DraftKings’ main NBA DFS slate for Monday starts at 7:00 PM EST and features the first six games of the night. DraftKings continues to offer huge contests for DFS players, and below, I dive into three of my favorite bargain plays for this slate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $150K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st]
SG, Sam Merrill, Cleveland Cavaliers at Utah Jazz, $4,600
The Cavaliers are facing a league-worst Jazz defense and carry a huge 130-point implied team total on DraftKings Sportsbook, which is the second-highest on the slate. More importantly for Merrill, Cleveland will be shorthanded. Jarrett Allen (knee), Jaylon Tyson (toe), Max Strus (foot) and Dean Wade (ankle) are all out. Merrill hasn’t played any games without all four of these players, but in the three he has played sans Allen and Tyson, Merrill is producing 30.2 FPTS in 31.1 minutes per game.
Merrill likely will see even more playing time with Strus and Wade also out of the picture, and with all four of these players off the court this season, Merrill’s usage rises a team-high 4.4 percentage points to 21.4% and he scores 0.9 FPTS per minute. Merrill’s $4,600 by no means reflects this situation and he is a core play for this slate.
SG/SF, Keldon Johnson, San Antonio Spurs vs. Chicago Bulls, $4,300
Johnson has been making a late season push to win Sixth Man of the Year. The veteran has scored at least 26 FPTS off the bench in four straight games, with the highlight of this run being a 36 FPTS outing vs. the Pacers. Currently, Johnson is the favorite to win the award with -200 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. After a three-game road trip, the Spurs are back home tonight and in a prime matchup vs. the Bulls.
Chicago ranks third in pace and 23rd in defensive rating this season, and San Antonio’s 131.5-point implied team total on DraftKings Sportsbook is the highest on the slate. While Johnson just thrived on a road trip, being back home is great news for him, as Johnson has always been a more productive home player throughout his career. Over the last three seasons, Johnson is averaging 4.0 more FPTS per game at home than on the road. The 26-year-old is generating 1.0 FPTS per minute with a 20% usage rate this season and Johnson is an affordable way to attack the Spurs that has a ceiling over 30 FPTS.
SG/SF, Collin Sexton, Chicago Bulls at San Antonio Spurs, $5,000
Opposite of Johnson, Sexton is a great target at only $5,000. Ranking third in defensive rating, the Spurs are a tough matchup, but Sexton has been excellent as the Bulls’ sixth man and he has put up strong numbers in some tough matchups lately. Sexton just posted 34.75 FPTS vs. the Thunder’s league-best defense this past Friday, which is the fourth time in his last seven that he has scored at least 34 FPTS.
Since joining Chicago at the trade deadline last month, Sexton is leading the team with a 25.6% usage rate and he is producing 1.0 FPTS per minute. No matter the matchup, $5,000 is just too low of a salary for Sexton and being able to roster him as a forward tonight makes him one of the top values on the board.
