We have nine games on tap for Saturday night's NBA DFS main slate, which includes a primetime showdown between the Lakers and Celtics at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. The slate starts with the Rockets heading to the Motor City to play the Pistons at 7 p.m. ET before the Raptors travel to the Pacific Northwest to play Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers at 10 p.m. ET. Our DraftKings lineup has a good mix of veterans, a rookie guard, and multiple value sleepers under $6K who are the type of low-risk, high-reward options that are key in daily fantasy basketball tournaments.
Before we break down all of our picks, here are the most notable scoring rules for DraftKings contests: Made three-point shot (+0.5 points), rebound (+1.25 points), assists (+1.5 points), steals and blocks (+2 points), double-double (+1.5 points -- max one per player) and triple-double (+3 points -- max one player).
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Saturday night main slate, $50,000 budget
PG Chris Paul, Suns @ Spurs ($7,900). The future Hall of Fame point guard has looked good in the Suns' past three games since returning from a hip injury that sidelined him for a couple of weeks. Paul is averaging 47.6 DraftKings points per game over that span and has produced three-straight double-doubles. In Phoenix's last game against the Mavericks, Paul was one of the best players on the hardwood with 22 points (9-16 FG, 4-7 3pt), 10 assists, and six rebounds (49 DK points). He'll look to put together another double-double against the Spurs tonight, who have lost four-straight games. The Spurs have struggled on both ends this season and are allowing the third-most DK points per game to PGs this season (51.64). San Antonio has also allowed the fifth-most three-pointers made to PGs (3.10), which is good news for Paul, who is shooting 47.4 percent from distance in his past three games.
SG Jaden Ivey, Pistons vs. Rockets ($6,500). To round out our backcourt for Saturday night's slate, we will get Ivey in our lineup, who is coming off a good performance against the Nets on Thursday. The electrifying point guard almost had a double-double as he recorded 16 points, eight assists, and three assists (36.8 DK points). Despite no double-double against Brooklyn, Ivey has scored 30 or more DK points in four out of his past five games. He will ride this momentum into tonight's game against the Rockets, who will not have Jalen Green (calf) and Kevin Porter Jr. (foot). With Green and Porter both sidelined, Ivey should be aggressive against whoever the Rockets throw out at either guard spot. The Rockets allow the 12th-most DraftKings points per game to SGs (43.2) this season.
SF Cam Johnson, Suns @ Spurs ($5,500). Johnson is another player who has played well since returning from a knee injury on Jan. 19 against the Nets. The 26-year-old wing is averaging 30.9 DraftKings points per game in his past four games and has scored 20 or more points in two of those games. Johnson will now get ready to play the Spurs, who allow the 12th-fewest DK points per game to SFs this season (41.2). It's not an ideal matchup for Johnson, but he's coming off a solid 22-point and 8-rebound effort against the Mavericks on Wednesday night.
PF DeMar DeRozan, Bulls @ Magic ($8,900). DeRozan recorded his fourth consecutive 40 DK-point outing in the Bulls' disappointing road loss to the Hornets on Thursday. The star forward had 28 points (9/21 FG), five assists, and three rebounds in 35 minutes (40.3 DK points). If there's anybody that you want in your NBA DFS lineup right now, it's DeRozan, who is averaging 42.1 DraftKings points per game this month. The 33-year-old forward should have another 40-point outing tonight against the Magic, who just played last night against the Heat and are middle-in-the-pack against PFs this season (45.37 DK ppg allowed).
C Jonas Valanciunas, Pelicans vs. Wizards ($7,200). The veteran center gets overlooked sometimes, as the Pelicans have CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson, and Brandon Ingram. However, DFS players should not sleep on Valanciunas, who is almost averaging a double-double this season (14.8 points and 9.9 rebounds). The Pels' big man notched his sixth double-double (15 points/12 rebounds) in the past seven games against the Timberwolves earlier this week. If you had Valanciunas in your lineup, he scored 33 DK points, which is excellent production at a $7200 salary. We like Valanciunas to play well tonight against the Wizards, who we saw earlier this month and scored 43 DK points (25 points/10 rebounds/3 assists) in 30 minutes of action.
G Hamidou Diallo, Pistons vs. Rockets ($4,400). Diallo continues to play well for the Pistons as he scored in double figures for the third-straight game and seven out of his past eight games. In Thursday night's upset win over the Nets, the 24-year-old wing had a quality all-around performance with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, and four steals (34.8 DK points). It was the first time since Jan. 13 against the Pelicans that Diallo had 30 or more DraftKings points in a game. The young guard should play well tonight against a Rockets' team that will be down Green and Porter Jr.
F Patrick Williams, Bulls @ Magic ($4,800). After struggling against the Pacers earlier this week, the former first-round pick bounced back against the Hornets on Thursday night with 15 points and five rebounds (26.3 DraftKings points). Williams has scored in double figures in five out of his past six games and is averaging 26.5 DK points per game over that period. We will be hoping for another solid outing from Williams tonight against an Orlando team that is ranked 28th against SF/PFs in OPRK.
UTIL Precious Achiuwa, Raptors @ Blazers ($4,400). Lastly, we will take a flier on Achiuwa, who recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds (36.3 DK points) in 36 minutes off the bench against the Warriors on Friday night. The young center stepped up for the Raptors, who saw veteran small forward OG Anunoby exit the game with a wrist injury. If Anunoby does not play tonight against Portland, we could see more minutes for Achiuwa, who is averaging 31.7 DK points per game in his past five games. The 23-year-old big man could be another great sleeper play tonight as the Trail Blazers' defense allows the third-most DK points per game to centers this season (57.87).
