What’s up everyone, Sriracha back here with another Building Blocks Article! We will be going over our Core, Value, and Tournament Plays for this nice Saturday slate. Let’s get into it.
Core Plays:
Fred VanVleet:
FVV will be the main guy for TOR today at guard, especially if Lowry sits with his upper body (shoulder/whiplash) injury. This is crucial injury news we have to look out for because with Norman Powell already out with a broken finger, VanVleet and Terrance Davis will both be in my core. VanVleet has been very consistent, and this spot vs BKN is as nice as it comes.
Dallas Mavericks:
The Mavericks will be apart of my core in one way or another. Without Porzingis and Doncic, the usage to go around is immense. I would start with Hardaway Jr. and pair him with Kleber. These are my two favorite Mavs, and if you wanted to limit your exposure to only two due to b2b and slow pace, I would go with these two. If you wanted to round out the Mavericks stack, Brunson, Finney Smith, and Cauley-Stein are good options to look at with the amount of minutes that open up across the board.
Tournament Play:
Derrick Favors:
I love Favors tonight- Zion and Ingram are both GTD. If they are both out, I will push Favors into my cash core, prior to Zion’s emergence, Favors was averaging a double double and had multiple 40+ FDP games, along with 28+ minutes. Ever since Zion got back, the minutes and production has decreased tremendously. This is understandable because the Pelicans have been playing Zion at center. Favors should get extended run if Zion and Ingram are out.
Eric Paschall/Damion Lee:
These Warriors should get extended run, as they only have 9 active, possibly 8 if Green is out. The matchup vs the Lakers is not favorable which is why I have them listed as Tournament Plays. The Warriors should be running both these guys 25-30 minutes tonight with or without Draymond, as they lost Russell, Burks, Robinson, Evans, and Spellman all at the deadline and only receiving Andrew Wiggins in return. These guys, and even Ky Bowman, more on him below (more if DRAY is out) should be great tournament plays even vs the Lakers.
Value Plays:
Ky Bowman:
Bowman was rewarded with a multi-year contract after being in and out of the G League under his two way contract. This is promising for the undrafted guard, especially since the Warriors only have 2 true point guards on the team now. He should get the start if Draymond sits, but if Draymond plays I can see him starting at PG while someone like Paschall slides into the starting lineup. All in all, Bowman should be considered one of the better value plays of the night.
Thon Maker
I can’t believe I am writing him up but Thon Maker’s time has finally arrived. He started vs OKC, which is one of the harder matchups vs bigs, and proceeded to play over 34 minutes, on his way to a 19/7/2 statline. Today he gets the Knicks, who also run 2 bigs. This is encouraging as with Drummond out of the picture, Maker and Wood should continue to thrive.
