The NBA brings another solid seven games to Saturday’s main DFS NBA slate this week, with the spotlight matchup between the Knicks and Warriors. That game is one of two games tipping off at 8:30 p.m. ET, but DFS contests will lock at 7:00 p.m. ET. The only game that is not included on the main slate is the early game between the Celtics and the Nets. The Nuggets, Rockets, Pacers, Grizzlies, Heat, and Spurs are all playing for a second day in a row, while the Bucks and Thunder have another matchup on Sunday. At this point in the season, with so many back-to-backs, be sure to keep a close eye on the team’s injury reports and adjust your strategy as needed.

Let’s dive into some of the top plays on the slate using the FantasyLabs tools and projections.

Also, don’t forget that for large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.

You can also use our SimLabs Lineup Generator, a tool that creates the most user-friendly lineup generation process.

Note: Projections and Leverage Scores/Ratings may change throughout the day after this article is posted. The NBA DFS landscape changes quickly. 

Consult the NBA Player Models directly for any updates as we get closer to lock.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder knocked off the Celtics on Wednesday and start their back-to-back on Saturday with a road game against the Pistons. With Jalen Williams (hip) out indefinitely and Chet Holmgren (rest) getting the night off, Gilgeous-Alexander will have to do most of the heavy lifting on offense in this matchup. He has the highest ceiling, floor, and median projections at point guard.

Against Boston, SGA had 34 points and seven assists on his way to 51.25 DraftKings points. He has over 50 DraftKings points in five of his last six games while averaging 58 DraftKings points per contest.

He played three games this season without Williams and Holmgren available and averaged 51.8 DraftKings points in those matchups, with a 35.8% usage rate, which is slightly higher than his 34.6% usage rate on the season.

It will be lots of fun watching him and Cade Cunningham go head-to-head on Saturday night, and both are good pay-up plays at point guard if you can afford them.

Rookie Stephon Castle has the second-highest Projected Plus/Minus at point guard as he steps into a bigger role for the Spurs after De’Aaron Fox (finger) was ruled out for the season. He returned to the starting lineup on Friday against the Hornets and brings very nice upside if he stays in that role going forward.

In his 19 games since February 1, Castle averaged 29.8 DraftKings points per game and 1.16 DraftKings points per minute. He averaged 17.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals in 25.6 minutes per game over that span.

On Friday in his return to the lineup, he made 10-of-17 field goal attempts and finished with 26 points and 34.75 DraftKings points. He exceeded salary-based expectations for the seventh time in his last eight games and should flourish in this matchup against the Pelicans, who have been a great matchup for opposing guards this season, especially since losing Dejounte Murray (Achilles).

Tyrese Haliburton took a week off with a left hip strain but has been able to play the last two games for the Pacers, producing double-doubles with 14 points and 10 assists in wins over the Bucks and Sixers. He had 38.75 DraftKings points against Milwaukee on Tuesday and will look for even better results on the road on Saturday in the rematch.

The Bulls won’t have Lonzo Ball (wrist), and Josh Giddey (ankle) is doubtful, which will leave lots of work for Tre Jones at point guard. Jones has the third-highest Projected Plus/Minus at point guard and has exceeded salary-based expectations in eight straight games. He had a solid 18 points, six boards, six assists, and 40.5 DraftKings points against the Nets on Thursday.

The Grizzlies are playing for the second night in a row, which may mean they don’t have all their guards available. Scotty Pippen Jr. is a very cheap play with good upside at his bargain salary even if everyone plays, and he brings a much higher ceiling if anyone sits. Pippen has over 21 fantasy points in seven of his last eight games and at least 29 fantasy points in three of his last four.

Don’t forget to check out our NBA SimLabs Lineup Generator to create advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation:

One of the exciting new features this season on FantasyLabs is our partnership with ShotQuality. In Saturday’s ShotQuality projections, Heat guard Tyler Herro has the highest median, ceiling, and floor projections at shooting guard in a great pace-up spot against the Grizzlies, who lead the NBA in pace for the season and over the last 10 contests. The Heat have the highest pace differential as a result.

Herro has produced over 41 fantasy points in four of his last five games and played at least 37 minutes in each of those four contests. He logged 38 minutes on Friday against Boston and finished with 19 points and 41.75 DraftKings points.

Since the All-Star break, Herro averaged 43.5 DraftKings points per game and 1.19 DraftKings points per minute. He leads the team with a 29.9% usage rate and should have a very high ceiling on Saturday. Both teams in this matchup are on the second night of a back-to-back, so be sure to check the injury report before playing Heat or Grizzlies.

