Easy Breezy: Chalk Stack
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings will be playing in one of the fastest paced games on the slate. These two teams love pushing the pace, ranking 10th and second in the NBA in pace this season. Golden State also leads the league in offensive rating, while Sacramento ranks only 18th in the league in defensive rating. The Warriors are currently -12.5 point favorites in a game set at 238.5 points, giving them the highest implied total on the slate at 125.5 points.
DeMarcus Cousins is entirely too cheap on DraftKings tonight, and he’s going to be the highest owned Warriors player tonight. He has scored 30+ DK points in eight of his last nine games, while flashing 40+ DK point upside over that span. Cousins has also played 27+ minutes in each of his last three games, and he’s expected to play minutes in the high-20s once again tonight. He possesses a usage rating a bit under 30%, and Sacramento doesn’t feature anyone that will be able to slow him down. Cousins makes an extremely safe option for his price tag, while also coming with plenty of upside, as well. Kevin Durant has struggled at times with Cousins in the lineup, but he’s likely to feature quite a bit of ownership tonight. He has dominated Sacramento throughout the season, averaging 35.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 1.3 blocks (60.8 DK points) in 38.3 minutes per game. Durant has been a better option at home, as well, where he’s averaging 1.43 DK points per minute as opposed to 1.34 DK points per minute on the road. Durant comes with some risk with Cousins in the lineup, but his upside is undeniable, and this is an elite matchup that simply cannot go overlooked. The final part of this stack is Stephen Curry, who has also found plenty of success against the Kings this season. Through two matchups, Curry is averaging 38.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.5 steals (59.0 DK points) in 37.1 minutes per game against Sacramento. Similarly to Durant, Curry has seen his usage drop a bit with the Warriors roster healthy. These three players have elite upside, though, and there are only six games on the slate. Furthermore, there is plenty of value on this slate, meaning it won’t be difficult to fit this trio into your cash lineups.
Wildcard GPP: Low Owned Stack
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks have been pushing the pace this season, ranking fifth in the NBA in pace through 57 games. The same can’t be said for the Boston Celtics, who only rank 17th in the league in pace this season. Milwaukee also owns one of the best offenses in the NBA, ranking fourth in the league in offensive rating this far, although Boston also ranks fifth in the NBA in defensive rating. Still, the Bucks are -5.5 point favorites in a game set at 229 points. They feature one of the higher implied totals on the slate at 117.3 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo will feature plenty of ownership tonight, but he shouldn’t be avoided in this stack. He caught fire prior to the NBA All Star Break, scoring 59+ DK points in each of his last five games, including an 82.75 DK point performance against the Indiana Pacers in his last game. Antetokounmpo gets a solid matchup against the Boston Celtics, who he is averaging 31.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.5 steals (53.6 DK points) in 34.4 minutes per game against this season. Overall, Antetokounmpo is averaging 62.9 DK points per game over his last 10 games, and he comes with elite upside. Malcolm Brogdon is seemingly going overlooked tonight, but he comes with a surprisingly low price tag. He has scored 30+ DK points in seven of his last nine games, and he should be locked into minutes in the high-20s or low-30s again tonight. He’s averaging 0.99 DK points per minute against Boston this season, and Brogdon makes a safe play, who also comes with quite a bit of upside tonight. Brook Lopez is another cheap option, who is mispriced. He has scored 22+ DK points in each of his last 10 games, while flashing 40 DK point upside. He’s averaging a healthy 28.2 DK points per game over that span. Lopez is averaging only 13.8 DK points in 23.3 minutes per game against Boston this season, but he’s expected to see larger minutes in this game. This stack comes with tremendous upside and should feature someone lower ownership, aside from Antetokounmpo, but this stack isn’t overly risky for each players price tag.
Hidden Gem: Value Guard
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Surprisingly, DraftKings opted to lower Bogdanovic’s price tag even lower after his mispricing prior to the All Star Break. He has played 27+ minutes in seven of his last 10 games, and he’s averaging 33.2 DK points per game in those contests. He had scored 26+ DK points in each of those seven games, as well.
Bogdanovic is expected to play full minutes once again tonight, meaning he’ll see minutes in the high-20s or low-30s in this game. He gets a plus matchup against the Golden State Warriors in what should be the highest scoring game on the slate. Through three matchups, Bogdanovic is averaging 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.3 steals (27.6 DK points) in 32.1 minutes per game. He’s an extremely safe option for his price, and he can safely be used in all leagues tonight.
Hidden Gem: Value Big
Boban Marjanovic
Marjanovic has only played limited minutes for the majority of the season, but he has looked outstanding in that time. Through 38 games, he’s averaging 14.9 DK points in only 11.2 minutes per game. He has played 17 minutes in two of his last six games, though, scoring 27.25 and 26 DK points in those contests.
Joel Embiid has been ruled out for tonight, meaning Marjanovic will see extended minutes tonight. He’s expected to find minutes in the low- to mid-20s, which will be more than enough time to hit value at his current price tag. He gets a solid matchup against the Miami Heat tonight, as well. Marjanovic is a player that should be used in all leagues on this slate, as there’s no real reason to avoid him.
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