DraftKings’ main slate for Monday includes the first nine games of the night. Below, I dive into three of my favorite DFS options to consider for this slate.
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PG, Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks vs. Golden State Warriors, $9,200
With Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) sidelined tonight, Lillard is a must-play. With Antetokounmpo inactive yesterday vs. the 76ers, Lillard went for 69.75 FPTS across 43 minutes, both of which set season highs for the guard. Lillard is now amassing 58.2 FPTS per game with Antetokounmpo out this season (six games) and those tilts, Lillard’s usage and assist rates have increased 4.7 and 13.7 percentage points, respectively.
Lillard is producing 1.4 FPTS per minute with Antetokounmpo off the court this season and this Warriors club that Lillard is facing Monday ranks 17th in defensive rating over their last ten games. Lillard should score nothing less than 50 FPTS in this spot. He’s one of the best values on the board Monday.
UPDATE: Lillard (hamstring) has been listed as questionable for Monday. Given this the Bucks’ second game in two nights, they could opt to rest Lillard, but with Antetokonmpo out and the Bucks 4-6 in their last ten, Lillard feels likely suit up and this questionable tag could depress his ownership if he is active. Now, if Lillard sits, Ryan Rollins ($3,500) would likely start and be a viable punt in that scenario. With Lillard inactive this season, Rollins is supplying 23.4 FPTS per game (seven games). Plus, Kyle Kuzma ($5,300) would become a terrific target in just his third game with Milwaukee, as the forward would likely garner a huge workload with both Lillard and Antetokounmpo missing.
PF/C, Bobby Portis, Milwaukee Bucks vs. Golden State Warriors, $6,300
Just like Lillard, Portis is a core play with Antetokounmpo sidelined. Portis starts in place of Antetokounmpo and in the ten games Portis has played without Antetokounmpo this season, Portis has been an elite fantasy asset with 47.5 FPTS in 32.2 minutes per game.
With Antetokounmpo off the court this season, Portis is scoring 1.4 FPTS per minute with a 27.9% usage rate, which is a 3.7 percentage point lift from his season average. Portis is vastly underpriced for his upside sans Antetokounmpo and is good chalk to embrace for all formats Monday.
SG/SF, Max Christie, Dallas Mavericks vs. Sacramento Kings, $5,000
With this tilt between the Mavericks and Kings carrying a slate-high total of 236.5 points and a tight one-point spread on DraftKings Spotsbook, this Western Conference matchup is the best game to target Monday and at only $5,000, Christie is the best way to gain access. Dallas just acquired Christie from the Lakers in the Luka Doncic deal last week and Christie has been a terrific fit with the Mavericks, scoring over 30 FPTS in each of his first three games with Dallas.
Despite coming off the bench in all of these games, Christie has ranked second on the team in playing time at 31.3 minutes per game during this stretch and he has closed all of these tilts with the Mavericks’ starters. Christie is scoring 1.0 FPTS per minute with a 20% usage rate as a Maverick and he should easily surpass five-times value against this Kings defense that ranks third-to-last in defensive rating over their last ten games.
