With the second-highest total on a short NBA slate of 230.5 tonight, there are plenty of players to start or sit for the matchup between the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers. The Kings are coming into Portland at 25-25, tied for 9th in the Western Conference after trading away star point guard De’Aaron Fox. However, they have made plenty of other moves before the deadline, including one involving shooting guard Zach LaVine. The home team Trail Blazers did the opposite of the Kings, as they sat out an active NBA trade deadline today.
Sacramento is coming off a 130-111 loss to the 25-27 Orlando Magic last night. Portland is entering tonight on a five-game win streak as the 13th-ranked West team at 22-29. The Trail Blazers had a convincing win over the Indiana Pacers 112-89 two days ago. The Dallas Mavericks at Boston Celtics early game will get the attention with the highest point team total at 231.5 but don’t sleep on two emerging teams that have plenty to choose from in terms of daily fantasy.
Kings vs. Trail Blazers DFS Start ‘Ems
Here are a few of the players that we are leaning on heavily in this game. These players are in a good spot to put together a solid performance and have a favorable matchup.
Malik Monk ($7.7K DraftKings; $7.8K Fanduel)
At either guard spot, Monk is in a spot for a bounce-back, as Portland gives up plenty to the shooting and point guard positions. At potential low ownership, he could definitely exceed his 10 points against the Magic yesterday as the fourth-most fantasy scorer for the Kings. Against the Timberwolves three days ago, he had 26 points, but in terms of fantasy, he had an average of 42.44 in the last five games.
Jerami Grant ($5.6K DraftKings; $5.3K Fanduel)
Either forwards Grant or Deni Avdija (small forward) for the Trail Blazers could be in a good spot. Power forward Grant is cheaper at his salary and can take advantage of a Kings’ defense that lets up points to the position at a high rate. He has had 20, 14, and 20 points in the last three games.
Kings vs. Trail Blazers DFS Sit ‘Ems
On the flip side of things, here are a few of the players we are sitting in this one.
DeAndre Ayton ($7K DraftKings; $7.3K Fanduel)
While the center has been their defensive piece in Portland, Ayton may not be the best selection tonight against center Sabonis, one of the top five leading fantasy scorers in the NBA currently. Ayton will have to step it up against the King’s centerpiece, averaging 20.6 points per game. The Trail Blazers’ center just had 8 points against the Pacers earlier this week but does lead the team in rebounds and is their third-best fantasy player in Portland.
Toumani Camara ($6K DraftKings; $5.5K Fanduel)
The shooting guard for Portland will likely match up against LaVine and could give him a hard time defensively. However, the better selection at guard would be their point guard Anfernee Simons, who has been their lead shooter and will likely go against Monk. He is coming off a 22-point performance against the Pacers as their second-best fantasy player this season with 1350.5 fantasy points and 855 scoring. Camara is their fourth-highest fantasy asset on Portland, and his only recent 20-point performance was against the OKC Thunder on January 26th.
Total Apex Lock of the Game
Domantas Sabonis ($9.6K DraftKings; $10K Fanduel)
Even at his price tag, it might be impossible to get away from the consistency of Sabonis, as he is playing at an elite level this year with 2181.2 total fantasy points. Contributing as an efficient offensive player with the third most points scored, along with his defensive prowess leading the team in rebounds, makes in an all-around must-have in lineups at the position.
Total Apex Fade of the Game
Zach LaVine ($7.9K DraftKings; $7.4K Fanduel)
While it could be debut jitters, LaVine struggled with the Kings after being traded from the Chicago Bulls with just 13 against the Magic. That could repeat again against a good Portland team that has bigs at the guard position, who will face off against him. He will have to be efficient to be worth the price tag even as the team’s leading scorer but I am not sure if this is the matchup to accomplish that.
