Here is some important NBA Daily Fantasy advice to keep in mind for Saturday’s NBA action. The NBA will follow up a busy Friday with a relatively light Saturday schedule that features only five games. With only 10 teams to choose from, the margin for error in Daily Fantasy Leagues is a lot smaller than usual. That means doing a lot more research in order to make sure you have the optimal lineup with the perfect balance between superstar talent and bargain value plays.
Weak Defense To Target: Houston Rockets
It would be easy to point out the Los Angeles Lakers’ terrible defense as one to target when they go up against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, but Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are two of the most expensive players on the board. Beyond those two, it’s difficult to identify who will step up and play third wheel against one of the worst teams in the NBA. The smarter idea is to target the Rockets’ porous defense, which ranks 27th in the association with an average of 106.3 points allowed per game. They are coming off a relatively easy win over the aforementioned Lakers when they held them to just 87 points but not including the Lakers, they’ve allowed at least 103 points in five straight.
Houston gets the Clippers on Saturday night and given how heated their playoff series was last season, this should be an intense matchup. However, the Clippers played the San Antonio Spurs last night, so after facing that incredible defense, the Rockets defense should look like it’s college caliber. The Rockets are also back home after a four-game road trip and teams tend to be a bit flat in that first game back home. We’ll see how they react. Fire up your Clippers as all of them should present some good value.
Player Who Is Hot Right Now: Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
There is no doubt that Anthony is at a crossroads in his career but he has been on fire of late including averages of 28.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals per game over the last week of action. Anthony has enough talent around him to help him carry the load and he should be in for another strong performance when New York hosts the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night. Chicago has been playing well over the last week but they are just an average road team (4-5) and will be playing in New York one night after going to four overtimes against the Detroit Pistons. They’ll be a bit fatigued, which means that Anthony should have an easier time of things.
Injuries, Rest Create Opportunities For… Frank Kaminsky
An injury to Al Jefferson was supposed to give Cody Zeller a chance to run away with the center job but it’s the rookie Frank Kaminsky that has been the better of the two for the Charlotte Hornets. Kaminsky won’t put up elite fantasy numbers by any means but he has averaged 8.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game over the last week of action. The key for him is minutes played and you can see that the coaching staff is having more confidence in him. After playing just 15.2 minutes per game in November, he’s up to 25.0 in December. He should be in for another strong performance as a value play for Saturday night’s game against the Washington Wizards.
Highest Scoring Game Of The Night: LAL @ OKC
The Clippers and Rockets will undoubtedly produce one of the highest scoring games of the night but considering how the Thunder have beat up on inferior opponents of late, there is a good chance that they and the Lakers have the highest scoring game on the card. Durant and Westbrook might be too expensive to afford them both but Los Angeles has some decent options available from a fantasy perspective with Lou Williams and D’Angelo Russell each capable of putting together decent statistical performances on Saturday night.
