Sorare NBA | Game Week 45 Primer

Welcome to the Sorare NBA Game Week 45 Primer!

The next round of action kicks off today, and we're here to break down all the relevant information for the upcoming slate. Lineups lock at 6:50 p.m. EST — with the upcoming contests running Monday-Thursday.

Let’s get into all the action for this weekend of hoops:

Game Week Rewind ⏮

Luka Doncic is getting frustrated.

The Dallas Mavericks’ superstar has been vocal in the media of late during the team’s skid, and seems to be in a bit of a dark place right now.

“It’s really frustrating. I think you can see it with me on the court. Sometimes I don't feel it’s me. I'm just being out there, you know? I used to have really fun smiling on court, but it's just been so frustrating for a lot of reasons, not just basketball.”

Multi-Game Monitor 🗓

Injury & Roster Info 🏥

Here are some notable (not all-inclusive) injury/lineup situations to monitor and plan for ahead of this week's games.

The information below is as of Monday, March 27, but can give broader insights for the rest of the Game Week.

Ruled Out  ❌

• Joel Embiid, PHI (calf), Javonte Green, CHI (knee), Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (knee), Simone Fontecchio, UTA (toe), Jrue Holiday, MIL (personal), Jae’Sean Tate, HOU (knee), Buddy Hield, IND (illness), Jordan Clarkson, UTA (finger)

Doubtful 🤕

• Will Barton, TOR (ankle)

Game-Time Decision ❗️

• Lauri Markkanen, UTA (hand)

Questionable ❓

• Gary Trent Jr., TOR (elbow), Alex Caruso, CHI (foot), Maxi Kleber, DAL (injury management), Michael Porter Jr., DEN (injury management), Myles Turner, IND (injury management), Tyrese Haliburton, IND (injury management), Jalen Brunson, NYK (hand), De’Aaron Fox, SAC (hamstring)

As injury information is breaking at all hours prior to lineups locking, an excellent resource for up-to-date news is the Underdog NBA Twitter account.

Value Plays 🤑

Last Game Week's Value Pick Performances:

Player | L10 | GW 44 Performance 

• Deni Avdija, 16 L10, 46 Sorare Points (+30) 🔥🔥🔥

• Monte Morris, 20 L10, 21 Sorare Points (+1) ❌

• Johnny Davis, 5 L10, 27 Sorare Points (+22) 🔥🔥

• Shaedon Sharpe, 14 L10, 33 Sorare Points (+19) 🔥🔥

• Trendon Watford, 23 L10, 26 Sorare Points (+3) 🆗

• Ryan Arcidiacono, 4 L10, 15 Sorare Points (+10) 🔥

• Bryce McGowens, 4 L10, 18 Sorare Points (+14) 🔥

• Svi Mykhailiuk, 7 L10, 22 Sorare Points (+15) 🔥

• Kelly Olynyk, 26 L10, 38 Sorare Points (+12) 🔥

• Bismack Biyombo, 8 L10, 52 Sorare Points (+44) 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Game Week 45 Value Picks:

*Note — these selections are based purely on L10 value in lineups — and do not consider the auction or market prices of the players listed.

Shaedon Sharpe | 19 L10, Drew Eubanks | 16 L10 and Keon Johnson | 6 L10 — The Trail Blazers have officially waved the white flag. After an absolutely dismal second half of the season, it appears the team is ready to fire up the tank — with Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and Jusuf Nurkic all seemingly being shut down.

The biggest beneficiary of the added minutes has been Shaedon Sharpe, who looks like a star in the making. The athletic wing has now gone for 32, 33, and 53 Sorare Points since seeing an uptick in playing time, and should be unleashed for the rest of the season. Fire him up while his cap remains low.

Another player seizing the opportunity has been Drew Eubanks, who has had impressive stints earlier in the year but has thrived over the last week — and is coming off of a 40 Sorare Point performance on Sunday.

Finally, in the category of low-cap, high opportunity is Keon Johnson. The guard has now seen over 20 minutes in two straight, and has produced with 19 and 32 Sorare Points. At just a cap of 6, he’s hard to ignore.

Also Consider: Nassir Little (10 L10), Ryan Arcidiacono (4 L10)

Svi Mykhailiuk | 9 L10 and Bryce McGowens | 6 L10 — The ‘hold your nose’ portion of the value picks is back again — with both Charlotte guards outproducing their measly L10s over the weekend and still looking at big minutes on a depleted Hornets roster. Svi Mykhailiuk seems to be the preferred choice of the two — seeing the primary guard minutes with Bryce McGowens backing him up.

Also Consider: Gordon Hayward (25 L10), Dennis Smith Jr. (28 L10)

T.J. Warren | 7 L10 — After barely cracking the rotation since the deadline move to Phoenix, TJ Warren has been producing for the Suns over the last few games. With Kevin Durant likely out at least until Wednesday, Warren could have at least one more Game Week of value. Putting up 34 and 25 Sorare Points in the last two, Warren has some serious value at just at 7 L10 cap.

Also Consider: N/A

Bonus Picks:

• Jevon Carter | 17 L10 — Both Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokoumnpo are already ruled out for the first leg of a three-game week for Milwaukee.

• Pacers that aren’t sitting – This one is going to be a bit tricky, but nearly all the main Pacers players (Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner) are questionable and Buddy Hield is already ruled out. Monitor the status of this lineup, because some serious value could open up in players like Jordan Nwora (24 L10), Andrew Nembhard (23 L10) and Aaron Nesmith (20 L10) should the rest sit.

Live Before Lock 🔒

Got last-minute lineup questions? I'll be on Mike Zakarian / Team Hold's  Live Before Lock stream every Monday and Friday at 5:30 PM EST (Thursday instead of Friday this week due to the ASB), breaking down all the news, lineup questions and value plays right before the Game Week locks. Join us for some fun (and giveaways) tonight!

Thanks for reading! — Ghost

Follow Ghost on Twitter @Ghost_Z12.

Subscribe here to receive the Sorare NBA Primer in your inbox each M/F.