We’re nearing the stretch run of the NBA regular season. As the playoff picture begins to form in each conference, we can feel pretty good about which teams are going to be desperate for each and every win and which will feel alright about coasting now and then.

By understanding this dynamic, DFS players can be better positioned to take advantage by using players who may see a minutes or usage spike in important times of the season. Let’s look at a few teams that are definitely going to be pedal to the medal as the season comes to a close.

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Houston Rockets

First and foremost, we have the Rockets. An extremely disappointing season thus far has left them with a 29-31 record through 60 games, hanging on to the eighth seed in the west for dear life. James Harden and Dwight Howard are going to be elite plays nightly down the stretch. Trevor Ariza is playing fantastic ball. And after the Rockets came to terms with a buyout on Ty Lawson’s contract, Patrick Beverley looks to be primed to finish strong as Houston is sporting a very thin guard rotation now.

Utah Jazz

While the Jazz are far from DFS darlings due to their elite defense and snail’s pace, they are right in the mix with the Rockets for that final playoff spot out west. Shelvin Mack has taken over as the team’s primary point guard option after coming over right before the trade deadline. He’s been solid and will be good salary relief until his price tag catches up. The rest of the Jazz starting lineup – Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert – are all reasonable tournament options every night.

Washington Wizards

The fifth through tenth spots in the east is a huge logjam at the time of this writing. The 33-28 Hawks sit in fifth, while the 29-30 Wizards sit in tenth. The Wizards are another team, like the Rockets, that had strong playoff expectations coming in to the year and find themselves now on the bubble. Look for John Wall and company to be going full tilt down the stretch. Another interesting nugget on the Wizards is the addition of Markieff Morris. After a monster game in his first game in the starting lineup on Monday night, keep an eye on his DFS value going forward.

The Rest of the East

I really wanted to highlight the Wizards there as they have been the team that has struggled the most compared to preseason expectations and thus to me feel like the team that will be most desperate to sneak into the playoffs. Really, though, that entire pack of teams in the east – Atlanta, Charlotte, Indiana, Detroit, Chicago and Washington – will be going pretty hard at those final few playoff spots down the stretch. Many of these teams are grind it out types that don’t offer the most DFS upside night to night.

These teams do however have stars that can really fill up the box score on a night their team needs a win. Guys like Kemba Walker, Paul George, Pau Gasol, Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Andre Drummond and John Wall have tremendous upside from night to night, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see any of them creep up into the 40-minute range some nights as their teams play their butts off down the stretch.

As the NBA season comes to a close, us DFS players need to be aware of each team’s situation when we’re deciding about players for our lineups.

Thanks for reading. Find me on Twitter @IanJ300 with any questions.

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