Fantasy Basketball Value Picks: Top DraftKings NBA DFS Bargain Plays for January 20

For whatever reason, I’ve found myself watching Boy Meets World reruns in recent days, which obviously brings me back to ABC’s classic TGIF television lineup. Now, I was born in 1992, so your Family Matters might be my Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but in any case, that was the hot thing to do on Fridays in the 90s.

Now I just watch a lot of basketball. Like, a lot basketball. It’s hard to say whether or not that’s an improvement. But I can say for sure that we have a nine-game slate this evening.

Let’s dive into some values.

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SF/PF Dorian Finney-Smith, Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat, $3,800

Despite missing nearly a month due to a hip issue, Finney-Smith was thrown immediately into the fire in his return to the court on Wednesday. The forward logged 34.4 minutes in the 130-122 loss to Atlanta, grabbing nine rebounds and registering 24.75 DKFP. That minutes volume is why Finney-Smith was generally priced in the mid-to-high $4K range prior to his ailment, and the veteran’s workload should only increase with both Christian Wood (thumb) and Maxi Kleber (hamstring) currently unavailable. Finney-Smith is never going to be a high usage asset playing alongside Luka Doncic ($12,400), yet his floor is very intriguing at this modest price tag if he’s going to play more than 35 minutes on Friday evening.

C Isaiah Hartenstein, New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks, $3,000

Pardon the awful pun, but this isn’t necessarily a slam dunk play. Hartenstein hasn’t managed to score 20.0 DKFP in a game since all the way back on Dec. 9 and, despite Mitchell Robinson (thumb) leaving Wednesday’s loss relatively early in the first-half, the 24-year-old logged just 12.5 minutes against Washington. Really, it was Immanuel Quickley ($5,200) that seemed to benefit most from Robinson’s absence — something that is likely to continue in Friday’s tilt. Still, with the Hawks’ rotation featuring two capable big men in Clint Capela ($5,400) and Onyeka Okongwu ($5,200), I’m inclined to believe Tom Thibodeau will be forced to start Hartenstein. It would be the center’s eighth opportunity in the Knicks’ starting five in 2022-23, with Hartenstein averaging 20.1 DKFP in the prior seven. At the bare minimum, that’s all he’d need to be viable. Hartenstein’s also exceeded 30 minutes three times this season, so it’s not like there’s isn’t a path to a high ceiling, either.

PG/SG Ty Jerome, Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers, $3,000

By the time you’re reading this you’ll probably know more than I do at the moment, but I’m about to get into the mind of Steve Kerr. We can already make a pretty educated guess that Klay Thompson ($7,200) will not being playing the second leg of a back-to-back set on Friday. However, after an overtime loss on Thursday to Boston — a contest where Steph Curry ($10,400), Jordan Poole ($7,900) and Andrew Wiggins ($6,300) all played at least 39.8 minutes — I’ve got a hunch that we’re all about to experience a classic “the Warriors are resting everyone” game. That would open up an insane amount of value on this slate, yet I’d keep my eye fixed closest on Jerome, who showed himself quite well when Curry was recently sidelined due to injury. In fact, the five times Jerome’s registered at least 25 minutes of run in 2022-23, he’s averaging 26.4 DKFP. Not too shabby at the absolute minimum.

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $350K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is theglt13) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.