Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks - Friday, January 27, 2023

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Point Guard/ Shooting Guard

Darius Garland FD - $8500 DK - $8300
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 46.11 DK - 50.05

Of course, the recommendation of Darius Garland here is somewhat (or even mostly) contingent on whether Donovan Mitchell was to play. The latter sat out on Thursday evening with a groin issue and there’s a chance it happens again. That being said, the Thursday sitting could have been preemptive on the front end of the back-to-back as well so this is something we will have to keep an eye on.

Garland went for 26 points and nine rebounds in just 33 minutes on Thursday in a blowout win over the Rockets. He’s been amazing this season when Mitchell has been on the shelf and draws a fine matchup against the Thunder who, while good on defense, are also 5th in pace.

T.J. McConnell FD - $7400 DK - $6500
Opponent - MIL
Proj Pts FD - 39.22 DK - 41.62

The price still hasn’t adjusted on TJ McConnell and we are likely looking at playing him all the way until Tyrese Haliburton returns. Since taking over as a starter three games ago, McConnell is averaging 18 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds in almost 38 minutes per game. Even if those averages are on the high side of realistic expectations, he’s still coming way too cheap on DraftKings especially. Factoring in blowout risk against the Bucks still doesn’t put him out of play on either site really. This is an easy call.

Jrue Holiday FD - $8300 DK - $8500
Opponent - IND
Proj Pts FD - 45.24 DK - 49.05

The Bucks have some injury issues going right now so even with Giannis playing I think we can consider Jrue Holiday here in the $8K range. There are some games without Giannis mixed in here, but over the last month or so Jrue is averaging 21 points, seven assists, and four rebounds with 1.5 steals+ blocks thrown in for good measure. Stacking Jrue and Giannis in cash games, if possible, has a very high floor against a Pacers team playing well-below-average defense and a fast pace.

Small Forward

Giannis Antetokounmpo FD - $11500 DK - $11500
Opponent - IND
Proj Pts FD - 62.8 DK - 67.01

Giannis Antetokounmpo was a popular option the other night though lost minutes with foul and turnover issues. He’ll be back tonight and even at these price points is still looking like one of the best value options on the slate. The Pacers play the 3rd-fastest pace in the league and rank 25th on defense, making for a prime matchup. With the Bucks without Bobby Portis now and still working Khris Middleton into the mix with minutes, they need Giannis more than ever and the dude is obviously a fantasy machine. The price is over $11K and yet when you can pile it on like this guy the cost becomes somewhat negligible.

Caris LeVert FD - $5400 DK - $5200
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 30.09 DK - 33.01

Like Darius Garland, Caris LeVert’s status is also dependent on Donovan Mitchell. Unlike Garland who can probably still be considered even if Garland were to return, LeVert would head back to the bench if Cleveland was at full strength. But if he’s in the starting lineup then playing him in the $5K range on both sites would make sense. Even with a poor outing on Thursday against the lowly Rockets, we wouldn’t be dissuaded from running LeVert as one of the secondary scorers for Cleveland without Mitchell.

Power Forward/ Center

Evan Mobley FD - $7300 DK - $6800
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 39.64 DK - 41.33

Jarrett Allen FD - $7700 DK - $6000
Opponent - OKC
Proj Pts FD - 40.03 DK - 41.26

Evan Mobley was a popular option on both sites against the Houston Rockets on Thursday and he didn’t disappoint. The second-year power forward went for 21 points and 10 rebounds in his 33 minutes. Cleveland ended up blowing out Houston so he was buzzed off some minutes, but the production was easily there. The DraftKings price is way too low even if the Cavs were running full strength here and the Thunder don’t have much of anything in the way of an interior presence.

Meanwhile, Jarrett Allen is also coming too cheap on DraftKings at just $6K. He went for a double-double of his own with 14 points and 10 rebounds and has averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds over the last month. He’s still getting about two blocks+steals over that stretch as well. If Kevin Love were to sit again the Cavs would be shorter on interior options and the minutes could push into the higher 30s for both of these dudes in a close game.

Brandon Clarke FD - $5600 DK - $4900
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 30.46 DK - 31.95

Brandon Clarke drew the start at the five for the injured Steven Adams against the Warriors and that could be the case again here against Minnesota. Memphis had opted to go with Xavier Tillman the game before so this is something of a fluid situation. They could be playing matchups depending on the opponent. The good news there is that if Tillman were to play, he’s a somewhat easy swap with Clarke even if it’s after lineup lock, so I think we need to really worry about the mechanics there. Clarke is coming off of 19 points and eight rebounds against the Warriors and can pile it up from a fantasy perspective when given the run.