Saturday's DraftKings slate is a single-game showdown, POR @ UTA, with a $50,000 salary cap and a captain slot that scores 1.5x points at 1.5x salary. Lineups lock Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT).
Deni Avdija of POR is the headline play at $10,400, with a ceiling of 63.5 and a DraftKings average of 43.1. That is the highest ceiling on our model's ranking, and the price is steep enough that he is a natural captain candidate. Jrue Holiday of POR is the next piece at $6,200, with a ceiling of 52.8 and a DraftKings average of 26.9, so he offers a strong ceiling for a much lower cost. Kyle Filipowski of UTA lands at $5,400 with a ceiling of 50.8, though his DraftKings average sits at 4.9, which makes him more of a swing than a safe floor.
The value plays are where this slate gets interesting. Micah Potter of POR costs just $1,000 with a ceiling of 37.1. Branden Carlson of POR is $1,800 with a ceiling of 34.9. Mo Bamba of UTA is $2,400 and carries a ceiling of 48.5, the best ceiling-to-price ratio on the board. Brice Sensabaugh of UTA at $3,600 (ceiling 45.8) and Isaiah Collier of UTA at $4,200 (ceiling 46.6) round out the mid-tier options. Several names are unavailable, as Jaren Jackson Jr., Jusuf Nurkic and Trey Alexander of UTA, along with Ja Morant and Shaedon Sharpe of POR, all carry an OUT tag from DraftKings.
Ownership figures are not available for this slate, so we cannot say where the crowd will land.
Our model's top lineup uses $49,800 of the $50,000 cap. It captains Avdija at $15,600 and adds Ace Bailey ($7,600), Damian Lillard ($8,800), Holiday ($6,200), Bamba ($2,400) and Lauri Markkanen ($9,200). The build pairs a pricey captain with Bamba as the one cheap ceiling play. Set your lineups before the 3:00 p.m. ET lock.
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