Saturday's NBA schedule has just six games on it, with the Cleveland Cavaliers among those in action. Cleveland's been on the receiving end of some criticism in recent days for head coach Tyronn Lue's decision to rest LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love for their game against Memphis Wednesday night. All three will be active Saturday night against the Lakers, who on Friday ended an eight-game losing streak with a win in Philadelphia.
Los Angeles has some young players who could cause some trouble, but given their struggles defensively this a game where Cleveland's "big three" could all go off. The Lakers are currently ranked 27th in scoring defense and 29th in defensive rating, which does not bode particularly well for their chances of slowing down the Cavaliers. As a result James ($10,200), Love ($8,400) and Irving ($7,300) are all quality options for FanDuel rosters. Here are our picks for Saturday's games, working with a nine-player roster and a $60,000 salary cap. (Getty)
PG: Kyrie Irving
Opponent: vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Price: $7,300
Unlike teammates LeBron James and Kevin Love, who like Irving were left home to rest for the second half of the team's back-to-back against the Grizzlies Wednesday night, Irving didn't play in either game. As a result he should be well rested for Saturday's home game against the Lakers, which will hopefully result in Irving surpassing the 30 FanDuel point mark after failing to do so in each of his last two games. Cleveland has yet to face the Lakers this season, but with starter D'Angelo Russell still working his way back from a knee injury this should be a matchup that works out in Irving's favor. (Getty)
PG: Patrick Beverley, Houston
Opponent: at Memphis
Price: $5,700
Beverley's averaging 25.4 FanDuel points per game this season, and in his last outing Beverley produced his best stat line of the season to date. Beverley finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and a blocked shot in Houston's 125-111 victory in Phoenix, tallying 42.3 FanDuel points. Memphis is a far tougher opponent than the Suns, beginning with point guard Mike Conley, but Beverley does enough on both ends of the floor to be a quality pickup for the second point guard slot. (Getty)
SG: Zach LaVine, Minnesota
Opponent: at Philadelphia
Price: $6,500
LaVine has exceeded his FanDuel average of 29.2 points just once in his last five games, and he's coming off of an outing against Portland in which he accounted for just 18.1 points. In that game LaVine shot 5-for-12 from the field in scoring 13 points, to go along with three rebounds, one assist and one steal. LaVine is talented enough to have a far greater impact for Minnesota, even if his shot attempts are falling. With Philadelphia's perimeter rotation not exactly packed with star power, LaVine should find a way to bounce back Tuesday night. (Getty)
SG: Eric Gordon, Houston
Opponent: at Milwaukee
Price: $6,000
Gordon accounted for 35.1 FanDuel points in Houston's game against Memphis on Saturday, and five days ago he scored 25 points in a win over the Bucks. Of Gordon's 20 field goal attempts on that night 17 were three-pointers, and he made seven while also grabbing four rebounds. Gordon isn't the most productive player outside of the scoring department, but he is capable of putting up solid rebound or assist numbers at any given time. (Getty)
SF: Kevin Durant, Golden State
Opponent: vs. Portland
Price: $9,900
Durant didn't have his best night scoring-wise in Thursday's win against the Knicks, finishing with 15 points on 7-for-18 shooting from the field. But he still tallied 45.8 FanDuel points, thanks to 14 rebounds, eight assists and two blocked shots. Durant's scoring ability was well-known upon his signing with the Warriors when his potential impact was discussed. But Durant's leading the team in blocks and is second in rebounds to Draymond Green. That's going to make for some big nights, even when he isn't scoring at his usual rate. (Getty)
SF: Wilson Chandler, Denver
Opponent: vs. San Antonio
Price: $5,600
Speaking of that matchup between the Spurs and Nuggets, there's the question of which forward Kawhi Leonard is more likely to defend: Danilo Gallinari or Wilson Chandler? Whichever one isn't defended by "The Claw" could potentially pose a matchup problem for San Antonio's starting power forward, and the bet here is that Chandler will be the beneficiary. Chandler's been up and down of late with his production, but after tallying just 18.3 FanDuel points against the Kings he could be in line for a bounce-back performance if the trend continues. (Getty)
PF: Nikola Jokic, Denver
Opponent: vs. Dallas
Price: $5,900
Since returning to the lineup after missing three games due to a sprained wrist, Jokic has surpassed his FanDuel point average (25.6) in four of six games. Denver head coach Mike Malone's decision to go smaller, using Wilson Chandler as the starting power forward, has given Jokic more room to operate and thus made him more effective. Denver and Dallas last met a week ago, with Jokic (27 points, 11 rebounds, four assists) tallying 49.2 FanDuel points. (Getty)
PF: Gorgui Dieng, Minnesota
Opponent: at Atlanta
Price: $5,500
Averaging 25.6 FanDuel points per game on the season, Dieng contributed ten points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots in Minnesota's win over Phoenix Monday night. With Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine being the primary scoring options Dieng won't be a major player offensively. But he's going to get his opportunities, and as long as he chips in on the glass and defensively Dieng has a chance to post a respectable FanDuel point total. (Getty)
C: Dwight Howard, Atlanta
Opponent: vs. Boston
Price: $7,600
Howard's grabbed at least 12 rebounds in seven of Atlanta's last eight games, with the rebounding numbers being a big reason why he's averaging 34 FanDuel points per game. Howard's averaging 14.0 points and 13.4 rebounds per game in his first season with the Hawks, with the team currently on a seven-game win streak. The question here is how he'll match up with Boston's Al Horford, who has the shooting ability needed to draw Howard away from the basket and lower his rebounding opportunities as a result. But this should still be a night when Howard is productive in the middle. (Getty)
FanDuel NBA Lineup Picks, Advice & Analysis for December 17