Even though Friday night is a smaller NBA slate, it’s still a great night for DraftKings DFS fantasy basketball contests, which tip off at 7:00 p.m. ET. Of the six teams in action, only the Trail Blazers are finishing a back-to-back, although the other five teams will all turn around and play again on Saturday as part of the NBA’s 14-game schedule. Even with only six teams in the player pool, a few teams stand out as top DFS stacks for this Friday, January 24.
Make sure to watch today’s injury report since there are several important names questionable, like LaMelo Ball, Ja Morant and Miles Bridges. With the information available going into the day, these are my top three DFS stacks to target.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $333K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
New Orleans Pelicans at Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies play at the fastest pace in the NBA, putting the Pelicans in a nice “pace-up” spot, meaning they’ll have more possessions and more potential for fantasy points. This game has the highest over/under on the slate by a wide margin as a result of both teams’ tendencies to play fast. The Pelicans should be well rested after their last game was canceled on Wednesday, and they have picked up a little momentum after winning four straight. Before the recent little winning streak, they won just eight of their first 40 games.
On Friday, they’ll still be without Brandon Ingram (ankle) and Zion Williamson (reconditioning), which should leave plenty of production available for the rest of their rotation.
Core Plays: CJ McCollum ($7,600) had back-to-back monster games against the Jazz in the team’s last two games. After scoring 26 points and producing 42.25 fantasy points last Friday, he dropped 45 points and 68.5 fantasy points in Monday’s overtime win. Trey Murphy III ($8,200) has also been excellent, producing at least 43 fantasy points in five of his last six games. No team in the NBA has allowed more fantasy points per game to opposing small forwards than the Grizzlies, and Murphy had 48.25 fantasy points against them when they met at the end of December.
Value Options: Without Zion, Yves Missi ($5,100; illness, probable) will likely get more work down low and his expected return will likely slide Daniel Theis ($4,600) back to the bench. Javonte Green ($3,600) could start in Zion’s place but is normally a low-usage, three-and-D wing. Jordan Hawkins ($3,400) is another strong value option coming off the bench for the Pelicans, scoring at least nine points and playing at least 20 minutes in each of his last four.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Philadelphia 76ers
The Cavs will be without Evan Mobley (calf) and Isaac Okoro (shoulder) for a fourth straight game as they visit the Sixers. While Philly will also be shorthanded (more below), it should be a good spot to roll with the Cavs, who will be looking to bounce back after losing in Houston.
Core Plays: In the team’s five games without Mobley this season, both Donovan Mitchell ($8,400) and Darius Garland ($7,400) have benefited from the extra usage. Garland is a little cheaper and has averaged 43.4 fantasy points in his five games without Mobley this season. He missed key free throws in Wednesday’s loss but will be looking to bounce back in a big way on Friday. Whenever Mobley is out, Jarrett Allen ($6,800) has picked up more work down low, posting back-to-back double-doubles, earning 29.75 fantasy points against the Suns and 47.75 fantasy points against the Rockets.
Value Options: With Okoro out, Caris LeVert ($4,000; wrist) could get more time, but he is questionable after missing two straight games with his own injury. While he has been out too, Dean Wade ($3,900) and Georges Niang ($3,800) have gotten lots of playing time while Ty Jerome ($3,600) and Sam Merrill ($3,300) have held down minutes in the backcourt.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
On the other side of that matchup, the Sixers continue to offer some strong plays since they are missing key pieces, especially in the frontcourt. The big one is obviously Joel Embiid (knee), while Andre Drummond (toe) and Caleb Martin (hip) also being out opens up more usage and playing time.
Core Plays: Tyrese Maxey ($10,000) is the focus of the offense as he has been all season and is a strong pay-up play to consider, especially if LaMelo Ball is not a pay-up play at the position. Maxey will have help from Paul George ($8,000) and Kelly Oubre Jr. ($6,000), who have both shown upside at times this season.
Value Options: Without Drummond and Embiid, Guerschon Yabusele ($5,000) will be a top option with a big workload. He just returned from his own injury absence on Tuesday and came off the bench behind Drummond to score a new career-high 22 points. He showed a very high upside without both big men earlier this month, and he’ll have to absorb lots of minutes against the Cavs. Justin Edwards ($3,800) is another interesting play with Martin out. He has been getting plenty of minutes but his usage has been inconsistent.
