I think it is Monday, but it’s generally difficult to tell during this weird period between Christmas and New Year’s. We’re lookin’ at a busy night with 10 games on the NBA DFS slates for DraftKings and FanDuel. There’s already plenty of injury news, and there’s sure to be more because the NBA is an agent of chaos.
Anyway, here’s how I’m seeing the slate for both sites.
DK Core Plays
- Karl-Anthony Towns
- Tim Hardaway Jr.
- Oso Ighodaro OR Steven Adams
FD Core Plays
- Karl-Anthony Towns
- Peyton Watson
- Oso Ighodaro
Suns-Wiz
Plenty to like in this game on both sides. PHX is down Williams, Dunn, Allen, and Green, and it’s an elite matchup against a WSH team on a B2B. Ighodaro will be a chalky value play starting at C with the lion’s share of the minutes ahead of Richards. I think Richards is an awesome GPP pivot at a cheaper salary and lower ownership, clear max-1 situation.
Usage flows through Booker, Brooks, and Gillespie, while minutes are secure for Goodwin and O’Neale given the injuries on the wing. Kind of a sneaky-tough matchup for Booker with Coulibaly on him, so I don’t hate an underweight stance on Booker chalk. I’d probably max-2 Booker/Brooks/Gillespie and max-2 any of the non-Booker wings, as well.
Wizards won’t have Middleton, George, Kispert, or Whitmore. CJ kinda sucked yesterday but usage will be there and he’s cheap enough for the role. Don’t love that he’s an old on a B2B, though. Sarr looks like a great midrange C spend who should be 5% owned or lower. Champagnie, Bilal, Johnson, and Bub are all playable values. Max-1 Tre/Bub.
Bucks-Hornets
Milwaukee got Giannis back the other day and he’ll be limited after playing 25 against Chicago. Trent is Q and Prince is still out. KPJ/Rollins are still playable in big-minute roles, but Porter is potentially overpriced for life with Giannis back. Not much to see here.
Hornets won’t have Kon, Kalkbrenner, Plumlee, or Grant Williams with Sion James carrying a Q tag. Monster minutes role for Diabate with Salaun/Hall serving as backups. Diabate is fine, but the price is getting up there and he doesn’t get enough usage to really break a slate. Really like the tags on Ball ($8,000), Miller ($7,200), and Bridges ($7,500) on DK with Knueppel out. Melo’s minutes are shaky but he’s still shown some ceiling. Probably max-1 the main 3 scorers on such a large slate.
Warriors-Nets
Horford and Seth Curry out for GSW, but pretty healthy overall. Brooklyn isn’t a total pushover defensively, this is a deep rotation, and they’re on a B2B. Curry/Jimmy are playable, but BKN aggressively doubles PnR ball-handlers, making it an imperfect spot for Steph.
Brooklyn has a limited Cam Thomas back. He scored 30 points in 20 minutes off the bench in the last game, so he does that. Kinda like the spot for Claxton against the Dubs’ undersized frontcourt but C is a deep position with a lot of opportunity cost. MPJ still has a huge enough role with Cam playing off the bench to be worth a shot here.
Magic-Raps
Suggs doubtful, Goga Q, both Wagners still out. Banchero/Bane/Black continue in their huge roles, while WCJ’s minutes are safer if Goga is still out. Sub-10% ownership on all of these guys, so they’re pretty good GPP plays in a decent game environment. Max-1 Orlando overall unless you’re getting into a game stack.
Toronto got RJ back yesterday but he’s out tonight along with Poeltl. Murray-Boyles is Q, and this team signed Mo Bamba yesterday. Sandro is pretty priced up with Poeltl banged up lately, but the matchup improves a lot if Goga is out for ORL. He’s a transformative presence for their interior defense. Max-1 Barnes/IQ/Ingram on a big slate, max-2 overall with Sandro as a floater. Matchup sets up the best for Quickley.
