Wednesday night the NBA has a solid seven-game main slate on tap for the main DraftKings DFS fantasy basketball contests, which tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET. It’s a juicy slate of matchups including the Pistons visiting the Hawks in the Eastern Conference and the Mavericks welcoming the Timberwolves in the Western Conference. The only team on the second night of a back-to-back is the Nets, so we should get to see most teams at full strength. While there is still some injury uncertainty, a few teams stand out as top DFS stacks for this Wednesday, January 22.
Make sure to watch today’s injury report for the latest news as we approach tip-off. Several important names are questionable, like Zion Williamson, Jalen Williams and Jalen Johnson. With the information available going into this afternoon, these are my top three DFS stacks to target.
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Charlotte Hornets at Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies play at the fastest pace in the NBA, so the Hornets are in a “pace-up” spot, meaning they’ll have more possessions and more potential for fantasy points. The Hornets’ rotation is also impacted by a key injury to Brandon Miller (wrist), who is out indefinitely, opening usage and value across the rest of their roster.
Core Plays: LaMelo Ball ($10,700) is the right place to start any Hornets stack and always brings an extremely high ceiling. He has 50+ fantasy points in four of his last five games, highlighted by a monster game against the Suns that earned him 66.5 fantasy points. Ball has the highest usage of any player in the NBA and is a pay-up play with both a high ceiling and a high floor. Mark Williams ($7,000) has also been excellent for the Hornets since returning from almost a year-long layoff. The trade of Nick Richards ($5,300) to the Suns opened up even more time for Williams in the middle, and he has delivered at least 40 fantasy points and a double-double in four straight games. Miles Bridges ($7,600) also picks up some work without Miller available and had 34.75 fantasy points on Monday against the Mavs.
Value Options: Without Miller, Nick Smith Jr. ($3,200) made his second straight start on Monday. He finished with 19 points and 27.75 fantasy points after producing 15 points and 24.25 fantasy points in his first start last Friday. Smith looks ready to make a splash in Miller’s spot and is barely more than the minimum salary. He’ll likely be an extremely chalky value play with very good reason. Other values to consider as well are Cody Martin ($3,900), Josh Green ($3,500) and the recently-acquired Josh Okogie ($3,000). Okogie had 15.5 fantasy points in 19 minutes in his Hornets’ debut on Monday, and he has proven he can stuff the statsheet when he gets the opportunity.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Houston Rockets
The Cavs will be without Evan Mobley (calf) and Isaac Okoro (shoulder) for a third straight game as they head to Houston to face the surging Rockets. Without those two players, minutes and shots are available for the rest of the Cavs to divide up in what should be a pretty high-scoring contest.
Core Plays: In the team’s four games without Mobley, Donovan Mitchell ($8,400) has averaged over 50 fantasy points per contest, and he also had 50+ fantasy points and at least 33 points in three of his last four games. Darius Garland ($7,400) has also benefited from the extra usage without Mobley, while Jarrett Allen ($6,800) has picked up more work down low. Allen had a double-double on Sunday against Phoenix, which was a nice bounce-back after struggling against Minnesota.
Value Options: Okoro and Mobley’s absences have also allowed the value plays some extra room to shine. Caris LeVert ($4,000; wrist) is questionable after missing Monday’s game, and if he’s out as well, Max Strus ($4,100), Georges Niang ($3,800) and Ty Jerome ($3,600) would all have great value potential. Niang had 34 fantasy points against the Timberwolves, while it was Tristan Thompson ($3,400) and Jaylon Tyson ($3,000) who emerged as value plays on Monday. Tyson had ten points, five boards and 22.25 fantasy points in just 15 minutes off the bench in that contest.
Detroit Pistons at Atlanta Hawks
Without the Wizards or Bulls to pick on, let’s go with another team on the road in a pace-up spot like the Hornets. The Pistons are in Atlanta to face the Hawks, who have the second-highest pace in the NBA and have allowed 115+ points in eight of their last nine games. The Pistons also come in with some extra pep in their step after scoring 110+ points in six of their last nine.
Core Plays: Cade Cunningham ($10,200) is the right place to start the Pistons’ stack and has 47+ fantasy points in five of his last six games, including a triple-double in Toronto that earned him 67.5 fantasy points. Jalen Duren ($5,500) has posted three straight double-doubles including a gen on Monday against the Rockets. In that game, he had 16 points, 14 boards and 50 fantasy points in 30 minutes. Tobias Harris ($5,600) is another mid-range play worth a look since he has been posting strong numbers and the Hawks allow the second-most fantasy points per game in the NBA to opposing power forward.
Value Options: Ausar Thompson ($4,300) hasn’t seen his production spike like his brother’s, but his salary is also much lower than Amen Thompson’s ($8,000) with the Rockets. Ausar has put up over 21 fantasy points in six of his seven games since moving into the lineup for Jaden Ivey (leg), and is a solid value option in this pace-up spot. Isaiah Stewart ($3,100) has been solid as a backup big if you need a bargain play at center, and Tim Hardaway Jr. ($4,000) always has a high ceiling if his shot gets going.
