Welcome to another edition of Ben’s Building Blocks! In this article, I will outline the players I’m looking to build my main lineup around for today’s slate. If you want access to my core plays for every main slate, as well as one of the best discord communities in the industry, click here.
Jordan Clarkson- Clarkson somehow got a price decrease despite dropping over 37 fantasy points in the Jazz first Orlando game. He saw 32 minutes on Thursday night due to the slew of Jazz injuries, and he was able to post a usage rate north of 27%. This matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder is not as fruitful as the New Orleans Pelicans, but we aren’t even being asked to pay for his big game seeing as his price went down. He will be the first player in both cash games and GPPs for me on Saturday.
Kawhi Leonard + Paul George- I think the Lakers guys are really strong plays on this slate, but I find it hard to avoid George and Leonard who are both significantly cheaper. Both put up over 45 DK points in their first bubble game against the Lakers, and both will dominate the offense with Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell out. They sit at 33% usage rates each without those two on the floor, and draw one of the best matchups on the slate against the Pelicans — especially if Zion Williamson continues to be limited.
Favorite Pivot: Joel Embiid- I think Embiid has a pretty good shot to come in under-owned on Saturday compared to someone like Nikola Jokic against a tough Miami Heat team. I love Joker, but he was turning the ball over a ton in their scrimmages and I don’t know if I want to go all in on him in this matchup. Brett Brown has stated he wants to play Embiid 38 minutes per game in the playoffs, while he won’t log that much action today I do think he could get to 31 minutes or so. He’s been a 1.5 point per minute player this season, and I love his ceiling at a sub-$10K price tag.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