The Thunder will need Cason Wallace to pick up more work with Williams and Holmgren out, and the second-year guard has been chipping in very solid numbers lately while bouncing in and out of the starting lineup. He has a top-four projected Plus/Minus at both point guard and shooting guard in both the ShotQuality and FantasyLabs projections

Wallace has exceeded salary-based expectations in seven of his last nine games, averaging 25.0 DraftKings points per game. He posted over 28 DraftKings points in each of his last two games and in four of his last six. He has scored double-digit points in each of those four games while playing at least 29 minutes, and he played under 20 minutes in the two games he failed to reach that level.

Without Williams and Holmgren, the Thunder will definitely need Wallace to play big minutes on Saturday, so he should be a great source of value at just over $4,000.

Coby White (toe) is probable and will likely have to carry the load with Giddey doubtful for the Bulls. White has exceeded salary-based expectations in six of his last seven contests. He had 31 points and 47.75 fantasy points against the Nets on Thursday and has averaged 43.6 DraftKings points per game over that span. He has the third-highest ceiling projection at shooting guard in the ShotQuality projections.

The Spurs will look to Devin Vassell to step up without Fox. He had 22 points and 35.75 fantasy points against the Hornets to exceed salary-based expectations for the fifth time in his last six games. The Pelicans have allowed the third-most DraftKings points per game to shooting guards, so Vassell should be set for success again on Saturday.

Kevin Huerter has the second-highest Projected Plus/Minus at shooting guard in the ShotQuality projections. He exceeded salary-based expectations in five straight contests and has scored double-digit points in eight straight for the Bulls. His salary is starting to climb, but he’s still outproducing his price point with so many other Bulls injured.

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The Pelicans visit the Spurs on Saturday after San Antonio gave up 145 points on Friday night to the Hornets in their first game without DeAaron Fox. It should be a very high-scoring game given that even the lowly Pelicans have the second-highest implied team total on the slate. Zion Williamson has been the biggest fantasy producer for the Pelicans when he has been available, and he’s had some massive games since the All-Star break. He has the highest median, ceiling, and floor projections at small forward.

Zion has scored at least 20 points in seven straight games. He started that seven-game run with a triple-double and 63.5 DraftKings points against the Suns at the end of February and has two more games of at least 55 DraftKings points during those seven contests.

He averaged 47.3 DraftKings points per game in those seven contests and leads the team with a 31.5% usage rate. The Pelicans are still being careful with him on back-to-backs, but he has been able to ramp up to a full workload, playing plenty of minutes, especially in competitive matchups like this one.

Spurs forwards Keldon Johnson and Julian Champagnie have two of the top-three Projected Plus/Minus at small forward in both sets of projections for this Saturday. Both have had solid games when given more work, and more work should continue to come their way against the Pelicans.

Johnson has scored double-digit points in 11 of his last 12 games, averaging 27.1 DraftKings points per contest. He had 25.25 fantasy points on Friday in 22 minutes against the Hornets, and he has over 25 fantasy points in three straight games on the Spurs’ current homestand.

Champagnie played 20 minutes for the first time since March 1 on Friday, and he finished with 12 points and 22.25 fantasy points. He has over 20 fantasy points in each of his last four games with at least 20 minutes, so at only $3,300, he brings great bargain upside.

Jimmy Butler had a triple-double and 52.5 DraftKings points against the Trail Blazers on Monday, which was his third straight game over 42 DraftKings points. He only had to play 28 minutes in a blowout win over the Kings on Thursday. His multi-category production gives him a high ceiling against the Knicks.

On the other side of that matchup, Mikal Bridges has stepped up for the Knicks while Jalen Brunson (ankle) has been out. He has scored at least 15 points in each of the three games since Brunson’s injury and produced 34.5, 31.25, and 47.5 DraftKings points. That monster game came in a huge win in Portland, where he had 33 points, including the game-winning three at the buzzer.

As a bargain play, Marcus Smart has good potential for the Wizards as they visit the Nuggets. The veteran has played in eight of the last nine games for Washington, averaging 21 DraftKings points on 11.6 points, 3.1 assists, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.9 steals in 20.1 minutes per game. On Thursday, Smart had 15 points, seven assists, and 33.5 fantasy points in a win over the Pistons.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks host the Pacers in an Eastern Conference matchup, as they look to avenge their one-point loss in Indiana on Tuesday. Giannis has the highest median, ceiling, and floor projections at power forward.

In that game, Giannis had 19 points, 17 rebounds, and 52.75 DraftKings points, and he followed it up with 24 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, and 56.5 DraftKings points in just 30 minutes against the Lakers on Thursday.

