DFS NBA Draftkings: Advice, Best Values 1/30
DFS NBA for Saturday, January 30th is looking interesting at first-glance. We have a scheduled eight game main-slate that doesn’t see a lot of the higher-paced, poor defensive teams in action. Let’s look at the eight match-ups:
8:00pm/ET Tip-offs
Houston Rockerts vs New Orleans Pelicans
Portland Trailblazers vs Chicago Bulls
Sacramento Kings vs Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks vs Charlotte Hornets
8:30 – 10:00pm/ET Tip-offs
Los Angles Lakers vs Boston Celtics
Memphis Grizzlies vs San Antonio Spurs
Phoenix Suns vs Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons vs Golden State Warriors
Below we will dive into the top plays, mid-range plays, the best values at each position. The goal is to help you build that winning DFS NDA Draftkings GPP roster or a cash line-up that helps you double your money!
Guards
Top Play: Damian Lillard | PG | $10,600
Damian Lillard is the third highest priced player on the slate, and the second highest priced point guard. Lillard is also one of the best all-around players in the NBA. Per the usual, you can always expect solid playing time as he generally gets roughly 35-39 minutes per game.
He gets the Bulls on Saturday, a team that’s not great defensively, but isn’t horrible either. As of the time of this writing, the implied projection from Vegas has the game at a 230 point combined total. The rest of the total’s are not out yet, but that could be the highest total of the evening. With plenty of scoring to be had and CJ McCollum expected to still be out of action, Lillard will be the primary ball handler for the Trailblazers.
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The rice is a bit high at $10.6k, but he’s been playing well lately so he should be able to post a fine fantasy score either way.
Mid-Tier: Chris Paul | PG | $7,600
Suns veteran point guard Chris Paul has been playing great basketball as of late. In two of his last three contests, he’s broke the 20 point mark in scoring. That includes going for 32 against Oklahoma City earlier this week. The uptick in usage is due to the fact that teammate Devin Booker has been sidelined while he deals with a hamstring injury.
The minutes have been on a decline, but that is because Paul isn’t as young as he once was. With a day of rest however, and Booker already declared out for Saturday, Paul is a solid start against Luka Doncic and the rest of the Mavericks’ on Saturday evening.
I expect him to be north of 30 minutes again, which should correlate well in the scoring and assist departments as he continues with running the team on the floor.
Value Play: Tyrese Haliburton | PG/SG | $4,900
Better values may turn up for DFS NBA Drafkings rosters on Saturday when the slate is closer to lock, but we’re still going to have Haliburton in some lineups. The reason is because he is leading the Kings second unit in scoring. His cores over the last three games are 19.75, 36.75 and 21.5. He’s also played 30 plus minutes the past two games.
While he hasn’t been shooting the best, he is used in 24 percent of the teams offensive plays. There is plenty of opportunity there which should continue on Saturday for the rookie.
Avoid: LaMello Ball | PG | $5,600
Fans of DFS NBA Draftkings have been vocal since the beginning of the season about Charlotte not giving Ball the starting nod for the Hornets. Combined with his play as of late and the Hornets willingness to give their starting five major minutes, we cannot play Ball with any sort of confidence for the foreseeable future.
Forwards
Top Play: Khris Middleton | SF | $8,500
I went back and forth a bit on this one. I also like Jayson Tatum here. Both forwards are priced the same at $8.5k and Tatum has a matchup with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers. In the end, I went for Khris Middleton.
Middleton is having a career year in 2020-21. Despite being 29-years-old, the veteran is averaging career highs in points (21.8), rebounds (6.3) and assists (5.8). He’s been shooting right around .500 from the floor over his past four games and has scored over 20 real points in four of the last five. The game in that stretch that he did not, he still scored 19.
He has a matchup vs the Hornets on Saturday, a team that is one of the slower-paced in the NBA. However, the game still has a projected 228 scoring total with the Bucks favored by seven and a half currently. Giannis is obviously the primary scorer for Milwaukee, but Middleton is a stud as well and should have a good outing on Saturday.
