After an 11-game extravaganza on Sunday, the NBA has a lighter four-game main DFS fantasy basketball slate on Monday night to start out the work week. The first game tips at 7:00 p.m. ET in Washington, which is when the NBA DFS contests on DraftKings lock for the night. Even with a smaller slate, some options stand out as strong NBA DFS stacks for this Monday. “Stacking” is the strategy of including multiple players on your fantasy roster from the same team so that they can boost each other’s fantasy production in a favorable environment.
The Celtics, Nuggets, Clippers and Bucks are all playing for a second day in a row, so be sure to closely monitor the daily injury report throughout the day, since key players could be unavailable. Especially at this point in the season, be sure to check the latest injury news before tip-off and adjust your lineup if needed.
Set your DraftKings NBA DFS lineups here: NBA $300K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
Denver Nuggets at Utah Jazz
The Jazz have been a great matchup to stack against, and they’re an excellent “get right” spot for the Nuggets, who lost on Sunday in Minnesota. The Jazz have allowed a league-high 125.7 points per game on the season and the third-highest average of 125.4 points per game over the last five games. Utah has lost each of its four games since the break, allowing at least 115 points in each matchup.
Denver has lost three of four games, but has scored at least 103 points in 15 straight games. After taking tough losses to the Thunder and Timberwolves, they’ll look to bounce back and smash the Jazz in Utah on Monday night.
Core Plays: Nikola Jokic ($12,500) has been posting monster numbers despite the team’s recent struggles. He had 91.5 FPTS against the Warriors just over a week ago and had 70+ FPTS in each of his last two games. Even though he’s an expensive play, he can pile up production fast enough to be worth considering. He had a triple-double and 63.75 FPTS against the Jazz in 29 minutes just before Christmas. Jamal Murray ($8,800) can also be a good core play in a favorable matchup with 66.5 FPTS and 36.75 FPTS in his last two games. He has sat out some back-to-backs, so double-check his availability before playing him against the Jazz, who have been one of the top point guard matchups of the season.
Value Options: Cameron Johnson left Sunday’s loss with an ankle injury and Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and Payton Watson (hamstring) remained out as well. If all three are out on Monday, Tim Hardaway Jr. ($4,600) and Bruce Brown ($4,300) could get more work. Spencer Jones ($3,800) could also return to a large role if he can get back on the court after missing Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury.
Houston Rockets at Washington Wizards
The Wizards have been another great matchup to attack this season, even though their defense has been slightly better lately. They have allowed the second-most points per game in the NBA this season and the second-most points per game in the last 10 games.
The Rockets dropped a tough game in Miami in Saturday but will look to get back on track with a big night in D.C. They will remain with Jabari Smith Jr. (ankle) for a second straight game, which opens up some nice value options as well.
Core Plays: While Alperen Sengun ($9,400) has a very high ceiling, he’s had a few rough games against the Magic and Heat. He’s in a great bounce-back spot but does come with more risk than Kevin Durant ($8,900), who has posted 50+ FPTS in each of the last two games, averaging 49.3 FPTS over his last six. Amen Thompson ($7.900) also has a high ceiling but has been up-and-down lately.
Value Options: Without Smith, Reed Sheppard ($5,700) moved into the starting lineup and had 14 points, five assists, four rebounds and 30.5 FPTS. He has over 30 FPTS in three straight games and should have a great matchup against the Wizards’ beatable backcourt. Dorian Finney-Smith ($3,900) and Josh Okogie ($3,700) also have some added upside with Smith out, although neither has produced huge scoring games lately.
Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks
While the Rockets and Nuggets are both coming off losses and looking to bounce back, the Celtics are looking to build on some nice momentum from a big win against the 76ers on Sunday night. Since they’re on the road for the second night of a back-to-back, the injury report will be key to see who is in the rotation and who is possibly getting the night off.
The Celtics have won six of their last seven and 11 of their last 13 as they roll into Milwaukee. The Bucks have given up at least 116 points in six straight games, including 127 to the Knicks and 120 to the Bulls in their two most recent games. The Celtics just had 148 points against the Nets last week, and they have the potential to go off for huge numbers if they start hitting from long-range.
Core Plays: Boston’s success this season, even without Jayson Tatum, has been due to Jaylen Brown ($9,700) stepping up as a true superstar producer. Brown had 47.5 FPTS on Sunday with 27 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. He has over 45 FPTS in each of his five games since the All-Star break and is a reliable play with a high ceiling to center your stack around. Derrick White ($8,200) picked up the slack for Payton Pritchard ($7,200) on Sunday, as Pritchard somehow had zero points in 27 minutes. White had 49 FPTS and can be a solid secondary option in a Celtics build for Monday’s NBA DFS stacks.
Value Options: Neemias Queta ($5,200) went off for 60.75 FPTS on 27 points and 17 rebounds on Sunday and has that kind of upside with three double-doubles in his last five games. Baylor Sheierman ($4,300) is also a good option since he’s getting lots of work on the wing. He had 12 points in 32 minutes for 22.5 FPTS. He produced over 21 FPTS in three of his last four games. Sam Hauser ($4,900) and Hugo Gonzalez ($3,500) have been up-and-down but offer upside at their price point, especially if any of the main Celtics get Monday night off.
