The Pacers are sitting everyone in Friday. Well, almost everyone. On the second night of a back-to-back set, Indiana has ruled out Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard for tonight’s tilt with the Magic — who are also resting everyone.
T’is the season for roster hijinks.
Anyway, with so many names on the injury report, who should you turn to as a value option on DraftKings? Let’s break it all down.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $100K Fadeaway [$20K to 1st]
SG/SF Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers vs. Orlando Magic, $4,800
Anyone with a pulse is going to be viable for the Pacers this evening, as the team won’t have a single player available with a price tag above $5,000. Still, it seems like Mathurin is the asset that will possess the most upside.
Despite having played in a reserve role the past couple months, Mathurin’s 22.7% usage rate in 2024-25 is actually the third-highest mark on the team, ahead of teammate Tyrese Haliburton and only trailing the likes of Pascal Siakam and T.J. McConnell ($3,700) — who is another name to keep in mind for DFS. That usage rate jumps to a team-high 28.1% with both Haliburton and Siakam off the court this season, a scenario where Mathurin averages a respectable 1.00 FPTS per minute.
In a matchup with a Magic squad that will also be shorthanded, I’m expecting big things from the Canadian wing.
