Every action has an equal opposite reaction. After a two-game grind of an NBA DFS slate last night, we have a thirteen-game bonanza tonight. There is a lot going on here, as twenty-six of the thirty teams in the NBA take the court. With all the injuries in the league right now we have a ton of value, as well as a lot of strong plays at the top end. It will be very easy to make a lineup that looks good tonight, but it is always tougher to rise above the competition on a slate like this. We are looking for underpriced guys with a ton of upside, as those are the plays that win us big money with so many teams playing.
Here’s Two Core Plays For DFS Basketball 1/19/22 (using DraftKings Values)
| Point Guard | K. Irving | $9,300 | |
| Shooting Guard | |||
| Small Forward | |||
| Power Forward | K. Edwards | $4,300 | |
| Center | |||
| Guard | |||
| Forward | |||
| Utility |
For the first time this season, Kyrie Irving is a priority for us tonight. The Brooklyn Nets are going to be without Kevin Durant for four to six weeks, and that leaves a ton of usage on the floor for the Nets. James Harden has not been shooting as much as the other Nets stars, so we expect Irving continues to take on monster usage. Irving shot the ball 23 times last game, and his 27 real points led to 51.75 FPTS. Irving is priced at $9,300, so he offers a lot of upside if he can get over 50 FPTS again. With a great matchup against the Wizards and all this usage on the table, it is hard to get away from Irving here.
Kessler Edwards has been playing a ton of minutes lately, with 37 and 38 minutes played in his last two games respectively. With Durant sidelined we expect the minutes to hold for Edwards, so he looks fantastic as a value option. Edwards is not a great DFS producer, but with the minutes he is playing at $4,300 he still looks great. He went for 17.75 FPTS last game but was much better with 30 FPTS in the game before. He should get some shots up throughout the game, and he showed a floor performance in the last one.
Here’s a Fade DFS Basketball 1/19/22 (using DraftKings Values)
Unlike last night, it is easy for us to land on a fade here as we have a lot of places to put our salary. We are fading one of the league’s best producers and a usual favorite for us, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo is $12,000 tonight, and he would have to go into the 70 FPTS range to work out here. We have a ton of priorities under $10,000 that have similar upside here, so we can build a stronger lineup without devoting so much salary to one guy.
Here Is What Your Get If You Subscribe For $15 Per Month or $99 For The Year…
• A star guard who has been on fire the past few games.
• Another spend-up we are looking to squeeze in here.
• Our priorities from Chicago with all their injuries.
• A cheap center who is playing massive minutes.
Point Guard
Darius Garland – ($9,000 DK) The Cleveland Cavaliers are blowing away expectations sitting at the fourth seed in the eastern conference. The key to the Cavs success has been the phenomenal play of emerging star Darius Garland, and it shows for DFS. Garland has scored 50.5, 54.5, 63.25, and 51 FPTS respectively in his last four games, helping the Cavs win each one. Garland is looking at an easy matchup against the Bulls tonight, so we love riding the hot hand here.
Shooting Guard
Terence Davis – ($5,300 DK) The Sacramento Kings are a tremendous source of value tonight, as they are without key guard Tyrese Haliburton. Davis was the biggest beneficiary in Haliburton’s absence last time out, as he scored 40.5 FPTS in 37 minutes. He took on a huge scoring role and saw over twice the floor time he played in the game before. Davis has been priced up significantly, but he is still too cheap for the upside we know he can go for here.
Jimmy Butler – ($9,100 DK) Butler was a priority for us on Monday against the Raptors, as he takes on a bigger playmaking role with Kyle Lowry sidelined. As Lowry remains out for tonight, we must expect the ball to be in Butler’s again. He went for 51.5 FPTS in the last one, as he saw a lot of usage with ten dimes. The Heat have a nice matchup against the Trailblazers here, so we like getting to Butler if we can find the salary.
DeMar DeRozan – ($9,200 DK) We expect the ownership to be low on DeRozan tonight. He is coming off a few underwhelming performances, and there are just so many options on this slate. However, he has a ton of upside with Zach Lavine and Lonzo Ball out for the Bulls. DeRozan shot the ball 24 times last game, and he could be even more aggressive if the game stays close. DeRozan will explode if he gets hot here, and that is the kind of high upside play we are looking for.
Precious Achiuwa – ($4,400 DK) Gary Trent Jr. has missed two weeks with ankle injuries, and he is questionable for tonight’s game. If Trent ends up playing, we do not like any of the cheaper value from Toronto. However, Achiuwa is a priority if Trent remains out. Khem Birch went down a few days ago, so we have seen Achiuwa have to play the lion’s share of Toronto’s center minutes. He played 39 and 37 FPTS in the last two games, scoring 38 and 30.25 FPTS respectively. If he is going to play this kind of floor time he is a dream value under $5,000.
General strategy
This slate is a lot tougher than it looks. As we mentioned earlier, you will always be able to make a lineup that looks good easily with thirteen games. However, making a lineup strategically to take down the field as opposed to a random dart throw can be tough. As we mentioned, our key here is finding high upside guys. Specifically, high upside guys under 10,000 so we can play more of them. We also need to keep an eye on the news here, as the value is probably going to get even better before lock.
