My Core
Kemba Walker + Ricky Rubio (DraftKings)- Both of these players come with a heavy discount on DraftKings due to the fact that they’ve missed games recently, we saw this a few nights ago with Malcolm Brogdon. Given that they come with such a discount, it seems like — as of now — a more balanced build is the optimal route on DK. Both players are averaging over 1.1 DK points per minute this season, and unfortunately they will end up as really high-owned options due to the mispricing.
Paul George (DraftKings)- Like I said above, this profiles as a more balanced night for me, so instead of getting up to a James Harden or Giannis Antetokounmpo, I’m liking early builds where I settle for Paul George, who will be playing without Kawhi Leonard tonight. PG has played over 30 minutes in three of his last four games, last night being the outlier in which he wasn’t needed due to a blowout against the Dallas Mavericks. He’s also topped out at 37 minutes which makes you feel good about his workload in what should be a competitive game — the spread has dropped to just 6 points. George owns a monster 36% usage rate with Kawhi off the floor this season, and his point per minute output spikes from 1.4 to 1.8 as well.
Goran Dragic (FanDuel)- Dragic gets out first “too cheap” award on FanDuel priced at $5,000 in the absence of Jimmy Butler, and we can add Tyler Herro at $4,900 in as well. Both are projected for upwards of 28 minutes with Butler ill, and both own usage rates over 23% with him off of the floor. They will be no secret at this price, so pivoting in tournaments could make sense, but I will likely eat the chalk in cash games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (FanDuel)-With pricing naturally much looser on FD, I will once again be leaning towards a stars and scrubs build and starting my builds around the reigning MVP. We’ve been locking him in recently due to the absence of Khris Middleton, but even with him returning to the lineup tonight, ABC sports a 30% usage rate and over 1.5 fantasy points per minute. This game also features the second-highest O/U on the slate at 239.
Value Plays
Mo Bamba- Bamba has clearly been the biggest beneficiary among the “bigs” with Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic out. Wes Iwundu and Khem Birch have continued to start, while neither have produced glowing results. Bamba, however, has remained a high-upside play despite limited minutes, he averages a fantasy point per minute and has been logging 20 minutes per game recently due to the injuries. This is a great matchup for him individually as well against a poor Cavs defense, and he is play for me in all formats on both sites.
Frank Kaminsky (FanDuel)- This is a fairly easy play tonight on FD where he is priced at just $4,000, and should be starting once again for Aron Baynes. He is never a high-upside play, but we aren’t being asked to pay for it here and this is an exceptional individual matchup for him. Not only is this the highest O/U on the slate at 240, but his opponent, the Washington Wizards, also rank 30th in defensive efficiency to centers.
I’m leaving my value pool here for now barring injuries — names like Draymond Green, Evan Fournier, Malcolm Brogdon and Lou Williams peak my interest if going for balanced on DK. While other cheap plays like Daniel Theis and Taurean Prince can be used if going full studs and duds on FD.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
