As part of ESPN Fantasy's efforts to provide daily fantasy gamers intel on whom to target in DFS, our fantasy basketball experts are here to show you which players they are building their teams around and which sleepers they are taking fliers on. Today's panel features picks from Joe Kaiser, Tom Carpenter, Cynthia Frelund and DFS Boot Camp’s Al Zeidenfeld.
Building block
Joe Kaiser: Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF, Milwaukee Bucks
The Greek Freak hasn't scored fewer than 29 fantasy points on DraftKings or FanDuel in any of the last nine games, and his numbers over the last 10 games are downright impressive: 17.1 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.8 BPG. He's underpriced when you consider his high floor and high ceiling in tonight's matchup against Minnesota's 28th-ranked defense.
Tom Carpenter: Hassan Whiteside, C, Miami Heat
He had a relatively quiet game Thursday against the Suns, finishing with 9 points, 11 boards and 5 blocks. However, he has a choice matchup Friday against the Sixers, who rank 29th in rebounding rate and 27th in defensive efficiency over the past month. Plus, the Sixers have allowed the most DraftKings points and second-most FanDuel points to centers over the last three weeks. Whiteside figures to be a beast tonight.
Cynthia Frelund: Bojan Bogdanovic, SG/SF, Brooklyn Nets
Put Bogdanovic on your list of low-cost options tonight. Since Joe Johnson’s departure, Bogdanovic's minutes and fantasy production has been up, and even though that’s only a four-game sample, he’s played an average of 31-plus minutes and put up at least 18 points three times (the one time he didn’t was against the league’s slowest-paced team, the Jazz). I have him projected to return more than six times his cap. Plus, the Nets have an enticing matchup, as Denver ranks 14th in pace (Brooklyn ranks 21st).
DFS Boot Camp's Al Zeidenfeld: Alex Len, C, Phoenix Suns
Len has been about as much of a layup as there could be in DFS all week long, and because of poor shooting performances the past two games (9 of 29 from the field vs 45.4 percent shooting on the season) his salary hasn't moved as high as it will in the near future. The bad news is that he's playing his third game in four nights and on the second half of a back-to-back. The good news is that his minutes have exploded from 20 per game on the season all the way up to 36 per game over the past three contests since the Markieff Morris trade. And in spite of his poor shooting of late, Len has registered three straight double-doubles. The floor is just too high for a player at his price point and if his shooting normalizes to where it has been all season, the possible ceiling is both amazing and reachable.
Sleeper pick
Joe Kaiser: Zach LaVine, SG, Minnesota Timberwolves
Minutes are a big deal in DFS because the more a player is on the court the more chances he has to accumulate stats. That's what makes LaVine such an appealing option. He has played 36 minutes or more in each of the last three games, and he has the versatile game to stuff the stat sheet in a number of ways against Milwaukee's 22nd-ranked defense.
Tom Carpenter: Kent Bazemore, SF, Atlanta Hawks
Bazemore struggled mightily in February (36.8 FG%, 25 3FG%), but he has scored at least 14 points in three straight games while pulling down 22 total boards over that stretch. With a little more confidence in his shot, Bazemore carries some intriguing upside tonight against a Lakers backcourt that is dinged up, has allowed the most FanDuel points and third-most DraftKings points to small forwards over the past three weeks, and ranks dead last in defensive efficiency while slotting in at 28th in 3-point differential over the past month.
Cynthia Frelund: Hassan Whiteside, C, Miami Heat
To me, his price and the fact that he’s most likely coming off the bench make him an ideal sleeper. The Heat face the 76ers, who have allowed opposing centers to do lots of damage this season. And in games where Whiteside comes off the bench, he’s still averaging more than 28 minutes per game. Philly allows opposing teams to rebound (both on offense and defense) at nearly the highest rate in the league and Whiteside’s game is inside of 3 feet. While he's not safe for cash games, Whiteside could be a great upside play!
DFS Boot Camp's Al Zeidenfeld: J.R. Smith, SG, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kevin Love is going to be rested this evening and the knee-jerk reaction for most is to immediately shift onto LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. While both of them see a bump in fantasy points per minute with Love out, Smith is the biggest beneficiary when Love sits. Smith's per-minute production balloons from 0.61 DraftKings points per minute to 0.88 when playing with James and Irving but without Love. I don't expect a large number of people to play Smith this evening, making him the perfect sleeper play at SG in tournaments.