There are eight NBA games on Sunday’s slate amid an exciting stretch of basketball.
The Nets and Thunder are on the second night of a back-to-back. In addition, injury reports have been busy across the league with plenty of teams near the bottom of the standings going to some notable lengths to maximize their lottery odds.
Keep track of all the notable injury updates at DK Live.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, two double-digit favorites are remaining on the board: Timberwolves -13.5 over the Jazz and Clippers -13 over the Hornets. The Cleveland Cavaliers are already playing the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers are currently playing the Dallas Mavericks at the time of writing. The rest of the slate includes the Lakers -2 over the Suns, the Hawks -6 over the Nets, the Trail Blazers -6.5 over the Raptors, and the Thunder -5.5 over the Bucks. The matchup between the Jazz and Timberwolves is expected to have the most scoring as the over/under set at 234.5 for this matchup.
Here are my top three DFS value plays for the exciting slate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $150K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st]
PG Jamal Shead, Toronto Raptors at Portland Trail Blazers, $4,900
While organizations have set their gaze on maximizing their lottery odds, the players on the floor continue to compete with their job future in mind. This is especially evident with Jamal Shead who has made the most of his expanded opportunity with the Raptors. The Houston product plays with a pugnacious effort on both ends of the floor and sets a tone for this Raptors team.
On the season overall, Shead is averaging 6.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 rebounds per game. He is averaging 14.6 fantasy points per game based on DraftKings scoring but has eclipsed this number in six of his last seven games. Shead has started two of the past four games and is averaging 8.8 points, 5.0 assists, and 2.8 rebounds across this stretch.
Toronto will play the Portland Trail Blazers tonight who rank 17th in opponents’ points per game, 15th in opponents’ rebounds allowed, and 22nd in opponents’ field goal percentage. This will be the first matchup between these two teams this season. Shead is a more impactful winning player than it sometimes shows up in his DFS output but he has tallied as many as 40.0 fantasy points in a game this season. He also had 31.5 fantasy points in his last game. Jamal Shead will not win you the fantasy contest but be confident plugging him into the bottom of your roster and expect him to outperform his $4,900 price point.
C Duop Reath, Portland Trail Blazers vs. Toronto Raptors, $3,100
On the other side of the matchup, look for Duop Reath to assert himself for the Trail Blazers. The second-year big man has seen his role reduced during the season but has seen his opportunity expanded of late. Overall he is averaging just 7.9 minutes per game and producing 3.1 points and 1.4 rebounds. However, he has played 18.1 minutes per game across his past seven matchups and this is a game that has a chance to be his best statistical output of the season.
Toronto has their typical laundry list of injuries with several notable players listed as questionable. For Portland, Deandre Ayton remains out, Jabari Walker will miss with a concussion, Jerami Grant is considered doubtful, and Robert Williams III is listed as questionable with a knee strain.
Someone must produce for this Trail Blazers team and look for Reath to welcome the opportunity. Reath is averaging just 6.5 fantasy points per game but has tallied 16+ fantasy points in six of his last nine games. This is the same player who scored 24+ points in a game in three games last year and averaged 17.5 fantasy points per game on the season. The door has opened for him to receive expanded minutes and look for the South Sudan product to make the most of it. This is a risky play, but Reath is a better player than he has been able to show for most of this season. What is life without a little risk?
PF/C Trendon Watford, Brooklyn Nets vs. Atlanta Hawks, $4,600
Despite their place in the standings, the Brooklyn Nets continue to play with a high level of intensity and compete on a night-to-night basis. Just this week they came up short of the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 109-104 game and lost 115-113 to the Boston Celtics just last night. Brooklyn will be without D’Angelo Russell, Cam Thomas, and Noah Clowney for tonight’s matchup with the Atlanta Hawks.
Trendon Watford has made the most of his opportunity this season. In the 29 games he has played, he has logged 18.2 minutes per game and is averaging 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Watford is averaging 18.3 fantasy points per game on the season but has tallied as many as 39.0 fantasy points just two weeks ago.
Atlanta is a vulnerable defense that ranks 27th in the NBA in points allowed, 16th in opponents rebounds allowed, and 28th in opponents field goal percentage. Clint Capela is set to miss this game in addition to the extended absences of Jalen Johnson and Larry Nance Jr. Look for Watford to continue producing and cementing his NBA future with a strong performance tonight. His level of opportunity has expanded of late and look for him to put forth another strong performance by outperforming his DFS pricepoint tonight.
