Saturday's NBA showdown is a single-game slate, PHI @ CHA, with a $50,000 salary cap and a captain slot that scores 1.5x points at 1.5x salary. The slate locks at 6:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. PT).
Several names will not play. DraftKings lists Joel Embiid, LeBron James, Dominick Barlow and Ariel Hukporti (all PHI) as OUT, along with Kon Knueppel, Coby White, Grant Williams and Kylan Boswell (all CHA). That thins both rotations and shapes the pricing.
Among the top plays, our model's ranking puts Tyrese Maxey at the front of the high-priced group. He costs $10,200 with a ceiling of 60.3 and a DraftKings average of 37.0. Jaylen Brown is $9,200 with a ceiling of 55.6 and a 38.5 average, and Brandon Miller of CHA is $9,400 with a 56.1 ceiling and a 33.0 average. VJ Edgecombe offers a cheaper way into the PHI core at $7,400, with a ceiling of 44.4 and an average of 30.8.
The value plays sit at the bottom of the salary scale. Caleb Love, Jabari Walker and Justin Edwards of PHI all cost $1,000, with ceilings of 25.3, 14.5 and 13.4. Love's ceiling is the most notable of the three against his 4.2 average. Tidjane Salaun of CHA is $1,800 with a ceiling of 17.5. These salaries free up room for the stars, which matters when the captain slot carries a 1.5x price tag.
The sheet gives no ownership data, so we can't say where the crowd will land.
Our model's top lineup uses $49,300 of the $50,000 cap. It puts Maxey at captain for $15,300, then adds Edgecombe at $7,400, Miller at $9,400, Ryan Kalkbrenner at $3,000, Brown at $9,200 and Anfernee Simons at $5,000.
Set your lineups before the 6:00 p.m. ET lock.
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