This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
Saturday's main NBA slate begins at 7:00 PM Eastern time and features nine games. Back-to-backs can present tricky situations with all the maintenance days prominent players take nowadays, and we have a whopping 10 teams concluding back-to-back sets here, so make sure to check back in and make sure everyone in your lineup will indeed be suiting up.
Slate Overview
Games to Target
Bucks (-12) vs. Pistons O/U: 228.5
The highest over/under in this slate belongs to this game, which features Milwaukee's top-ranked offense (120.8 points per game). The Bucks only rank middle of the pack defensively thanks to their fast pace, so the Pistons should get some nice individual performances despite being heavy underdogs.
Jazz (-7.5) vs. Pelicans O/U: 222.5
Utah having the league's stingiest defense brings this over/under down, but the Jazz have the weapons to exploit a Pelicans team that's allowing 119.0 points per game — second-most in the league.
Games to Fade
Pacers (-7) vs. Magic O/U: 201.5
This game easily has the lowest over/under in this slate, as both offenses rank in the bottom 10 and both defenses are among the five stingiest.
76ers (-4) vs. Heat O/U: 213
While these offenses are more explosive than the ones above, this clash of top-10 defenses is likely to produce some frustrating fantasy results.
Positional Breakdown
Point guard is the deepest in options ranging from above average to elite, but many of the top point guards don't have shooting guard eligibility, making that position the shallowest. There's no shortage of top-end big men to choose from, with seven centers priced at $8,000 or more. Small forward and power forward are both quite deep, so you should have plenty of lineup flexibility here.
Injury Situations to Monitor
Damian Lillard missed Portland's last two games with back spasms, but he's listed as questionable to make his return in Cleveland. Hassan Whiteside (hip) is questionable for the Trail Blazers after missing the team's last game.
Malcolm Brogdon (back) is inching towards a return for Indiana, but he's listed as doubtful for this one. Aaron Holiday — who had 24 points and 13 assists in Brooklyn on Monday — is expected to draw another start if Brogdon sits out as expected against the Magic.
Elite Players
With a lot of elite players facing tricky matchups, it could be worth it to pay all the way up for Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,000), who always seems to give the Central Division rival Pistons fits. Giannis' Bucks will also have the freshness advantage, having last played Thursday while Detroit took the court Friday. If you don't pay up for him in GPP formats, you risk missing out on a lineup-defining performance.
Both LeBron James ($11,100) and Anthony Davis ($10,000) should have their way with the Grizzlies while they're on the floor, but it wouldn't be surprising to see their minutes cut drastically on this second leg of a back-to-back if the Lakers get up big as expected.
C.J. McCollum ($8,700) scored 37 points and 68.0 fantasy points in his last game, but it will be hard to justify paying up for him if Lillard returns.
Expected Chalk
Eric Bledsoe ($7,600) is on a nice roll for the Bucks, having scored at least 20 points in seven of his last nine games, including 28 and 30 in the last two games. He's rounding out his stat line nicely this season with 5.4 RPG and 5.3 APG. As long as Khris Middleton (quadriceps) remains sidelined, Antetokounmpo and Bledsoe should keep carrying the offense for Milwaukee.
If the Pistons are going to have any chance in this one, they'll need a huge performance from Andre Drummond ($8,300). He's averaging 18.9 PPG and 16.7 RPG, and while those numbers have come down a bit with Blake Griffin back in the fold, Drummond presents by far the best matchup option on the offensive end for Detroit, as he can bully Milwaukee's Brook Lopez on the interior.
Wendell Carter ($6,200) has been up and down recently, but he's been tremendous in his better games. The Bulls big man has four double-doubles in his past seven games, averaging 14.8 PPG and 14.5 RPG in those four compared to just 8.7 PPG and 6.7 RPG in the other three. Carter should play closer to his high ceiling than his low floor against the 6-10 Hornets.
Bojan Bogdanovic ($6,300) relies primarily on his scoring for fantasy value, and he should do plenty of it against the 29th-ranked New Orleans defense. He's up to 20.2 PPG on the season, having topped 30 twice in his past seven games. While Bogdanovic is a solid option at either forward spot, teammate Donovan Mitchell ($7,900) is a strong play at either guard spot for similar reasons.
Key Values
While Brook Lopez ($5,300) won't be able to match up well with Drummond on defense, his ability to spread the floor will make life difficult for the Pistons' center on the other end. It would be surprising if Milwaukee's center didn't can multiple 3-pointers in this one, and Lopez has been a menace in the hustle stat department with 14 blocks and six steals in his last four games.
Marcus Morris ($7,000) spurned the Spurs in free agency and has proceeded to put up a career season for the Knicks with 18.8 PPG and 6.4 RPG. He's coming off a 22-point, 13-rebound performance, and Morris is primed for another big game against a San Antonio team that's allowing 116.1 points per game.
Owners in GPP formats should consider taking a flier on Kevin Love ($8,000). Love scored 25 points with 13 rebounds Wednesday after returning from a back injury, but he posted an eight-point, seven-rebound dud Friday. His floor is low playing the second leg of a back-to-back while potentially still fighting through injury, but Love's ceiling is tremendous against a Portland team that's had trouble defending big men and could be without Whiteside.
