What’s up, Karma Nation!? I have some great news for you! If you’re thinking about joining the Karma Nation, use Promo Code “TOUCHDOWN” to get 20% of ANY package for the lifetime of that subscription! Click here for our packages.
Easy Breezy: Chalk Stack
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings currently rank 28th in the NBA in pace. They’re in a pace up spot tonight, as the Portland Blazers rank eighth in the league in pace this season. Sacramento also ranks 17th in the NBA in offensive rating, while Portland ranks 18th in the league in defensive rating. The Kings are +2 point underdogs in a game set at 222 points, but they still feature an implied team total of 110 points.
De’Aaron Fox is dealing with an injury, and he’ll be out of action for a few weeks. Cory Joseph is expected to see an expanded role in his absence. On the season, Joseph is averaging 6.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists (13.5 DK points) in 17.1 minutes per game. He played 29 minutes in his last game, though, scoring 24 DK points against the Atlanta Hawks. He also posted 24.5 DK points in only 18 minutes in the game prior to that. Joseph is still absurdly cheap, and he’s likely to be one of the highest owned players on the slate tonight.
Buddy Hield is another player that could benefit from the injury to Fox. He’ll see a larger offensive role, although he’s already a focal point of the offense. Over his last 5 games, Hield is averaging 21.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.0 steal (33.2 DK points) in 31.2 minutes per game. He is expected to see the highest usage rating on the team tonight, as it is likely to near 30%. Hield comes with a bit more risk than the other options in this stack, but he can still be considered for cash games tonight.
Harrison Barnes is the final player in this stack. He’s grossly underpriced for his recent production. Barnes is averaging 19.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.8 steals (34.3 DK points) in 37.2 minutes per game. He was able to score 30+ DK points in each of those five contests, as well. Most importantly, Barnes will continue to be locked into big minutes, while playing a solid role in the offense.
Important Odds: Vegas Stack
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz continue to slow the pace down in their games, ranking only 27th in the NBA in pace through 10 games. They get a matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, who currently rank fifth in the league in pace this season. Utah also ranks 24th in the NBA in offensive rating, while Brooklyn ranks only 25th in defensive rating. The Jazz are -7 point favorites in a game set at 220 points, giving them the second highest implied team total on the slate at 113.5 points.
Mike Conley got off to a dreadful start to the season, but he has flashed upside of recent. Excluding his 8.25 DK point performance against the Los Angeles Clippers, Conley has scored 30+ DK points in each of his last 5 games. He also posted 43.25 DK points against the Los Angeles Clippers in their first meeting this season. Conley has been significantly better at home in 2019, and he makes an outstanding tournament option tonight.
Bojan Bogdanovic is coming off of a terrible game, which may cause him to go a bit overlooked. Prior to that, he had scored 40.25 and 38.5 DK points against the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers. Bogdanovic has forced his way into big minutes for Utah, and he owns a large offensive role for them this season. He is reasonably priced tonight, and comes with more than enough upside to consider in a plus matchup against Brooklyn.
Rudy Gobert is coming off of his best game of the season, scoring 25 points with 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, and 1 steal (51.5 DK points) against the Golden State Warriors. He gets a great matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, who have struggled against centers this season. Brooklyn’s pace will also give Gobert more opportunities for blocks and rebounds, which is where the majority of his upside comes from. Similarly to the other Utah players in this stack, Gobert is an option best suited for tournaments.
Wildcard GPP: Low Owned Stack
Portland Blazers
This game has been outlined above, and the Portland Blazers will likely see a small downtick in pace tonight. Still, they rank ninth in the NBA in offensive rating, while the Sacramento Kings rank only 27th in the league in defensive rating. The Blazers are -2 point favorites in a game set at 222 points, and they boast an implied team total of 112 points tonight.
Damian Lillard continues to make one of the best fantasy option on a nightly basis. He’s averaging 33.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.3 steals (54.1 DK points) in 38.4 minutes per game this season. He has also scored 50+ DK points in 8 of his 10 games in 2019, including a 75 DK point performance against the Brooklyn Nets. Lillard comes with elite scoring potential, and he should find plenty of success against Sacramento’s defense.
Rodney Hood dealt with an injury against the Brooklyn Nets, but he has played 30+ minutes in each of his 8 games outside of that. He isn’t overly consistent, but he has flashed 30+ DK point upside on multiple occasions. Hod also comes with an extremely low price tag. He’s a player that relies heavily on scoring, and he should enjoy a matchup against one of the NBA’s worst defenses.
Hassan Whiteside will feature ownership tonight, but it’s impossible to avoid him in a Portland stack. He’s averaging 17.5 points, 14.3 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks (43.7 DK points) in 31.2 minutes per game over the last 10 days. Whiteside has also scored 40+ DK points in each of his last 4 games. Furthermore, he has played 35 and 34 minutes in each of his last 2 games, suggesting his role in the rotation is growing. He adds tremendous upside to this stack, but you’re going to have to eat a bit of chalk if you want to play him.
Hidden Gem: Value Guard
Yogi Ferrell
Ferrell is averaging only 5.1 minutes per game this season. He is averaging 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks on a per-36 minute basis. Those numbers are likely to drop as he gets more minutes, but they display the upside Ferrell possesses. Three games ago, he scored 9.25 DK points in only 12 minutes against the Utah Jazz, suggesting he comes with upside if he could find bigger minutes.
Ferrell gets a matchup against the Portland Blazers, who have already been outlined above. De’Aaron Fox has been ruled out for the next few weeks, leaving Cory Joseph and Ferrell to take over at point guard. Ferrell isn’t likely to draw the start, but he’s expected to play around 20 minutes tonight. Ferrell makes an outstanding option for the minimum price tag on DraftKings tonight.
Hidden Gem: Value Big
Kelly Olynyk
Olynyk has seen mixed results this season. Through 9 games, he’s averaging 7.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.0 steal (18.9 DK points) in 21.4 minutes per game. Olynyk has played 24+ minutes in each of his last 3 games, including 30 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers. He also recently scored 31.25 DK points in only 24 minutes, flashing tremendous upside for his price tag.
Olynyk gets a matchup against the Detroit Pistons, who only rank 24th in the NBA in pace this season. They also rank 26th in the league in defensive rating in 2019. Olynyk is expected to play minutes in the mid-20s tonight. He’s currently questionable, but will make an outstanding tournament option if he’s active tonight.
Follow Justin Bales on Twitter (@BalesSJustin)