Mid Tier: Gordon Hayward | SF/PF | $7,300
On the other side of the court from Middleton we have Gordon Hayward and the Hornets. Hayward has been playing really, really well lately and is one of my favorites players on the slate.
He usually plays north of 35 minutes, has shot over .563 from the field in three of his last floor and even has shot over .600 from the arch in two of his last three. While he doesn’t contribute a ton in terms of assists and rebounds, he doesn’t need to in order to score solid fantasy numbers in DFS NBA Draftkings scoring.
If Charlotte hopes to keep up with the Bucks on Saturday, their going to have to score. Hayward is the guy that’s most likely to keep them in the game.
Value Play: Gary Trent Jr. | SG/SF | $5,200
Jumping back to the game that highest the projected score, at least as of Friday, we’re looking at Gary Trent Jr. He will once again be starting in place of the injured CJ McCollum.
Since moving into the starting five, Trent Jr. has played 41 and 38 minutes. He’s scored over 20 real points in both outings, shot over .500 from the field twice, as well as knocking down roughly half of his three point attempts (7-13, 4-9). To add to the potential for fantasy production, forward Robert Covington is also questionable for the game.
At $5,200 it’s not a great value. More are likely to pop up on Saturday, but it should still be a relevant play as Portland’s likely second in scoring ranking.
Avoid: Andrew Wiggins | SG/SF | $6,300
Outside of Steph Curry and James Wiseman, I’m really not currently a fan of playing any warriors. That sentiment is even stronger for Andrew Wiggins. He has struggled with consistency all season long and the price tag is too high for what is a 25 point fantasy scorer more often than not.
Centers
Top Play: Giannis Antetokounmpo | PF/C | $10,800
We’ve talked about the Bucks several times throughout this article, and I promise this is the last time that I bring them up. One perk about Antetokounmpo is that he is both power forward and center eligible on for DFS NBA Draftkings action. He’s a good play at whichever position you prefer. I’ve included him at center for this article because the position is lacking major star power at the top.
I don’t need to tell you that Giannis is one of the best players in the league, and due to this is the highest priced player on Saturday’s slate. The dude is a rebounding machine, having grabbed 12, 12, 14 and 18 in his last four games. He is also just ahead of teammate Middleton in terms of point production. Also similar to his teammate, he sees a lot of time on the floor, averaging 35-40 minutes per game.
I can say that I will be playing both of these guys, but I won’t be rostering them in the same lineups.
Mid-Tier: Brandon Clarke | PF/C | $6,100
Memphis Grizzlies player Brandon Clarke is another player with eligibility at both power forward and center. I’ve also decided to include him here because there are a lack of mid-tier plays of higher quality at center. Prior to me jumping on to write this article, it was announced via FantasyLabsNBA that usual starting center Jonas Valanciunas would be out Saturday due to NBA health protocols.
Clarke has been shooting really well lately in three of his last four games, with percentages of .538, .600, .267 and .615. With Valanciunas not playing, we can expect an uptick in rebounds here assumedly. With average minutes of 30-34 I expect Clarke to hopefully top 40 fantasy points.
Value Play: Mason Plumblee | C | $5,400
Admittedly, I prefer Plumblee at the sub $5k mark. However the guy is quietly one of the more consistent fantasy producers for the Detroit Pistons. Over his two games he’s scored 34 and 36 fantasy points respectively.
Over his past three games, he’s shot a remarkable .833, .667 and .875 from the floor! He also grabbed double digit boards in each outing. I’d prefer the price tag a tad bit lower and the matchups not great, but I’ll have a fair amount of Plumblee in my rosters tonight.
Avoid: Bam Adebayo | C | $9,200
Adebayo played really well while the Heat were piecing together a limited roster. Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler are both listed as questionable currently. If they both play, Bam’s usage will take a major decline. With his price tag up from recently good production, there are better places out there to spend your money.
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