Nuggets-Heat
Highest-total game of the night (245.5) with a couple of struggling defenses. Still no Gordon/Braun/Cam for Denver, so continued heavy minutes for Jokic, Murray, Watson, THJ with Brown/Jones hovering around 30. I don’t think a firm max-1 Jokic/Murray role is an absolute must, but it’s not a bad play if you want to be aggressive with both likely to pull ownership. Splitting them up lowers your ownership product. Probably also max-2 of Watson/THJ/Brown/Jones. Just a fantastic spot, Jokic and Murray are two of the top plays anywhere on the slate.
Miami gets Bam back but Herro’s still out. Full minutes for Bam at $7,700 on DK is attractive, max-1 him with Ware, who’s getting too pricey for my blood. Still decent enough salaries on all of Powell, Wiggins, Davion, JJJ, and there’s usage available without Herro. Think a max-2 of Miami overall takes care of it. Powell looks pretty chalky, but the DEN defense is really giving it up with 3 starters and terrific defenders out. Really love Wiggins here at pretty low ownership.
Wolves-Bulls
MIN continues to be very healthy with only Shannon still out. Chicago gives it up everywhere, especially in the paint. Very good spot to be getting into Edwards or Randle (max-1), while Gobert could even feast. Max-2 Gobert/Randle/Reid. Chicago’s poor transition defense makes it a solid spot for McDaniels.
Minnesota isn’t great in transition either, but they are tough around the rim with Rudy in there. Chicago won’t have Collins, which opens C2 minutes again for Jalen Smith. I don’t mind it, though he looks fairly chalky early in the day. Oso probably pulls that ownership away, though, so Smith is ok as a pivot. Vucevic’s matchup isn’t good, but minutes could be safer without Collins. Not super psyched to pay for White or Giddey on this slate.
Cavs-Spurs
CLE is pretty healthy with just Nance/Strus out. They’ve been playing poorly in general, while San Antonio’s defense is typically excellent with Wemby in there. I don’t mind Garland or Mitchell as pay-up-to-be-contrarian plays, but nothing else here.
Fox is Q after missing Saturday’s game. Boosts for Wembanyama, Castle, and Harper if he’s out again with a likely Champagnie start. Wemby started and got up to 28 minutes in the last game, so we’re back to where he’s playable. Not a great matchup, but it’s Wemby. Castle and Fox are strong individual options if Fox is in.
Pacers-Rockets
The Pacers are terrible and in a terrible spot. Easy fade for me.
Houston has Sengun Q after he missed Saturday, yet they still destroyed the Cavs without him. Glorious matchup for Sengun if he plays, while Adams/Capela are passable punts if he doesn’t. KD and Thompson are okay plays with Sengun in, but big boosts if he sits. Saturday’s matchup was terrible for Thompson, but this one is much better. Tari Eason is a pretty strong value assuming he continues to start.
Knicks-Pels
Still no Hart for the Knicks. Robinson is also out and Kolek is Q. New York is going to score a shitload of points with the Pelicans getting killed both at the rim and in terms of allowing catch-and-shoot. KAT checks both of those boxes. OG and Mikal should get going here, too, while Brunson is a solid Towns leverage play. I’d max-2 the main 4. Not interested in much else.
Herb Jones is still out while Alvarado is suspended for punching Mark WIlliams in the face. This isn’t a great spot for what Zion does well, but he’s also just $7,000 on DK. Minutes should be secure for Poole/Fears withoust Jose, while Murphy gets a decent draw at only $6,800 on DK.
Hawks-Thunder
Jalen Johnson and Porzingis are out, Trae is Q. Literal nightmare of a matchup and ATL could just be very shorthanded. I’d be reluctant to trust anyone. Maybe Gueye/Newell, as Newell should see blowout minutes if/when it comes to that. Hardly interested in paying for Dyson/NAW even if Trae is out.
OKC waxed the Sixers yesterday and have Hartenstein Q, Jaylin D. Could see someone else sit if they decide to take it easy, but we’ll see. Don’t mind SGA/J-Dub/Chet as contrarian ways to spend salary in a favorable matchup. Not a bad spot for Cason for large-field.
Taylor Smith been a profitable DFS player for years, turning his passion for fantasy sports into both consistent results and quality content. Since 2018, he’s created fantasy analysis and strategy pieces for several outlets, most notably RotoGrinders and FantasyLabs, where he’s covered everything from daily picks to advanced DFS theories.
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