DraftKings’ main NBA DFS slate for Thursday starts at 7 p.m. ET and features the first six games of the night. Below, I dive into three of my favorite targets for this slate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $200K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st]
PG, Daniss Jenkins, Detroit Pistons at Washington Wizards, $5,000
The Pistons received some unfortunate news Thursday morning that Cade Cunningham (lung) will be out for an extended period. In his absence, Jenkins should start at point guard and is a must-play.
Thursday is the second of back-to-back games between the Pistons and the Wizards, and with Cunningham only available for five minutes in the first matchup, Jenkins finished with 34.5 FPTS off the bench. The guard has played seven full games with Cunningham inactive this season and Jenkins is producing 33.8 FPTS in 31.4 minutes per game with a 24% usage rate on those occasions. Notably, his best showing in a full game without Cunningham came against Washington back in November and Jenkins posted 47.5 FPTS that night.
The Wizards are one of the best matchups in the NBA. The club ranks second in pace and 28th in defensive rating. Even with Cunningham missing, Detroit carries a 123.5-point implied team total on DraftKings Sportsbook, which is a testament to how strong of a matchup this is. Another performance north of 40 FPTS is within reach for Jenkins tonight.
C, Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons at Washington Wizards, $8,800
Duren is another must play from the Cunningham-less Pistons. With Cunningham only available for five minutes Tuesday vs. the Wizards, Duren erupted for 57 FPTS. The center shot 13-of-17 from the floor and he saw a 30% usage rate. When the Pistons faced Washington back in November without Cunningham, Duren finished with 44 FPTS.
The first time All-Star has played three games with Cunningham inactive this season and Duren is leading Detroit with 50.5 FPTS per game in those contests. With Cunningham off the floor this season, Duren’s usage increases 2.7 percentage points to 26.4% and he scores 1.5 FPTS per minute, both of which are team highs.
The Wizards are giving up the most rebounds and third-most points in the paint this season. Washington is the ultimate matchup for centers and this has been evident lately, as four of the last five centers to face the Wizards have scored at least 46 FPTS. Duren is going to feast tonight and he could approach 60 FPTS again.
C, Goga Bitadze, Orlando Magic at Charlotte Hornets, $3,600
Bitadze should start at center for the Magic tonight with Wendell Carter Jr. (rib) out. Bitadze has started in each of the two games he has played without Carter Jr. this season and with the starting job, Bitadze finished 43.25 FPTS vs. the Pelicans and 21 FPTS vs. the Wizards.
Bitadze only played 21 minutes in that matchup with Washington, as Orlando ran away with a 17-point win, but in that matchup with the Pelicans that Bitadze thrived in, he logged 32 minutes in a competitive game that was only decided by 10 points.
Tonight’s matchup vs. the Hornets should be a close game and Bitadze should see around 30 minutes. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Charlotte is only favored by 5.5 points. The center is amassing 1.1 FPTS per minute while shooting 68% from the field this season and while the Hornets rank seventh in defensive rating, Bitadze should provide 25+ FPTS.
