With the NBA season winding down, the process for generating the best possible starting five for DraftKings daily fantasy league rosters can be more difficult with some teams resting their stars down the stretch while other teams treat these final few games as though the postseason has already begun. Finding the right balance between star talent and value is still key so here is a look at the best starting five for Saturday’s DraftKings NBA daily fantasy leagues.
PG: Chris Paul, Los Angeles
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The Clippers have been the hottest team in the NBA over the past couple of weeks, winning 10 of their last 11 games to suddenly find themselves in the mix for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Four of the top six seeds are separated by just a single game in the standings and Los Angeles will have a chance to leapfrog the Memphis Grizzlies when they host them on Saturday night. Paul has averaged 23.3 points, 13.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game over the past 15 days and he could be bound for perhaps his best fantasy stat line of that span in a key clash against Memphis. Keep an eye the status of his counterpart, Mike Conley Jr., who was questionable but played on Friday.
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Toronto
James Harden. Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry have led all NBA guards in points per game over the past two weeks but sitting fourth on that list is DeRozan, who has averaged 24.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists over that span. The Raptors have fought hard to turn things around and generate some momentum heading in to the final stretch of the regular season and with Kyle Lowry injured it has been DeRozan who has stepped up the most.
Lowry came back on Friday night and is expected to play Saturday too, but it was clear that with his 10-point effort that he’s not 100%. He’s letting DeRozan do the heavy lifting. That’s good news for fantasy players as Toronto has an important game against the Miami Heat on Saturday. The Raptors continue to jockey with the Chicago Bulls for the third seed in the Eastern Conference, so look for another solid stat line from DeRozan in that game.
SF: Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota
Minnesota has been ravaged by injuries but their Rookie of the Year candidate Wiggins has benefited from it averaging 24.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists over the past 15 days. The Timberwolves face an extremely tough matchup visiting Golden State on Saturday night but there is a chance the Warriors will rest some of their stars. Regardless of whether Stephen Curry and company actually play, Minnesota will need a big performance from Wiggins to even hang around in this one. Wiggins had 29 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, a pair of steals and he also hit 15 (of his 16) free throws. He is a solid pick in this slot.
PF: Nikola Vucevic, Orlando
The Magic aren’t going to make the playoffs but they have won three straight games and Vucevic has been a revelation from a fantasy perspective ranking among the best power forwards over the past couple of weeks. Entering Friday, he had averaged 23.0 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He only had 16 points, four rebounds and three assists on Friday against Toronto, but that was an aberration.
Orlando has a favorable matchup against one of the few teams that is actually below them in the standings and he should put up a solid line against a New York Knicks defense that ranks 21st in the NBA. They give up just over 101 points per game this season.
C: Andrea Bargnani, New York
On the other side of the highly anticipated Knicks versus Magic matchup is New York’s top scorer over the past couple of weeks: Bargnani. He’s averaged 17.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.3 three-point shots per game. The Knicks roster has been ravaged by trades and injuries, leaving Bargnani with arguably their top scoring option and an excellent value play against Orlando.
