Welcome to Bales’ Stacks and Hidden Gems for today’s NBA DFS slate for DraftKings! Below, I will discuss my favorite NBA DFS plays for tonight’s slate!
Easy Breezy: Chalk Stack
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors rank 27th and 11th in the NBA in pace, respectively. Miami also ranks seventh in the league in offensive rating, while Golden State ranks 25th in defensive rating. The Heat are -5 point favorites in a game set at 219 points, giving them an implied team total of 112 points.
Goran Dragic
Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro are questionable tonight, but it looks as if neither player will suit up tonight. Goran Dragic will continue to be a big part of the offense. He’s averaging 17.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.0 steal (32.5 DK points) in 29.4 minutes per game over the last 10 days. Dragic has quietly scored 40+ DK points in 2 of his last 4 contests, as well. He’s expected to find minutes in the high-20s tonight. In their only matchup, Dragic needed only 26.5 minutes to score 34.3 DK points, making him an outstanding option tonight.
Jae Crowder
Jae Crowder was recently traded to Miami. In his only game with his new team, he played 35 minutes. In that time, he scored 18 points with 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 2 steals (45.75 DK points). Crowder is expected to find 30+ minutes in this game tonight. He has faced off against Golden State a trio of times this season, averaging 25.0 DK points in 27.6 minutes per game. He’s far too cheap for his new role with Miami, and he could be one of the highest owned players on this slate.
Bam Adebayo
Bam Adebayo continues to enjoy an outstanding season. He’s averaging 16.6 points, 10.4 erbounds, 6.4 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.2 steals (44.9 DK points) in 36.6 minutes per game over the last 10 days. Adebayo has also scored 40+ DK points in 8 of his last 10 games, including a 53.5 DK point performance against the Orlando Magic. He struggled in his only matchup against Golden State this season, but he saw only 24.2 minutes in that game. Adebayo is expected to find minutes in the mid-30s, and he makes an outstanding option on this slate.
Important Odds: Vegas Stack
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Wolves currently rank 15th and seventh in the NBA in pace this season. Toronto also ranks 11th in the league in offensive rating, while Minnesota ranks 16th in defensive rating. The Raptors are -9.5 point favorites in a game set at 230.5 points, and they possess the second highest implied team total on the slate tonight at 120 points.
Terence Davis
Terence Davis is averaging 14.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assist (24.5 DK points) in only 21.3 minutes per game over the last 10 days. He has played 25+ minutes in each of his last 4 games, scoring 35, 37, and 39.5 DK points in 3 of those games. Davis has been an outstanding scorer, who has the potential to add peripheral stats, as well. He’s expected to see minutes in the high-20s tonight. Davis will make a better option if Kyle Lowry is out, but can still be considered if the latter is playing.
Pascal Siakam
Pascal Siakam has seen plenty of ups and downs recently. Over the last 10 days, he’s averaging 21.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals (38.0 DK points) in 34.1 minutes per game. While Siakam has flashed his floor, he has also flashed 50+ DK point upside. He dominated Minnesota on a per minute basis in their only matchup this season, and he’s expected to see minutes in the mid-30s tonight. Siakam is best suited for tournaments on this slate.
Serge Ibaka
Serge Ibaka is averaging 21.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists (35.0 DK points) in 32.0 minutes per game over the last 10 days. He has scored 40+ DK points in 2 of his last 3 games, as well. Ibaka will continue to see 30+ minutes while Marc Gasol is injured. The former has been a dominant per minute option on the season, and he can be used in all leagues tonight.
Wildcard GPP: Low Owned Stack
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic only rank 28th in the NBA in pace, while the Atlanta Hawks rank fifth in the league in the same category. Orlando also ranks only 29th in the NBA in offensive rating, while Atlanta ranks 27th in defensive rating. The Magic are currently -8.5 point favorites in a game set at 219.5 points, and they boast an implied team total of 114 points tonight.
Evan Fournier
Evan Fournier continues to see mixed results. He’s averaging 17.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steal (26.0 DK points) in 32.6 minutes per game over the last 10 days. He has flashed 40+ DK point upside in recent games. Fournier is also averaging 30.5 DK points per game against Minnesota this season. He’ll see 30+ minutes tonight, and makes an outstanding tournament option.
Aaron Gordon
Aaron Gordon has caught fire in recent games. Over the last 10 days, he’s averaging 17.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.6 steals (37.6 DK points) in 33.5 minutes per game. He has also scored 45+ DK points in 2 of his last 4 games. Gordon is expected to see minutes in the mid-30s, and he comes with elite upside because of the pace of this matchup.
Nikola Vucevic
Nikola Vucevic continues to make an outstanding option for Orlando. He’s averaging 20.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.6 blocks (41.8 DK points) in 34.3 minutes per game over the last 10 days. He has posted 52 and 47 DK points in his last 2 games. Vucevic is also averaging 1.4 DK points per minute at home. He’s expected to find minutes in the 30s tonight, making him an outstanding tournament option on this slate.
Hidden Gem: Value Guard
Rajon Rondo
Rajon Rondo has been an outstanding fantasy option on a per minute basis this season. He’s averaging 7.0 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists (17.8 DK points) in only 19.4 minutes per game over the last 10 days. Rondo played 20+ minutes in 3 of his last 4 games. In those games, he posted 21.5, 24.5, and 32.75 DK points, flashing tremendous upside.
Rondo gets a plus matchup against the Phoenix Suns tonight, who rank 10th in the NBA in pace and 20th in defensive rating this season. Rondo is expected to see 20-25 minutes tonight. He’s a player that has found plenty of success when given the minutes, and he can be used in all leagues tonight, as he’s a bit underpriced for his recent production.
Hidden Gem: Value Big
Juan Hernangomez
Juan Hernangomez is in the midst of a breakout. He has played 27+ minutes in each of his last 2 games, scoring 23.25 and 25.25 DK points in those contests. Overall, Hernangomez averaged 10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 block, and 1.0 steal in 27.5 minutes per game. He has flashed when given the time throughout his career, and will benefit from his recent trade to the Minnesota Wolves.
Hernangomez gets a matchup against the Toronto Raptors. They rank 15th in the NBA in pace and second in defensive rating. While it isn’t a great matchup, Hernangomez is expected to find minutes in the high-20s. He’s entirely too cheap for his new role with Minnesota, and he’s a player that can be used in all leagues for his current price tag.
Follow Justin Bales on Twitter (@BalesSJustin)
DFS Karma is partnered with DraftKings. We are also avid fans and users. As such, we may sometimes play on our personal accounts in the games that we offer advice on. Although we have expressed our personal view on games and strategies, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings. We may deploy different players and strategies than what we recommended in this article. We are not employees of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
