NBA Starting Five: Saturday, March 5th
The Starting 5 series will provide Grinders with a quick look at the day’s top positional plays, analyzed through the lens of our Daily Research Tools.
Today we’ll take a closer look at our NBA Back-to-Back Tool, specifically looking at tonight’s DraftKings salaries.
An eighty-two game schedule really takes a toll on NBA players, particularly all the travel and different hotel beds for giant sized people. It is important to keep an eye on which teams are in the middle of heavy stretches. Tonight there are actually eight teams playing their third game in four nights, so we will want to see if there is any hidden advantage that we may find that is going overlooked by the less savvy gamers.
Saturday, March 05
| Team | B2B | 2/3 | 3/4 | 4/5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Indiana | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Minnesota | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Utah | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Washington | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Sacramento | Yes | Yes | ||
| San Antonio | Yes | Yes | ||
| New Orleans | Yes | Yes | ||
| Miami | Yes | |||
| Phoenix | Yes | |||
| New York | Yes | |||
| Brooklyn | Yes | |||
| Cleveland | Yes | |||
| Atlanta | Yes |
Point Guard – George Hill – IND at WAS – $4,900
Both the Wizards and Indiana are heading into their third game in four nights, however, this is a great spot for us to utilize George Hill when we consider his incredibly low price point which is at its most depressed point in over a year.
The Wizards have been dealing with injuries all season and they have been particularly sluggish since the All-Star Break after playing three games in three days (one was a make for a game cancelled by a snow storm) and this is actually their eleventh game in seventeen days. Coming off a shellacking in Cleveland last night, I expect them to be sluggish out of the gate even though they are at home.
In two games against the Wizards this season Hill is averaging 16.5ppg, 6.0rpg, 3.0apg and 1.0spg for 30.5 DraftKings points and last spring he had dual 53.3 fantasy point outings against them in March and April. All signs are pointing towards Hill being a phenomenal option.
Shooting Guard – Danny Green – SAS vs SAC – $4,600
Both the Spurs and the Sacramento Kings played on Thursday and had Friday off, however, not all three in four stretches are created equal. The Kings are on the road for the third straight game having played in Memphis and Dallas and still have to go to New Orleans on Monday, while on the other hand, the Spurs had a quick trip out to the Big Easy on Thursday, but other than that have two of their three at home.
The Spurs coach manages minutes and workload, the Kings coach is in DGAF mode and waiting to be fired. Lastly, Sacramento has allowed the most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards over the last three seasons. Even if Manu Ginobili returns, having missed the last month recovering from a ruptured testicle, he won’t take many minutes away from Green in this matchup.
Small Forward – Paul George – IND at WAS – $8,100
As I covered in the George Hill recommendation, we have a Washington team playing its eleventh game in seventeen days who also has been in the bottom three for points allowed to opposing small forwards this season. If the Pacers decide to play PG13 at the four, then no worries, just look what LeBron James did to the Wizards last night when the Cavaliers employed a similar strategy.
George will be very popular after his AMAZING 67.8 DraftKings point performance in Charlotte shooting 11 of 23 from the field for 35 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and a block.
Power Forward – Kevin Love – CLE vs BOS – $7,000
Love got the night off on Friday for rest so he should be fresh in this matchup with the Boston Celtics who playing their fourth game in six nights. The Cs have an undersized frontcourt and really nobody designed to guard someone like Kevin Love. In two prior meetings this season, Love is averaged 33.1 DraftKings points with 15.0ppg, 6.5rpg, 3.5apg and 0.5spg with 2.5 three-pointers made which are worth an extra half point bonus on DraftKings.
Center – Rudy Gobert – UTA at NO – $6,500
Both teams are heading into their third game in four nights and this is the third game on the road for Utah so one would think that they are at a disadvantage. However, this is countered by the Pelicans decimated frontcourt who are relying on 12 year veteran Kendrick Perkins to play heavy minutes. He is no match for Gobert and this should be a great game for the Stifle Tower and we should see similar production to the 10.5ppg, 14.0rpg, 0.5apg, 3.0bpg which is good for 35.5 DraftKings points. That is a fine return on investment at this price point.
Good Luck Gamers! ~ EMac