It’s April 1, which means there is a little more than one week left in the NBA regular season. For daily fantasy, I am trying to look at the glass half-full instead of half-empty by finding value in opportunities. For example, some teams are fighting to get into the play-in tournament, while others are looking to get into the top six of their conference. As for teams out of playoff contention, it’s a good time to look for rookies that are heating up.
The San Antonio Spurs are a half-game behind the Los Angeles Lakers for a play-in spot. Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray has been tearing it up in the second half of the season, averaging 25.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.9 assists. The Portland Trail Blazers have allowed the third-most points per game this year at 114.9. That number is up to 124.6 in the last 10, making the Blazers the worst defense in the NBA. Taking it a step further, in the last two weeks, Portland is giving up the second-most points to guards and the most assists to the position as well. He’s pricey, but Murray should have another great game Friday night.
If you have been reading my articles or watching my content, you’d know one of my favorite underrated trends is shooting guards against the Boston Celtics. Yahoo has Buddy Hield listed as a small forward, but most of the box scores have him as a shooting guard. The Celtics have been bottom 10 all year against the guard position. Hield has been playing well lately. He averaged 17.3 points in March. Considering the guard trend and Hield’s recent offensive success, it’s a good spot to take advantage of a $25 guard.
One of my favorite rookies for the end of the season is Jalen Green. He has been balling in the second half, especially in the last four games, averaging 27.5 points. I know they don’t play the same position, but not having Rockets center Christian Wood for the rest of the season is definitely providing Green with more opportunities. The Sacramento Kings allow the second-most points to opponents overall, giving up 115.8 per game. That number is up to 119.1 in their last 10 games. Houston just played Sacramento on Wednesday night, and Green put up 32 points. Sometimes that scares me off a player, but not with Green. Last week he played Portland in a back-to-back and had 23 and 25 points. For just $21, I’ll take any 20-plus-point performance from a player.
