It’s Tuesday, which means it’s a night of NBA games on the national stage! We get a five-game featured slate on DraftKings that pulls from PHX/ORL, CHA/BKN, TOR/DET, NYK/HOU and DAL/MIL. Whether you’re making your first foray into DFS hoops or you’re a seasoned veteran, we’ve got you covered with a couple of the top value picks and bargain plays for tonight’s lineups. Let’s dive on in, shall we?
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $100K Fadeaway [$20K to 1st]
Best NBA DFS value picks
C Sandro Mamukelashvili, TOR Raptors at DET Pistons ($4,400)
Coming in at an affordable $4,400 salary, I quite like Sandro Mamukelashvili as a bargain center tonight. If he earns half as many fantasy points as there are letters in his last name, we should be in good shape with him in our lineups.
Why do I like him in a matchup against the Pistons, who are known for their standout defense and hard-nosed identity? Well, the injury report for Detroit looks pretty brutal with Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart still out, Caris LeVert and Marcus Sasser questionable, plus another three probable names which include Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris. With those frontcourt guys likely playing through injury and Stewart’s continued absence, that defense probably won’t look nearly as strong as it has throughout the full season. There’s also additional upside for Toronto to build a big lead and let the bench play a little more than usual, which would benefit Mamukelashvili plenty.
Beyond those factors though, his own numbers have already been very solid this season. He averages 11.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting an efficient 52.1% overall and a solid 37.9% from deep. Those marks are good for an average of 23.0 FPPG, and Mamukelashvili is also a slight road warrior with 24.5 FPPG when playing away from home. He’s posted at least 22.8 DKFP in each of his last four matchups with outings of 29.5, 37.8 and 44.5 in that span as well. Recent form is encouraging so long as he gets 20+ minutes.
PG/SG Brandon Williams, DAL Mavericks at MIL Bucks ($4,900)
Maybe we’re pushing it a little bit at a salary of $4,900 here, but Brandon Williams has played excellent ball lately in terms of fantasy production. Let’s take a look.
The Mavericks’ point guard averages 24.1 FPPG this season with 12.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists a night, also tacking on 0.9 steals for an extra little boost. His team stinks, yeah, but Williams gets a pretty steady workload of what’s typically 20+ minutes a night and has turned it into some decent numbers most of the time. He just had 36 DKFP last night against the Timberwolves thanks to 15 points, six boards and seven assists, and he’s put up at least 20 DKFP in 10/12 matchups this March. That’s honestly enough for me since he’s bringing a very steady floor and nearly added one more 20-DKFP performance to his belt with 19.8 back on March 27. If we round up, that’s 11 games of 20+ DKFP in 12 tries.
A steady floor is more than you can ask for with a lot of lower-priced players, and while he had just two games of 36+ DKFP in these last 12 appearances, we’re paying up slightly compared to most value picks because of the consistency. Williams also gets a date against the Bucks, who are 26th against point guards. I like it a lot, especially with a very extensive injury report for Dallas that has Naji Marshall and Marvin Bagley III both sidelined to allow a little more production elsewhere in the rotation.
