Friday night's NBA slate is a two-game card on DraftKings classic with a $50,000 cap: POR @ LAL and SAS @ SAC. The lock comes at 10:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. PT), so there is time to settle a build, but the player pool is thin and every roster decision matters.
Our model's ranking starts with Luka Doncic of LAL at $11,700. His 80.4 ceiling is the highest on the board, and his DraftKings average is 54.9. Victor Wembanyama of SAS is right behind him in price at $11,200, with a 59.8 ceiling and a 56.6 average that is actually the better of the two. Deni Avdija of POR at $8,500 carries a 68.1 ceiling against a 41.2 average, and Darius Acuff Jr. of SAC at $7,900 sits at 70.5 and 40.4. Both profile as upside plays at a discount to the two stars.
The value end of the board is where lineups get built. Malik Monk of SAC costs just $4,000 and carries a 58.4 ceiling with a 20.6 average, which is a big return for the price. Leaky Black of SAC at $3,500 has a 45.5 ceiling and a 12.8 average, a cheaper and riskier way to free up cap. Walker Kessler of LAL at $7,500 has a 58.9 ceiling and a 34.6 average, and Domantas Sabonis of SAC is $9,200 with a 59.2 ceiling and a 38.9 average.
The sheet has no ownership figures, so we can't say where the crowd will land. Several players carry DraftKings status tags. Ja Morant, Vit Krejci, Maxime Raynaud, Keegan Murray, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris and Jayden Quaintance are all tagged OUT, while Sandro Mamukelashvili of LAL is tagged Q.
Our model's lineup and its total salary are not part of the data we have for this slate, so there is no build to publish here. What the numbers do show is a board built around Doncic and Wembanyama at the top, with Monk and Black offering the cap relief. Check the tags before you lock, and get your lineup in by 10:00 p.m. ET.
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