21 fantasy points. LaVine is a guy that I feel really comfortable fading in this matchup tonight.
Small Forward – P.J. Tucker vs. BOS – $4,800
I feel dirty for recommending Tucker, but he was highly owned last night and finished with only 16 fantasy points. I love going back to the well after guys have off nights, and the whole Phoenix team struggled in that game last night. Without Crowder, Boston has really struggled to defend small forwards, and they’re allowing the most fantasy points to opposing small forwards over the last three weeks.
Tucker has been up and down with production, but small forward is very limited on FanDuel tonight. He’s played at least 33 minutes in five of his last six games, and should really benefit from this matchup tonight. He’s averaging over 21 fantasy points in his last ten games, and has over 30 fantasy points in three of his last six games. Tucker is always a risky option, but you’ll need a cheap guy to pair with a stud tonight.
Power Forward – Derrick Favors vs. MIN – $7,300
I really wanted to write up Gibson here, but he hasn’t done much against the Magic in the last two seasons. Favors has one of the best matchups on the board tonight, and Utah is one game back of the 8th seed in the West. The Jazz is in that four-team battle for the last three spots, and every game means something at this point in the season. I love targeting these types of games for fantasy.
Favors has played over 30 minutes in seven of his last ten games, and he’s averaging over 33 fantasy points in that stretch of ten games. He’s coming off a bad game against the Thunder, and has a great matchup to bounce back tonight. Favors put up 33 fantasy points against Minnesota in January, and he has over 30 fantasy points in four of his last five games against them.
Center – Andre Drummond vs. ATL – $8,000
Center is a tough position tonight, and I had to go down on the list tonight. Drummond is averaging over 36 fantasy points in his last twelve games, and looks to be a high upside play in this matchup tonight. Horford has been playing good defense down the stretch, but he’s struggled against Drummond in four straight games. Drummond has at least 39 fantasy points in four straight games against Horford.
Atlanta is third in the East right now, but Detroit is holding onto the 8th seed right now. The Pistons have won five straight games, and they’re 7-3 in their last ten games. They are a half a game behind the Pacers for the seventh seed, and you can bet they want to win every game down the stretch.