Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) dribbles the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Here we are, guys! This marks the NBA trade deadline, and it always makes for one of the craziest slates of the season. That means value will pop off all across the board once some moves are inevitably made but luckily, we only have five games in total. That means two-thirds of the league isn't even suiting up, and that should make things a little calmer on our end in terms of breaking news for DFS purposes. It will be critical to keep an eye on things more than usual, though, so have a fun trade deadline day!
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Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 42.73 DK - 44.09
Fox has been fantastic for over a month now, and his price has dropped for some reason. Can you figure that out? The speedy point guard has scored at least 28 DraftKings points in 30-straight games, averaging 25.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in that span. That equates to 44 DraftKings points per game which is right on par with our projections. What makes Fox so good is his elite speed, and that's a scary thing here. We say that because Golden State ranks second in pace and 20th in points allowed. That top-notch pace is awful news against the fastest player in the NBA, which was on full display when Fox had 41 DK points against Golden State earlier this year, despite shooting 7-of-17 from the field.
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 38.76 DK - 40.81
Poole's price is starting to get up there, but our projections make us believe he should be a $7K player. We say that because he's been performing like that since Stephen Curry went down with an injury. The young guard has scored at least 24 fantasy points in seven of his last eight games, posting a 33-point average since taking over the starting point guard duties. We can't overlook his role, taking at least 15 shots in four-straight games while playing 38 minutes in back-to-back outings. You can't neglect a $6K player who's playing that much and taking that many shots, especially against a Kings team that owns the worst defensive rating in the NBA.
Ben Simmons has been a lot better without Joel Embiid and should continue to produce with ease.
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 36.42 DK - 36.77
While Poole has taken a nice step forward in Curry's absence, Wiggins has been the one taking over this offense. In the three games without Chef Curry, Wig leads the team in usage while averaging 39.1 DK pointed per game. That's a ridiculous total from a player below $7K, and it's hard to understand why he remains so affordable. It's not like he was some bum with Curry in the lineup anyway, averaging 30 fantasy points per game before the injury. The best part of this play is the matchup, though, with the Kings surrendering the third-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this year. With this game expected to be a close shootout, all of these Warriors and Kings guys make for a lovely game stack.
Opponent - GS
Proj Pts FD - 32.16 DK - 32.87
If we're going to stack this Golden State-Sacramento matchup, we have to love Haliburton. The thing that really makes him attractive right now is his insertion into the starting lineup, taking over for the injured Marvin Bagley III. That's huge news for a guy that averaged 30 DraftKings points per game off the bench and is growing is game by the day. We've already talked about what a good matchup this is for everyone, and that's certainly the case for Hali with Golden State playing at the blistering pace that we mentioned before. Some might be worried about a minutes limit coming off of injury but dropping 39 DK points across 36 minutes on Monday limits any of that risk.
Bradley Beal's price has been dropping and is a good play around $9,200.
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 47.84 DK - 47.57
Jimmy Buckets has been going nuts ever since he returned to action, flirting with triple-doubles on a nightly basis. In fact, Butler is averaging 22.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 2.0 steals across his last 24 games played. That has led to a 49-point average in that span, making it hard to believe he's hovering around $9K on both sites. The best part about using him today is the matchup, though, with Portland ranked 27th in points allowed and 29th in defensive efficiency. More importantly, they've been crushed by some studs recently, and Butler falls right into that boat.
Opponent - LAC
Proj Pts FD - 32.26 DK - 32.52
Keldon really struggled in his first two weeks back from the COVID list, but he's been fantastic aside from that. In fact, KJ averaged 29 DK points per game across 30 minutes a night before hitting that dreaded list. That's pretty much the guy we've seen recently, with Johnson posting a 33-point average across 34 minutes a night over his last four fixtures. That small bump in minutes and production could continue from here on out, too, because San Antonio will be without LaMarcus Aldridge for the remainder of the season. KJ has proven he can produce in a tough matchup like this, too, dropping 31 fantasy points in his first meeting with the Clippers earlier this year.
R.J. Barrett has been getting insane volume in shots and minutes, making him a viable play every time out.
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 40.29 DK - 40.44
Bam hasn't had a whole lot of monster games this season, but he's one of the most reliable fantasy options out there. If you take out the game where he got injured, Adebayo has at least 27 fantasy points in each of his other 37 games played. That's a fantastic floor from an $8K player, especially with Bam providing a 43-point average for the season. That alone is north of 5x value on both sites, making this pricing hard to understand. In any case, we're going to capitalize on the mistake, particularly in such a tasty matchup. Portland currently ranks 29th in defensive efficiency and has one of the worst defensive centers in the NBA in Enes Kanter.
Opponent - MIA
Proj Pts FD - 27.38 DK - 26.16
You guys probably know by now how much I love RoCo. What makes him such a good fantasy option is his defense, providing tons of value through rebounds, steals, and blocks. That makes him a really reliable player when he's regularly playing 30-35 minutes a night and gives him a huge ceiling if he knocks down some threes. He's been showing that potential recently, averaging 33 DraftKings points per game across his last 11 outings. That makes it hard to believe he's only $5,700 on DK, making him one of the best values of the day over there. Miami is certainly not an easy matchup, but it does mean that he'll play huge minutes to oppose Butler.
Tony Bradley is just $4,300 on DraftKings and provided 18 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in a start for Embiid on Tuesday.
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 38.54 DK - 38.03
The Lakers are in big trouble right now. They're currently without LeBron James and Anthony Davis for the foreseeable future, making this look like a G-League team without them. The good news is that Harrell is the superstar of this G-League team, leading this unit with a 29 percent usage rate while averaging 1.34 DK points per minute. That's a huge rate from a guy who's likely to see more minutes going forward, and with how bad they looked in the first two games without those superstars, Harrell might get a rare start. If you get news of that, Montrezl is one of the best plays on the board. He's been crushing it recently, too, scoring at least 29 fantasy points in seven of his last eight games, averaging 37 fantasy points per game in that span.
Opponent - SAC
Proj Pts FD - 27.15 DK - 27.08
There's word that Wiseman will start from here on out, and that's all we can ask for from one of the top picks in the draft. In his first time out in this expanded role, Wiseman played 26 minutes as the starting center. While he didn't have a huge night, getting 26 minutes from a guy this talented is all we can hope for. We say that because he's averaging 22.3 DK points per game across 20.6 minutes a game for the season. That means we could be looking at 30-35 DK points if he's playing 25-30 minutes a night, which would be a ridiculous total from a sub-$5K player. The matchup is simply a bonus, with the Kings owning a 28th OPRK against opposing centers this year. Wiseman dropped 21 DK points on them in just 17 minutes earlier this season, and that's a good indicator of how scary he can be.
Ivica Zubac has been starting for Serge Ibaka and remains way too cheap below $6K on both sites.
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