Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) brings the ball up court in the first quarter in an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/José Luis Villegas)
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Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 55.08 DK - 57.45
Sometimes we get injury news early and that was the case with Darius Garland being ruled out late Tuesday for this Wednesday game against the Trailblazers. And I think you know what that means: fire up Donovan Mitchell and don’t think twice about it. Mitchell has a 31% usage rate on the season and that climbs to 34% when Garland is off the court.
That’s one of the higher numbers you will see and makes him a pretty easy play here. The price has come down a bit in the short-term which makes it even easier and I suspect he will be one of the highest-owned players on the slate.
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 31.08 DK - 33.6
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 38.78 DK - 42.1
Another piece of injury news we got early was that DeMar DeRozan is set to sit this game out for the Bulls. While Chicago might be in blow-it-up mode coming sooner than later, we can still play some of their guys in the short-term when the getting is good.
For starters, Zach Lavine sees an obvious bump in production with DDR off the court, leading the team with a 30% usage in these situations so far this season. He’s scoring dependent for sure, but the price on both sites is totally reasonable considering the context.
Meanwhile, Coby White sees the usage climb to 26.8% and the assist rate bumps up as well. I think his minutes are ultra-safe right now considering the Bulls are playing without DDR and will likely be without Alex Caruso as well. For White, these are the kind of situations we are waiting for when it comes to cash games.
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 36.46 DK - 38.71
Like we said with Donovan Mitchell, the Darius Garland injury is going to mean some value here for the Cavs and Caris LeVert is one of the big-time beneficiaries of the absence. He’s already been playing major minutes off the bench this season when the team is fully healthy and when Garland’s been out, he moves into the starting lineup.
LeVert’s usage rate is 25% when Garland is off the court, only behind Mitchell in that respect. The middle-tier pricing and prospect of a big minutes load makes him a pretty easy call in cash games. Stacking the Cavs’ backcourt here will likely be the chalk play.
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 24.62 DK - 25.05
Opponent - ORL
Proj Pts FD - 24.21 DK - 24.65
All Bulls and Cavs on this bigger slate? Well, it’s trending that way to some degree because of the bigger names out of the lineups for those teams. That can be the case in DFS because of the extra opportunity it opens for guys who’ve been priced because of a full team’s productions.
With the Bulls, both Patrick Williams and Torrey Craig could be in line for major minutes with DeRozan and Alex Caruso out of the mix. Williams would likely move back into the starting lineup, and Craig has already been there over the last few games. Neither is in line to take a ton of shots, but the fact that they are both coming around punt pricing really helps a lot.
Opponent - POR
Proj Pts FD - 45.02 DK - 45.56
Too many Cavs on this slate? Maybe, but that’s the way things go in DFS sometimes. When it comes to Mobley, his price is totally reasonable on both sites and he is playing a Blazers team that gets blocked more than average while letting it up on the glass at times. That’s a good meeting point for Mobley’s skillset even if the boards take a dip with Jarrett Allen back in the lineup. Power forward and center is on the weaker side for this slate as well which does make things a bit tougher at the position.
Opponent - CLE
Proj Pts FD - 20.12 DK - 20.56
Opponent - CLE
Proj Pts FD - 21.91 DK - 21.91
Going on the cheaper side, I do think we can target the Blazers forwards here on Wednesday. Toumani Camara drew the start in place of Matisse Thybulle on Tuesday evening and I expect that to stick going forward. He was moderately effective in his minutes and do think there’s more run in here if things break right. Nine points and five rebounds isn’t crazy, but he’s been okay in his time so far.
On the same side, Jabari Walker saw more bench minutes at the four and he’s been excellent on a per-minute fantasy basis this season so far. He dropped 12 points and eight rebounds in just 21 minutes against the Jazz. If he trends towards mid-20s minutes then I think you are getting him at a pretty good deal on DraftKings.
Mitchell Robinson (FD 5900 DK 5500) could be interesting on this slate against the Hawks.
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