The Bucks have been managing his workload carefully, and he has only played 30.3 minutes per game since the All-Star Break. He’s still producing 53.6 DraftKings points per contest on 26.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per contest.

If this game is close and competitive throughout like Tuesday’s game, Giannis should be able to post another big double-double. He has both a high ceiling and a high floor since it doesn’t take him a lot of minutes to produce a lot of fantasy points.

Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. has the second-highest Projected Plus/Minus at power forward in the FantasyLabs projections and the third highest in the ShotQuality projections at the position.

Smith has been in and out of the starting five but playing consistent minutes for the Rockets since returning from injury after the All-Star break. He averaged 29.5 minutes over his last seven games, producing 26.3 DraftKings points per game on 13.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.7 blocked shots.

In four of his last five games, Smith has over 25 DraftKings points and is coming off 29 DraftKings points in 24 minutes against the Mavs on Friday. The Bulls have been a good matchup for opposing power forwards, so Smith should be a strong mid-range value as the Rockets finish their back-to-back with a home game against Chicago.

Behind Giannis and Zion, Josh Hart has the third-highest median, ceiling, and floor projections at power forward. Hart fell just one assist short of a triple-double against the Trail Blazers, totaling 41.25 DraftKings points. Hart didn’t have to play a full workload against the Kings on Monday, but he had over 40 DraftKings points against the Clippers and Lakers with 49 and 42.5 DraftKings points to start this road trip. Without Brunson, Hart will have to carry more of the offense against the Warriors.

Aaron Wiggins has huge potential but also brings high risk. He is questionable due to an illness and is looking to bounce back from a scoreless game against Boston and three straight games under 20 DraftKings points. However, the Thunder will definitely need more from him on Saturday. In his four games without Williams and Holmgren, he averaged 38.9 DraftKings points, so if he’s fully healthy, he has a high ceiling.

Patrick Williams has the second-highest Projected Plus/Minus of power forwards in the ShotQuality projections. He was working under a minutes restriction after missing nine games but had 10 points and 17 DraftKings points against the Nets. He should be ramping up to more work, and he brings lots of potential at only $3,500.

Nikola Jokic always brings an extremely high ceiling whenever he’s on the slate. On Saturday, he faces the Wizards, who have allowed the second-most DraftKings points per game to centers this season, making him an even stronger option. He has the highest ceiling, median, and floor projection of any player on the entire slate in both sets of projections.

Earlier this season against the Wizards, Jokic had 56 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists, and 90.5 DraftKings points. For most players, that would be solid production across a couple of games, but he only played them once.

The Joker had “only” 50.25 DraftKings points against the Lakers on Friday, and he has produced over 50 fantasy points in five straight games dating back to his monster game against the Suns that resulted in 100.25 DraftKings points.

Jokic always has the potential to positively smash the slate, so if you can find enough value at other spots in your lineup, paying up for him is a strong strategy to consider.

As the Warriors host the Knicks, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney have very strong Projected Plus/Minuses. Looney has the highest projected Plus/Minus in both sets of projections, while Green also has a top-five projected Plus/Minus in the ShotQuality projections.

In his last 13 games, Green averaged 35.2 fantasy points per game in 30.3 minutes per game. As usual, he has produced across a wide variety of categories, averaging 11.9 points, 6.8 assists, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game. He is averaging 30.7 DraftKings points per game at home this season and is a solid play at $6,400 against the Knicks

At a much cheaper price, Looney makes sense coming off the Warriors’ bench. In his seven games in March, he averaged 5.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 15.1 DraftKings points. His ceiling isn’t as high as if he were starting and getting 20+ minutes every game, but he’s still productive enough to be a solid cheap play at center.

Jalen Duren has four straight double-doubles and has exceeded salary-based expectations in six of his last seven. In those seven games, he averaged 38 DraftKings points on 15.0 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks. He will face a Thunder frontcourt that will be without Chet, which should help him put up another big game.

On the other side of that game, Jaylin Williams will get work filling in for Holmgren. He had a triple-double with 54.25 DraftKings points against the Trail Blazers last Friday, showing his extremely high ceiling if he gets enough minutes.

In each of his last two games, Brook Lopez has scored exactly 23 points. He had 35.75 DraftKings points against the Pacers and 47.0 DraftKings points against the Lakers in those two games. He’ll look to stay hot in a rematch with Indiana on Saturday night. He’s a safer mid-range play than Williams, but he doesn’t typically carry so much of the Bucks’ scoring load.