Griffin Wong dives into Wednesday’s 13-game slate to find undervalued players to use in your DraftKings lineups.
The NBA is entering its last hurrah before the All-Star break: 26 of the league’s 30 teams will play their final games before the intermission as part of tonight’s 14-game offering. 13 of the 14 contests are available as part of tonight’s featured DFS contest on DraftKings, with the 10 p.m. ET national TV contest between the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors getting its own Showdown contest.
With almost the entire league in action, there are lots of options for tonight’s contest, but with only $50,000 of salary and eight player slots available, choosing the right players is critical. I’m not entering tonight’s contest, but if I were, here’s the players I would choose:
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $300K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
Guard
Stud
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls, $9,800: Brown has played at an MVP level this season while replacing Jayson Tatum, who’s likely to be out for the season with his torn Achilles. He’s pretty much a guarantee to score at least 26 points — he’s done so in each of his last four games — and he can also be a threat on the boards, having recorded two double-doubles in his last four games. He should have an excellent matchup against a Bulls team that has allowed the 10th-most FPTS to opposing wings, and his drive-heavy style should serve him well against a team without a center. Chicago has allowed the most restricted-area tries per game in the league, and Brown has converted such shots at a 72.1% clip this season.
Value
Daeqwon Plowden, Sacramento Kings at Utah Jazz, $4,200 – Plowden demonstrated what he could do with a starter’s minutes load in Saturday’s loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers, scoring 16 points, snagging six rebounds, and dishing out four assists (31.5 FPTS) in 39 minutes. With Sacramento resting Domantas Sabonis ($8,400), Russell Westbrook ($7,700), Zach LaVine ($6,800), Keegan Murray ($5,800), De’Andre Hunter ($4,600), and Malik Monk ($4,200), Plowden should be on the court for the majority of the game. Lauri Markkanen ($8,000) and Jaren Jackson Jr. ($7,500), the only two players who keep Utah’s defense even semi-respectable, probably won’t be on the court in crunch time. A high-scoring, even if inefficient, performance could be on the cards tonight for Plowden.
Forward
Stud
Jaylon Tyson, Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards, $6,000 – Tyson is on the budget end of stud options, but that doesn’t make him any less of a stud. Across his last 12 games, he’s averaged 17.8 points and 5.8 rebounds (31.3 FPTS) per game on 52-52-79 shooting splits, and his emergence could’ve been part of the reason that the Cavaliers opted to move on from Hunter at the trade deadline. In particular, Tyson leads the league in three-point percentage over expectation, and he should get lots of easy looks playing alongside the player who ranks sixth in creation leverage, newly-acquired point guard James Harden ($9,000). Plus, Washington’s young defense has allowed the third-most FPTS per game to wings.
Value
Taylor Hendricks, Memphis Grizzlies at Denver Nuggets, $4,200 – Hendricks was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Jackson to the Jazz, and he’s finally getting the most consistent playing time of his season after he’d fallen out of Utah’s rotation. He had his first good game as a member of the Grizzlies in their most recent matchup, dropping a 15-point, 10-rebound (39-FPT) double-double in a narrow defeat against the Golden State Warriors, and he should continue to get plenty of opportunity in Memphis’ front-court while Santi Aldama ($6,000) remains sidelined. The Nuggets haven’t been good at defending opposing wings, especially since defensive anchor Aaron Gordon ($6,700) went down. In the last eight games, since Gordon’s latest injury, Denver ranks fourth-to-last in defensive rating.
Center
Stud
Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat at New Orleans Pelicans, $8,700 – Adebayo has had an up-and-down scoring season and hasn’t been utilized as much as a playmaker as he has in seasons past, but in his last 12 games, he’s rediscovered his dominant form in the paint, averaging 22.0 points and 10.3 assists (43.4 FPTS) per game across that span. His usage should be high for tonight’s game, as the Heat have a fairly long injury list, headlined by All-Star Norman Powell ($7,200). New Orleans has allowed the sixth-most FPTS per game to opposing centers, thanks to the fact that it has allowed the second-most shot attempts in the restricted area and has the seventh-lowest total rebounding percentage.
Value
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Charlotte Hornets vs. Atlanta Hawks, $4,900 – Kalkbrenner has been the less-discussed of the Hornets’ impactful rookies, and he hasn’t had a massive influence as of late, not topping 20 minutes in any given game since January 26 and averaging only 14.9 FPTS per game across that span. However, he should step back into the starting lineup with Moussa Diabaté ($5,300) suspended for his role in a brawl with the Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren ($7,700) and Isaiah Stewart ($5,400). Kalkbrenner should have a good opportunity against the Hawks, who have ranked third-to-last in rebounding percentage since trading for CJ McCollum ($6,800) and Corey Kispert ($4,200) 15 games ago.