Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic, left, of Serbia, looks to pass the ball as Phoenix Suns center Tyson Chandler defends in the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017, in Denver. The Nuggets won 127-120. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
After a meager three-game slate on Thursday, we're back at it with 11 games here. That's actually one of the largest slates we've had all year and that makes the player pool absolutely huge. That's why we're here though, to help you guys limit the pool and throw out some good values. So, with so much to talk about, let's go ahead and get into it!
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Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 30.03 DK - 32.07
White is actually coming off his two worst games of the season but it's lowered his price way too much. This dude was $1,000 more on each site before that poor stretch, turning into one of the best young players in the NBA. Before those two duds, White was averaging 19.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6,5 assists across his previous 10 outings. That's really good fantasy production despite failing to provide any defensive statistics and it's just a matter of time before he adds a steal per game to that too. If he can regain that form at this price tag, White would be one of the best values out there. One of the big reasons why we believe he can is the matchup, with Charlotte owning a 23rd OPRK against opposing point guards this season.
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 29.02 DK - 30.96
With Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro looking likely to miss another game here, Dragic should be running the show yet again for Vice City. With those two off the floor this season, Dragic has a 29 percent usage rate while averaging 1.1 DK points per minute. That's evident when you see that The Dragon has at least 30 DraftKings points in each of the last four fixtures. One of those happened to come against this Raptors team which currently ranks 17th in total defense. That makes these price tags hard to understand and Dragic should be locked into every lineup if Herro and Butler are ruled out yet again.
If Jalen Brunson gets another start, he's a great punt play in the $4K range.
Opponent - ATL
Proj Pts FD - 43.87 DK - 45.54
With Karl-Anthony Towns and Ricky Rubio currently out, Russell is the man in Minnesota. In fact, D-Lo has a 30 percent usage rate with those two guys off the floor while averaging 1.3 DK points per minute. That per-minute rate is one of the best you'll see and it's really clear when you see that Russell has at least 15 shots in all but one game this year. Russell's been cruising recently too, averaging 42 fantasy points per game across his last eight outings. The icing on the cake is the matchup with Atlanta though, with the Hawks surrendering the second-most fantasy points to opposing point guards.
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 33.31 DK - 33.91
Huerter was the talk of DFS circles when he earned himself a $9,500 price tag on Wednesday's slate but it's become quite clear it was a major mistake by DraftKings. They went ahead and swapped the nine and the five which is much more indicative of the sort of player Huerter is. The reason we want to use him today is because of all of the injuries in Atlanta, with Cam Reddish, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari all expected to miss this game. That's a ton of minutes and shots out of the wing positions, leaving Huerter with most of that workload. We're talking about a guy who's averaging 36 DK points per game across 39 minutes a night over the last three fixtures and that alone makes him hard to avoid at this price. We haven't even discussed that he faces a 29th-ranked T'Wolves defense either.
Victor Oladipo is the primary ball-handler in Houston right now and remains a great pick.
Opponent - HOU
Proj Pts FD - 47.12 DK - 47.6
Is it crazy to call Jerami Grant a superstar? It probably is but this guy has been one of the best producers in DFS this season. What's really amazing about this guy is his floor, scoring at least 32 DraftKings points in every game since the opener. That has led to a 44-point average in that span which tells us that this price is still too cheap on both sites. He's actually been even more absurd recently, scoring at least 43 fantasy points in seven of his last eight games. That seems like a strong possibility again when you consider this matchup, with Houston ranked 20th in total defense so far this year.
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 27.58 DK - 28.12
With James Harden out of town and John Wall sidelined with a knee issue, Gordon is one of the focal points of this offense right now. That doesn't even take into consideration that Christian Wood and Danuel House are missing this game too, leaving Gordon and Oladipo to feast. With this current roster, Gordon has a 28 percent usage rate while averaging nearly a shot per minute. That's an absurd rate and it really wouldn't be surprising to see Gordon play 40 minutes and take 25 shots in this expanded role. If we get that usage from a player below $6K, he should be in pretty much every lineup. Not to mention, Detroit owns a 29th OPRK against opposing wings this season.
R.J. Barrett continues to huck up shots and play a ton of minutes which makes him enticing against the worst defense in the NBA.
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 25.11 DK - 25.34
This is one of the most mind-boggling prices on this slate. Roby has proved to be an impressive player in his stead for Al Horford and it looks like he'll get yet another start here. In the three games that Horford has missed, Roby has played at least 24 minutes in each of them while scoring at least 24 fantasy points in all three. He actually had a 33-point gem in the most recent outing which is even more impressive when you consider that his minutes were slightly limited in a blowout against the Nuggets. That honestly could happen here too but one has to believe he's guaranteed for 24 minutes with how young he is and how little depth there is behind him. Those 24 minutes and 24 fantasy points would already be 6X at this price tag and that's pretty much the floor at this point.
Opponent - CHA
Proj Pts FD - 26.5 DK - 26.39
Young has just hung around for what seems like a decade now and continues to be a solid fantasy asset. What's been adding to his value recently is the fact that Otto Porter, Wendell Carter and Patrick Williams are all nicked up. That leaves the power forward position very thin on this team, which has forced Young to play at least 25 minutes in three of his last five games. His fantasy numbers are even more impressive in that stretch, scoring at least 29 DK points in all three of those games. That makes him one of the best values over on FanDuel south of $4,000 and we love that he faces a Hornets defense that owns a 29th OPRK against opposing PFs.
If you have the money, Bam Adebayo is a fantastic pick with Butler and Herro sidelined.
Opponent - PHO
Proj Pts FD - 58.73 DK - 60.85
This is a pretty simple recommendation but Jokic is the best option in DFS right now. We're talking about a dude who's averaging 25.1 points, 11.4 rebounds, 10 assists and 1.9 steals per game. That equates to over 60 fantasy points which is obviously the highest total in the NBA right now. How often do you see a guy who's worst game of the season is 44 fantasy points? All of that makes him hard to avoid no matter the price and he's proven to destroy Deandre Ayton and his lackluster defense in the past, scoring at least 45 DK points against them in eight of their last nine meetings.
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 21.56 DK - 21.34
It's been a tough go for Cousins this season playing behind Christian Wood but that's not an issue here. Wood has actually been ruled out already and that should force Cuz into the starting lineup and into more minutes. Getting more playing time is the only thing holding Cousins back, averaging 19.4 DK points in just 14.1 minutes a night. That equates to 1.4 DK points per minute which is one of the best rates in the NBA. If we can get just 25 minutes out of him at this rate, that would be 35 fantasy points. That's actually less than he had in the one start he made for Wood earlier this year and it's pretty obvious that this could be one of the best per-dollar opportunities out there.
Naz Reid is a good value starting for Karl-Anthony Towns.
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