Friday’s six-game DraftKings NBA DFS main slate tips off at 7 p.m. ET, with injuries creating opportunities in Charlotte and Orlando. The Hornets remain without Coby White and Kon Knueppel, while Anthony Black’s absence leaves the Magic short a backcourt contributor. Here are three affordable options to consider alongside tonight’s expensive stars.
You don’t want to grab too many high-end players, as that will leave the rest of your lineup bare. We’ll take a look at some bargain pickups ahead of today’s matchups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $300K Friday 8’s [$100K to 1st]
PG Dennis Schroder, Charlotte Hornets vs. Atlanta Hawks ($4,900)
The price has gone up! Schroder’s salary has climbed, but Charlotte is still giving Dennis the Menace enough responsibility to justify a closer look tonight. He started Wednesday’s opener and supplied 19 points, six assists, and four boards in 34.7 minutes to net 31.5 DraftKings fantasy points despite missing all three of his attempts from deep.
With White (calf) and Knueppel (hamstring) out again, the Hornets have fewer alternatives to handle the ball and create offense. His six assists contributed nine fantasy points, giving him a different avenue to return value beyond just scoring. At $4,900, that combination of starting minutes and playmaking responsibility is definitely interesting.
PG Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic vs. Minnesota Timberwolves ($5,300)
Six points on 2-of-8 shooting wasn’t an exciting start for Suggs, but his 32 minutes in Wednesday’s opener is encouraging to see. He still contributed five assists, three rebounds, and two steals, showing how he can stay involved in different ways. His defensive contributions have always been stellar, with Suggs supplying a monstrous 2.0 SPG per-36 minutes throughout his entire career.
Last season, Suggs averaged 13.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 3.9 RPG, 1.8 SPG, and 0.7 BPG in just 27.6 MPG, giving him all these different ways to produce at this price. Black remains out with an ankle injury, which only leaves more playing time for Suggs. Even if Suggs has an average shooting night tonight, a return toward his usual scoring alongside those peripheral contributions would make $5,300 an appealing and worthwhile investment.
C Moussa Diabate, Charlotte Hornets vs. Atlanta Hawks ($5,200)
It was a monstrous season debut for the young big man in Charlotte, who logged 33.6 minutes in the season opener alongside five steals. He finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, and three assists against Brooklyn, with five of those rebounds coming on the offensive glass. That rebounding activity is no fluke: he averaged 8.7 RPG, including 3.7 offensive RPG, alongside 1.9 APG and 1.0 BPG in 26 MPG last season.
Wednesday’s line produced 39.5 DraftKings fantasy points, and even removing all five steals would leave 29.5. Another five-steal performance is absurdly unrealistic, but a workload near 30 minutes gives him room to outperform this salary through rebounding, interior scoring, and defensive contributions.
