We have six games tonight, in what is going to be a stars and scrubs heavy DFS slate. The Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, and Cleveland Cavaliers are all dealing with a lot of injuries, so they provide us with tons of value here. We also have a few stars that we really like at the top end, so we will be going with a pretty aggressive spend-up strategy. Our favorite team will be OKC here, as they are missing a ton of guys in a good matchup against Dallas.
Here’s Two Core Plays For DFS Basketball 1/2/22 (using DraftKings Values)
| Point Guard | |||
| Shooting Guard | T. Jerome | $4,200 | |
| Small Forward | |||
| Power Forward | |||
| Center | D. Sabonis | $9,800 | |
| Guard | |||
| Forward | |||
| Utility |
The Oklahoma City Thunder are rocking a few key injuries here, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Bazley are both sidelined. We have seen the Thunder dealing with guys out for a while, as for the last week it was Josh Giddey sidelined alongside Bazley instead of SGA. Ty Jerome has been fantastic as he has had to step into an increased role, and we expect him to do more with SGA out instead of Giddey. Jerome went for 28.25 FPTS last game, and 47 FPTS in the game before. He is playing a ton of minutes right now, with a lot higher usage than we usually see him take. He is too cheap here and will be a core value option for us.
The Indiana Pacers are missing stud guard Malcolm Brogdon here, so Domantas Sabonis has had to do more as Indiana’s clear top dog. He has gone over 50 FPTS in back-to-back games, and he has the upside to really explode given the guys he is playing alongside. The Pacers are missing a lot of their dynamic guard play, so we expect to see Sabonis initiate a lot of the offense.
Here’s a Fade DFS Basketball 1/2/22 (using DraftKings Values)
Luka Doncic is back after about three weeks of dealing with injuries and health protocols. We are very happy to be able to watch Doncic again, but for tonight we are going to look elsewhere for DFS spend-up options. Doncic is likely going to be limited in some ways due to conditioning here, and we have some great spend-up options elsewhere we are happy getting to.
Now, what do you get if you sign up now for $99?
• A cheap guard who must play a lot of minutes right now.
• A stud who has been crushing in his teammate’s absence.
• Our go-to Superstar for Cash games.
• Our general strategy for handling the slate.
Point Guard
Brandon Goodwin – PG ($3,500 DK) The Cleveland Cavaliers are missing all their go-to guards right now, with Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, and Ricky Rubio all sidelined. The Cavs just picked up Goodwin on a hardship contract, and they gave him more run than any of their other guards in his first outing with the, Goodwin went for 26 FPTS in 25 minutes last time, with a good amount of time having the ball in his hands. We expect him to start here, but he is a fantastic value play at this price regardless.
Shooting Guard
Caris LeVert – ($9,200 DK) This price tag is high on LeVert as we saw him over $3,000 cheaper about a month ago. However, injury troubles were leading to that shortened price. Furthermore, LeVert is one of the only guards left for this Pacers team, so he has the ball in his hands a lot. He has scored 59.5, 50.5, 49.25, and 46.5 FPTS respectively across his past four games, consistently shooting the ball over 20 times a night in that span. The Cavaliers are going through some stuff right now, so we should see LeVert torch the g-league guards they throw in front of him.
LeBron James – ($12,000 DK) We have been talking about the King a lot lately, and for good reason, as he has been a must-have every time he plays recently. James went for 78.5 FPTS last game, which was his third straight outing over 70 FPTS. That performance also marked five straight over 60 FPTS. Anthony Davis is out right now, and James must move heaven and earth to try and will this Lakers team to win. He shot the ball 26 times in 29 minutes last game to amass over 78 FPTS, not much else needs to be said.
Torrey Craig – ($4,200 DK) Craig was a winning play last time out as he went for 36.75 FPTS near the minimum price. He is a bit more expensive here but still looks great given all the guys out for Indiana. Craig should start here, and we don’t see the Pacers having many options outside of playing him 30 minutes. If that is the case, there are lots of ways for him to put upside together and crush value once again.
Jalen Smith – ($5,000 DK) Smith has gotten way more expensive than where we typically see him, but that is well warranted as he is starting at center for this team. The Suns are missing the three big men who are ahead of smith in the rotation, so he must play a lot more minutes than we normally expect. Smith went for 29.75 FPTS the last time out, and there is an upside for him to see more run with all these guys out.
General strategy
We already know what we are looking at for Cash games tonight. We will be using a ton of James and Sabonis mixed with Jerome, Goodwin, and a few other value pieces from OKC and Indiana. For tournaments, we like going to Jaylen Brown if Jayson Tatum remains out, as he has seen some crazy usage in these opportunities. We also like getting to LaMelo Ball and Kevin Love for GPP’s as they offer very high upside here. Good luck everyone and watch for anyone else being ruled out before lock.
