We have just three NBA games this Saturday night, but it is an intriguing slate for Yahoo fantasy basketball tonight. The largest over-under comes in with the Washington Wizards taking on the Lakers, at home. The game has a 230-point total even though both teams are on the tail end of back-to-backs. LeBron James status (soreness) will have to be monitored up to lock. Cade Cunningham (illness) is another star player who is listed as questionable today and would have a big fantasy basketball impact on the usage of the remaining Piston’s players if he sat again.
This column will use the Awesemo NBA player projections, fantasy basketball rankings and NBA DFS tools to build lineups and help wade through the day’s data and news. Make sure to read to the end for a couple of extreme value plays for Yahoo fantasy basketball lineups today.
Yahoo Fantasy Basketball & NBA DFS Value Picks Today
Guard — Russell Westbrook $27
We have the Lakers and Wizards playing each other with teams on a back-to-back today. The Lakers could be without three key players in Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony (questionable) and Talon Horton-Tucker (questionable), which would mean we will likely again see heavy usage from Russell Westbrook. Westbrook put up a triple-double last night against Toronto in a vintage game, which saw him play over 40-minutes and go 4-for-7 from 3-point land. Chasing points with Westbrook hasn’t worked out this year but his Yahoo salary is cheap and he’s popping as the best NBA value play under $30 at his position on Awesemo. Taking the discount in a solid matchup today with the Lakers guard seems OK for at least one more night.
Guard — Cade Cunningham $31
Rookie Cade Cunningham missed the last two games with a non-COVID illness but seems very likely to return to action today. The matchup against the Cavaliers may not be the greatest on paper but Cunningham’s recent form makes him a desirable fantasy basketball target pretty much every night at these levels. The rookie has now posted 50 or more Yahoo fantasy points in three of his last six outings and pushed for a near triple-double in his last game. He’s done alright against Cleveland this year as well, posting 37.2 Yahoo points against them in just 32 minutes of playing time, back in February. Detroit has played well of late and the NBA projections on Cunningham has him as the top-rated player at Shooting Guard today. He’s a solid pay-up option.
Cunningham was showing up well in Awesemo’s fantasy basketball rankings today. He is popping as one of the best Yahoo Fantasy Basketball plays on the entire DFS slate. Check out who else is one of the best NBA picks today in the Yahoo NBA DFS Cheat Sheet.
Forward — Miles Bridges $32
Getting a piece of the action in this Dallas vs. Charlotte game seems optimal today. We have a 225 over/under (second-biggest of the three games today) and a very close spread that sits at 1.5 as of writing. Miles Bridges then should be in a spot to potential hit his ceiling in minutes today as the do-it-all forward often pushes for 38 minutes or more in close games. He has been very efficient of late and is now 11-for-18 over the last three games from downtown. If we’re not paying up for LeBron James again, who is questionable, Bridges provides us with the best floor at this position. He rates out as the second-best option in the NBA projections at Small Forward, behind James. If you can spare the couple extra dollars, this is a good spot to grab the solid consistency and game environment that Bridges provides today.
Forward — Jerami Grant $23
The Pistons have played solid ball of late (even if their record doesn’t show it) and head into this game with the Cavaliers having played close games in pretty much every single one of their starts over the last month. That means the Pistons starters are all locked in as good fantasy prospects with their minutes unlikely to be cut due to blowouts. Jerami Grant should be back in the lineup today after taking a rest day in the Pistons last game and he has averaged right around 35 minutes of action in his last five starts. Grant’s rebounding upside is lacking but his usage as a shooter has been solid over the last little stretch and that seems unlikely to change today. At just $23 for Yahoo NBA DFS lineups, he rates out with the third-highest NBA projection at Power Forward today on Awesemo and is a great value to help keep your overall salary average down.
Center — Kristaps Porzingis $31
We’ll have to watch the new on Kristaps Porzingis (questionable) today as the Wizards center could be held out for rest purposes. He has been locked into a solid role with the Wizards since joining the team though and played over 29 minutes in their game last night, his biggest total as a Wizard since joining the team. Porzingis has been very efficient with his minutes in Washington too, averaging well over 1.2 Yahoo fantasy points per minute in six games with the Wizards. It’s worth waiting on lineup news today as Porzingis would matchup great against a non-Anthony Davis Lakers lineup. If he doesn’t play, pivoting to Kyle Kuzma ($33) as a pay-up option also makes sense, as his usage would go way up without Porzingis on the floor.
Yahoo NBA DFS Value Play — Mason Plumlee $19
With our main center option questionable it’s worth targeting a few different value options in this section today in case he sits. Mason Plumlee has been on a nice role of late, posting over 30 Yahoo NBA DFS points now in four of his last six games. He’s averaged 2.7 blocks in his last two games and his matchup against Dallas isn’t terrible, as they’re just an average team in terms of rebounding and don’t have a ton of depth down the middle. Plumlee rates out as a top-five play at his position and provides a nice blend of floor and ceiling potential. Even if he doesn’t attempt too many shots, his rebounding and block totals should shine through today.
Yahoo NBA DFS Value Play — Maxi Kleber $10
One ultra-value at center, who is shining through as a nice punt option, is the Mavericks Maxi Kleber. Kleber hasn’t been great in his last three outings, as he’s scored over 20 Yahoo fantasy points just once in his last five games, but he has played well over 25-minutes now in four of his last five outings too. That kind of floor time should mean more fantasy points today for Kleber, who takes on the Charlotte Hornets, one of the worst defending and rebounding teams in basketball. Kleber is the epitome boom or bust, but has proven he can explode for 30.0 or more Yahoo points on any night. He rates out with the third-best value score on Awesemo today in the NBA projections and is by far the best pure value at center.
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