Buckle up for a busy night of basketball in the NBA. With the midpoint of the season nearly upon us, 11 games will tip off tonight, making for a jam-packed slate of games.
The opening matchup will take place in Philadelphia as it hosts the New York Knicks. This playoff rematch will be the second night of a back-to-back as Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and Joel Embiid each missed last night’s loss to the Thunder. Tipping off a half-hour later, the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics will face off.
Four games will tip off at 8:00 p.m. ET. This includes the Bucks hosting the Magic, the Grizzlies facing the Spurs, the Bulls taking on the Hawks, and the Pelicans playing the Nuggets. An hour later, the Denver Nuggets will host the Houston Rockets at the same time as the Utah Jazz face the Charlotte Hornets.
Three games will take place in the late slate. At 9:30 p.m. ET, the Minnesota Timberwolves will host the Golden State Warriors. A half-hour later, the Miami Heat will take on the Los Angeles Lakers, and the final game of the night, tipping off at 10:30 p.m. ET, will be between the Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets.
There are plenty of options for what to watch and even more opportunities to get involved in the action. One of the more unique features on DraftKings this year is Pick6 Fantasy Basketball!
This article will look at my top Pick6 plays for Jan. 15th. We simply choose whether a player will record more or less of the set statistic. Here are my six favorite plays for Wednesday night’s action.
Payton Pritchard More Than 2.5 Made Three-Pointers
The Boston Celtics will travel north of the border to face the Toronto Raptors tonight with these teams holding completely different outlooks on the season. Boston continues on its path to repeat and looks just as dangerous as it did last season. The Celtics trail only the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference and rank third in the NBA in margin of victory, winning games by an average of 9.3 points per game. In contrast, Toronto is 9-31 on the season and is much more focused on the development of its young players compared to the results in the win-loss column.
This game holds significant blowout potential, which would pave the way for increased minutes for Payton Pritchard. Even without an uptick in opportunity, Pritchard has proven to be a reliable scoring threat off the bench and one of the premier shooters in the NBA. The Oregon product is averaging 14.6 points per game and shooting 41.3% from beyond the three-point arc while attempting 8.4 long-range shots per game. This comes out to an average of 3.4 made three-pointers per game while Pritchard has made more than 2.5 three-pointers in 25 of the 39 games he has played this season. In addition, Toronto ranks 24th in opponent three-point percentage and 23rd in three-point shots allowed.
With a blowout opportunity firmly on the table and Pritchard continuing to prove his importance to this Celtics team, expect a strong output tonight. Expect this game to get out of hand and for additional minutes to be available for the 26-year-old. One way or another, expect Pritchard to make his impact felt in this game and capitalize on a porous perimeter defense by connecting on at least three three-pointers tonight.
Brook Lopez Less Than 16.5 Points & Rebounds
The Milwaukee Bucks will host the Orlando Magic tonight with these teams sitting in fourth and fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Orlando has done an impressive job navigating its injury issues and has leaned on its defensive identity for success. The Magic lead the league in opponent points allowed and also rank third in rebounds given up on the season.
Brook Lopez has been a vital part of this Bucks team for several years, but his age is starting to show. The 36-year-old is averaging 12.1 points and 4.7 rebounds across his 31.7 minutes per game. The former All-Star has been held to less than 16.5 points and rebounds in 20 of the 37 games he has played this season, including the past two games and four of the last six matchups.
While the Magic will be without Goga Bitadze, who has played extremely well this season and of late, they have a variety of youthful frontcourt options that will be a problem for Lopez. Jonathan Isaac exploded for his first 20+ point and 10+ rebound game since 2019 earlier this week and his athleticism will cause some issues against Lopez. In addition, Orlando is better equipped to stack up against Giannis Antetokounmpo compared to most NBA teams. So many of Lopez’s looks are created off Antetokounmpo attacking the paint and kicking to him on the perimeter, so expect these looks to be a bit more limited. Look for this youthful Magic roster to impose themselves defensively and for the 36-year-old to be held to less than 16.5 points and rebounds for the 21st time this season.
Nikola Jokic More Than 8.5 Assists
It is shaping up to be a two-man race for the NBA MVP with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic holding notable leads across the rest of the NBA. Jokic already has three of these awards to his name but is producing at a career-best statistical output. So far, the Serbian is averaging 31.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists while leading the NBA in three-point percentage at 47.1%.
The Nuggets will host the Houston Rockets tonight on the second night of a back-to-back after defeating the Mavericks last night. Houston is a tough defensive-minded team that ranks third in opponent points per game and ranks second in assists allowed on the season. However, Jokic is in a tier of his own when factoring in the impact that defenses can make on him.
Jokic has recorded more than 8.5 assists in 20 of the 33 games he has played this season and in seven consecutive matchups leading into tonight. He is averaging 11.3 assists per game across that seven-game stretch. While the bar is already incredibly high, Jokic has really stood out as a playmaker in recent games, so look for him to build off this against this youthful Rockets team. There has been some growth in chemistry across the team’s off-ball movement of late, so count on Jokic to successfully pick apart his opponent and tally more than 8.5 assists in the process tonight.
