Bryan Armetta breaks down Thursday’s four-game featured NBA slate to find two undervalued players to slot into your lineups.
Just eight teams are suiting up for Thursday’s four-game featured NBA DFS slate. Still, there’s several big names worth targeting for managers filling out their lineups. Stars such as Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis, and Donovan Mitchell are all expected to take the court.
Any successful fantasy basketball lineup demands a mix of high-priced options and low-cost values. With that being said, which under the radar players should managers consider picking up tonight? Here are two to target in DFS and season-long formats.
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SG/SF Max Christie, Dallas Mavericks at UTA ($4,400)
Anthony Davis ($9,300) and Cooper Flagg ($7,500) have handled most of the scoring in Dallas. The rest of this roster is less than stellar, to put it lightly. That’s not to say the Mavericks are without any intriguing depth pieces. Max Christie, a part of last winter’s Luka Doncic trade, has impressed with his new club. Through 35 games this season, the guard is averaging 12.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists (22.1 FPTS). In addition, he’s accounted for stellar 48/45/86 shooting splits.
If there’s a knock on Christie, it’s that his contributions can be inconsistent. The 22-year-old has notched at least 37 fantasy points in two of his last four outings. However, he failed to reach double-digit FPTS on several occasions this season. Boom-or-bust isn’t the worst way to round out your lineups. That’s especially true against a terrible Jazz defense. Utah is giving up the second-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards. That alone is enough to give Christie a closer look tonight at $4,400.
As of Thursday morning, Jaime Jaquez Jr. is listed as questionable to play with an ankle injury. Assuming the forward is sidelined, there will be even more minutes to go around for Miami. The Heat don’t have much firepower on their bench at the moment, especially if JJJ sits. That could mean more minutes than usual for Pelle Larsson. As it stands, the guard is head coach Erik Spoelstra’s top bench option in the backcourt. This season, he’s posted 9.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game (19.2 FPTS).
The Arizona alum is by no means a complete player, especially at this stage of his NBA career. However, he offers a fantasy-friendly, jack of all trades skillset. Larsson has tallied at least 34 fantasy points in three of his last five appearances. In each of those games, he played at least 26 minutes. The Heat play at the NBA’s fastest pace while the Bulls, Thursday’s opponent, rank third. That bodes well for a potential shootout in Chicago. Larsson, at such a dirt-cheap salary, is someone worth heavy consideration tonight.