We should be prepared for every single slate to be ravaged by injuries at this point, as tonight’s eight gamer follows the trend, we have been seeing a lot lately. There are a ton of guys ruled out today, as we just got more names added to the league’s health and safety protocols this morning. The two teams we are focused on for tonight are the Sacramento Kings and the Milwaukee Bucks. As Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, and De’Aaron Fox are all sidelined. Our challenge tonight will be too many good plays, so we will focus on highlighting absolute priorities.
Here’s Two Core Plays For DFS Basketball 12/17/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Point Guard | D. Mitchell | $3,600 | |
| Shooting Guard | |||
| Small Forward | K. Middleton | $6,700 | |
| Power Forward | |||
| Center | |||
| Guard | |||
| Forward | |||
| Utility |
With the news that Fox is doubtful here, we expect to see a massive opportunity for Davion Mitchell if he sits. Off-Night was already a nice value here, as he has scored over 20 FPTS in four out of the past five performances. As he is averaging 20.2 FPTS on the season, any boost will make Mitchell a fantastic play at $3,600.
Khris Middleton is a lock here at $6,700. This is about the cheapest you will ever see Middleton, so we would be interested if everyone was healthy for the Bucks. However, with Antetokounmpo, Portis and a few other guys sidelined Middleton looks even better. He is going to take a ton of shots tonight, and if he has a good shooting night, he will be a must-have at this price. Typically, Middleton has a low floor for DFS, but he is so underpriced here that is not the case.
Here’s a Fade DFS Basketball 12/17/21 (using DraftKings Values)
It is not going to be hard to find a fade here as we have so many guys we want to get to. Steph Curry is always a little bit frightening to pass on, but a lot of guys have similar upside at so much cheaper tonight. Curry is $11,300 here, and he only hits value on big nights. With plays like Middleton that look so strong for cheaper, we would have to sacrifice a lot to play Curry here.
Now, what do you get if you sign up now for $99?
• A key option from the Sacramento Kings.
• One stud guard who should see some crazy usage tonight.
• A superstar center in a great spot.
• Our general game plan with all of the injuries going on.
Point Guard
Tyrese Haliburton – PG ($5,800 DK) Haliburton is questionable here, and his status will be a key to this slate. He looks fantastic if he plays, as $5,800 is already just too cheap. Haliburton is averaging over 30 FPTS on the season, and he is a big upside guy. With Fox out, he should be doing everything for the Kings offense, as a scorer and playmaker. If Haliburton ends up out here, the other Kings options look even better for this one.
Shooting Guard
D’Angelo Russell – ($7,600 DK) We just got the news that Anthony Edwards is also going to be added to the health and safety protocols. There is going to be a lot of usage going around in Minnesota, so Russell looks good at this price point. He is averaging 36.9 FPTS on the season, and he has the upside to go for huge nights. He is going to take a ton of shots here, so it is all about if he has a nice shooting night.
Buddy Hield – ($5,100 DK) Hield has had some disappointing games lately, but he is cheap here for the 26.7 FPTS he is averaging on the season. We expect him to see a nice usage boost tonight with Fox off the floor, so he looks great at this price point. If we find out that Haliburton is out as well here, Hield becomes an absolute lock.
Harrison Barnes – ($5,700 DK) Barnes had some floor performances after missing a few games, however, he turned it around with a typical 31.8 FPT performance last time out. He should also see a nice usage bump with Fox off the floor, so he looks fantastic at this price. A lot of these Kings guys were too cheap before Fox was announced doubtful, so they are absolute priorities if he sits.
Karl-Anthony Towns – ($9,600 DK) Towns has just started to really his upside the past few games, as he went for over 65 FPTS a few slates ago. We expect him to have to take higher usage than usual with Edwards out, so he has a ton of upside in this spot. We are probably just going to play one superstar and some cheaper studs tonight, and we like that one superstar being Towns.
General strategy
We are already at the point for this slate where there is too much value, and we will probably have a slew of injuries announced before lock tonight. It is going to be tough deciding who to play here, and who to pass on. We know we are taking a stand on the Kings guys tonight, and we are locking in Hield, Barnes, and Mitchell if Haliburton sits. We also are playing Middleton tonight, and Jrue Holiday looks good as well. The Bucks frontcourt is gutted right now, so we could be interested in Demarcus Cousins or Sandro Mamukelashvili depending on who starts. We will have to watch for any other news that breaks tonight, as we expect a lot to happen before seven PM.