James Harden More Than 28.5 Points & Assists
Kawhi Leonard has made his return to the floor for the Los Angeles Clippers and walked into a better situation than most of us would have guessed. James Harden has done an excellent job keeping the franchise afloat as Los Angeles sits in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 21-17 record.
Looking at Harden’s production on the season, he is averaging 21.5 points and 7.9 assists per game. The three-time scoring champion and two-time assist champion has recorded more than 28.5 points and assists in 21 of the 36 games he has played so far this season. He has operated in attack mode much more than he has seemed to prefer in recent years but with Leonard back on the court, he may settle back into a playmaking-oriented role in the offense.
In addition, the Clippers will host the 14-26 Brooklyn Nets who are doing their best to get into the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. Don’t expect Brooklyn to have an answer for Harden as a scorer or playmaker and for the former MVP to be at the forefront of the team’s production against an inferior opponent. Leonard is expected to suit up for his fourth game of the season in this matchup but he remains on a minutes limit. When he is in the game, expect the focus to be toward creating looks for him, though Harden will still have to be the driving force of the overall offense. Count on Harden to be in attack mode and record more than 28.5 combined points and assists again tonight.
Alperen Sengun Less Than 10.5 Rebounds
The Houston Rockets have proven to be ahead of their expected developmental curve and look to be in the mix for the top of the Western Conference already this season. While there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about them as a team, Alperen Sengun will have his hands full as he attempts to match up with Nikola Jokic tonight.
On the season, Sengun is averaging 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists. However, he has been held to less than 10.5 rebounds in 22 of the 38 games this season. Sengun will be expected to battle it out with Jokic on the boards, who enters tonight’s game as the third-leading rebounder in the NBA at 13.2 rebounds per game. Taking matchups out of it, Sengun is averaging just 8.5 rebounds per game across his past six matchups.
There will be other nights in which Sengun is at the forefront of the Rockets’ rebounding production, but expect him to struggle while facing Jokic. Across nine matchups in their career, Sengun is averaging just 8.2 rebounds per game, including tallying as few as two rebounds in a 2023 matchup. He has recorded more than 10.5 rebounds in just two of these nine games. It is not time for the student to become the master just yet and count on Jokic getting the better of Sengun on the boards. Houston has other rebounding options whose size and athleticism may make more of an impact, but expect Sengun to be limited to fewer than 10.5 rebounds tonight.
Tyler Herro More Than 29.5 Points & Assists
Overshadowed by the Jimmy Butler trade drama has been the legitimate All-Star leap being taken from Tyler Herro. The former Sixth Man of the Year is averaging a career-high 24.0 points and 5.1 assists on the season. Herro is shooting 40.3% on three-point attempts this season while launching a career-high 9.7 attempts per game. He ranks fifth in the NBA in three-point volume.
The Heat will be in Los Angeles tonight facing off against the Lakers. While the Lakers still sit at 20-17 on the season, their biggest issues have been on the defensive side of the ball. They rank 20th in opponent points per game, 26th in opponent field-goal percentage and 19th in opponent three-point percentage. The Lakers continue to be glued to their switch-everything tactic on the defensive side of the ball and simply lack the personnel or effort level to be effective in this system.
Expect Herro to put it to the test and be active throughout this matchup. The Kentucky product has seen an uptick in on-ball opportunity amid the Jimmy Butler uncertainty and is making the most of it. He is coming off a 32-point, 11-rebound and seven-assist performance the last time he was on the floor and has recorded more than 29.5 points and assists in 17 games this season. With the bright lights of Los Angeles on him, a struggling defense attempting to stop him and Herro having reached this number in back-to-back games leading into the matchup, count on the Heat star to record more than 29.5 points and assists again tonight.
What is DraftKings Pick6?
Pick6 is a peer-to-peer fantasy variant where you build a lineup (your “Pick Set”) of at least two players and select whether you believe each will outperform their listed stat projection. Enter your Pick Set in Pick6 contests to compete against other users. Get enough picks correct and win a share of cash prizes.
How to Play DraftKings Pick6
Create a Pick Set
Create a Pick Set by choosing 2+ players from the same sport and Pick Group (a set of picks available from a group of set competitions). For each player, simply select if you think they’ll have more or less than their listed stat projection. In each Pick Set, you cannot pick the same player twice and you must select players from at least two different teams.
Enter an Amount
Once you finalize your Pick Set, choose your entry fee amount. Your entries will be automatically distributed into available contests, subject to your confirmation.
Sweat Your Picks
When the games go live, use the My Picks tab to follow your picks in real time to track how your players are performing against their projections and how they stack up against other users.
Compete for Prizes
Make enough correct picks and win a share of the contests’ guaranteed prizes. Any prizes won will be credited to your DraftKings account after contests are finalized.
Play at DraftKings Pick6 or by downloading the DraftKings Pick6 app on Apple or Google!
