The NBA honors Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday with a five-game afternoon slate that locks at 2:00 p.m. ET. None of the 10 teams in action played on Sunday, so there shouldn’t be any complications due to playing a back-to-back. Monday’s slate includes some juicy matchups including the Hawks rolling into Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks and the Timberwolves in Memphis to face the Grizzlies. With 10 teams in the player pool, there are multiple ways to put together your roster for Monday afternoon. Even though there’s still some injury questions, a few teams stand out as top DFS stacks for this Monday, January 20.
Make sure to watch today’s injury report for the latest news as we approach tip-off. Several big names are questionable, like Karl-Anthony Towns, Stephen Curry and Ja Morant. With the information available going into this Monday morning, these are my top three DFS stacks to target.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $200K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st]
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Phoenix Suns
The Cavs are tied with the Knicks for the highest implied team total coming into the day, as they look to continue their impressive run through the Eastern Conference. Cleveland is 35-6 and bounced back from a bad loss to the Thunder last week by beating the Timberwolves on Saturday. On Monday, they will be without Evan Mobley (calf) and Isaac Okoro (shoulder) for a second straight game, giving the rest of their roster a nice usage boost.
Core Plays: Darius Garland ($7,400) is my favorite place to start the Cavs’ stack. He had 29 points and 46.25 fantasy points on Saturday without Mobley and has averaged 46.6 fantasy points per game in the three games Mobley has missed this season. Donovan Mitchell ($8,300) is a little more expensive and hasn’t been quite as consistent, but he has also been very good with Mobley out, averaging 52.6 DraftKings points in those three contests including his 59 fantasy points on Saturday against Minnesota. Center Jarrett Allen ($6,600) actually didn’t have a huge game without his frontcourt mate on Saturday, posting only 22 fantasy points in 36 minutes against the Timberwolves. That was against the Stifle Tower, though, and he should get a softer matchup on Monday against the Suns.
Value Options: Okoro’s absence opens playing time for Dean Wade ($3,700), Max Strus ($3,800) and Georges Niang ($3,500). Caris LeVert ($4,200) isn’t quite as cheap but also brings good upside with more potential work. Ty Jerome ($3,400) has been excellent as a bargain play and has scored at least eight points in six straight games with 19+ fantasy points in five of those six contests. He had 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and 28.5 fantasy points on Saturday in 22 minutes against Minnesota, and he’s my favorite value from the Cavs.
Houston Rockets vs. Detroit Pistons
The Thompson twins (no relation to the author of this post) face off in this early matchup in Houston. Amen Thompson ($8,200; calf) has been hot lately but could miss a second straight game after being listed as questionable. His Rockets have bee rolling with wins in six wins in their last seven games and an average of 124.7 points per game over that stretch. The Pistons have been much better on defense this season but still give up 113.3 points per game, and the Rockets should be a solid source of point production on Monday.
Core Plays: The Rockets’ recent boost has been built around Alperen Sengun ($9,300) and Jalen Green ($7,800). Sengun has over 45 DraftKings points in three straight and five of his last six games. He’s coming off 23 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and 57.25 fantasy points against Portland on Saturday. Green has also been red hot, scoring over 25 points in eight straight games and making at least four three-pointers in each of thos contests.
Value Options: Thompson’s potential absence opens up value on the wing for the Rockets. Cam Whitmore ($4,300) has been the best value producer lately, with at least 18 fantasy points in eight of his last nine contests. He had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double on Saturday in Portland, producing 32.5 fantasy points in just 27 minutes. Steven Adams ($3,300) has also been posting solid numbers coming off the bench. Tari Eason ($5,600) just came back from a long layoff but The Bucket From The Bayou has picked up right where he left off scoring over 15 points in each of his two games back and finishing with 40 fantasy points on Saturday.
Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics
The Warriors aren’t usually a place to value shop, but injuries have left them extremely short-handed as they host the Celtics. Stephen Curry ($9,000; ankle) is questionable, so even more value could open up, but the team already listed Jonathan Kuminga (ankle), Draymond Green (calf), Kyle Anderson (glute) and Brandin Podziemski (abdomen) as out.
Core Plays: Andrew Wiggins ($6,300) has been excellent since coming back from a two-game personal absence on the Warriors recent road trip. He scored 20+ points in each of his three games since returning and dominated with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 59.75 fantasy points against the Wizards on Saturday. Dennis Schroder ($5,100) would also step into a larger role if Curry is out, and Trayce Jackson-Davis ($5,600) has been very steady at center, pulling in 15 rebounds in each of his last two games and double-digit boards in four of his last five.
Value Options: Buddy Hield ($4,700) has a very high ceiling if he gets more playing time and could end up with a ton of usage. He isn’t typically the most efficient scorer, but he does take plenty of shots when given the chance. He posted at least 25 fantasy points in five straight games before a down game on Saturday. There should also be bargain plays who get significant minutes. Moses Moody ($3,500) has scored double-digit points in back-to-back games and would get more work if Curry is out. Gui Santos ($3,000) started at power forward last Wednesday with Draymond, Anderson and Kuminga out, and he finished with 18.75 fantasy points. He also had two games in the Warriors’ recent trip with double-digit points and over 23 fantasy points, so the Brazilian brings some upside at the minimum salary.
