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There are four games for Sunday’s NBA main slate with three games tipping off at 7:00 p.m. ET — the Philadelphia 76ers at the Indiana Pacers, the Brooklyn Nets at the Washington Wizards and the Orlando Magic at the Toronto Raptors. The late-night hammer is Cleveland Cavaliers visiting the Minnesota Timberwolves, which begins an hour later. DK Sportsbook has the Nets as the biggest favorite on the slate (-7.5) and that game has the highest O/U with a whopping 244.5 number.
Let’s break down some of the top studs and values at each position to help you build your lineups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $500K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
Point Guard
Stud
Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets at Washington Wizards, $9,300 – The Wizards play at the fastest pace in the league and are 28th in defensive efficiency. As mentioned above, this game has a whopping O/U of 244.5! Want more? The Wizards boost the fantasy points per minute to point guards by 10.36% above league average, good for the fourth-most generous. Not enough for you? Irving is averaging 1.31 DKFP per minute and 35.5 minutes per game. Still not convinced? James Harden is out for this contest. In games that Kyrie has played with Harden, he’s scored at least 50 DKFP in one of six games. Prior to Harden’s arrival in Brooklyn, Kyrie went over 50 DKFP in three of seven games, with one of those being a 61.5 DKFP explosion. Finally, in the past four games with Harden on the court, the usage rate for Kyrie has been 25.9%, 21.9%, 23% and 25.3%. In the four games prior to Harden’s arrival, the usage rate was 30.9%, 28.6%, 28.9% and 34.1%.
Other Options – Russell Westbrook ($9,000)
Value
Terence Davis, Toronto Raptors vs. Orlando Magic, $3,500 – OG Anunoby is out for this game while Norman Powell ($6,200) is questionable and unlikely to play as well. On Friday, when both were out, Davis received his first start of the season. Unfortunately, he only played 19 minutes but did contribute 19 DKFP. On the season, Davis is averaging 0.96 DKFP per minute, so there’s upside if he gets more playing time. Back on Jan. 20, Davis played 24 minutes and contributed 31.5 DKFP. At this price, the floor/upside combo is unmatched.
Other Options – Ricky Rubio ($4,800 - D’Angelo Russell is questionable)
Shooting Guard
Stud
Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards vs. Brooklyn Nets, $10,200 – Beal is coming off his worst game of the season, a 38.5 DKFP performance vs. the Hawks on Friday. In addition, the Nets have been very good against shooting guards this season, suppressing the fantasy points per minute by 24.45% below league average.
Now for the good. His usage rate was 38.2% on Friday and, that number has been above 40% in five of the past six games. Russell Westbrook missed half of those contests but Beal still garnered a 40% usage rate with him on the court.
These two teams met back on Jan. 3 with Westbrook starting as well. Beal contributed 27 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, one steal and two blocks in 36 minutes, good for 54.5 DKFP.
The price is high, but the production should justify it. It’s just hard to turn a blind eye to this game environment and the ceiling is Mount Sinai, as Beal has gone for over 70 DKFP in two games this season.
Other Option – Collin Sexton ($6,800)
Value
Bruce Brown, Brooklyn Nets at Washington Wizards, $3,800 – Early in the season, Brown had no role on this Brooklyn team. But then Spencer Dinwiddie went down while Kyrie and Kevin Durant ($10,100) both missed games. Since Harden joined the team, Brown has been playing around 15 minutes per game when the Big Three have been healthy. He’s also received two starts when Durant was unable to play. Harden has been ruled out for today’s contest, so there’s a chance that Brown gets another start. Even if he doesn’t, Brown should see over 20 minutes of playing time. On the season, Brown is averaging 0.83 DKFP per minute.
Other Option – Jeremy Lamb ($5,200)
Small Forward
Stud
Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets at Washington Wizards, $10,100 – Ownership percentages will be very interesting today, as there are plenty of good mid-range options, but this Nets-Wizards environment is so juicy.
On the season, Durant is averaging a robust 1.42 DKFP per minute and 36.7 minutes per game. In the six games that both Kyrie and Durant have played together without Harden on the floor, Durant has produced 40.75, 43, 41.75, 64.75, 48.5, and 51.75 DKFP. It took a few games for both to figure out how to play with each other but when they did, it was lovely from a fantasy perspective.
Other Option – Tobias Harris ($7,200)
Value
Yuta Watanabe, Toronto Raptors vs. Orlando Magic, $3,300 – On Friday, with both Anunoby and Powell out of the lineup, Watanabe played a season-high 24 minutes and contributed 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, good for 27 DKFP. Anunoby has already been ruled out while Powell is questionable to play on Sunday.
It wasn’t just on Friday when he’s contributed and made an impact this season. In the prior three games, Watanabe played 14, 15 and 21 minutes. Earlier in January, he received 16 and 19 minutes of playing time. He’s endeared himself to the coaching staff by doing the little things, hustling while not being a liability at either end of the floor, and has been labeled as the “new glue guy.”
Watanabe is averaging 0.88 DKFP per minute.
Other Options – Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot ($3,700)
Power Forward
Stud
Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors vs. Orlando Magic, $7,600 – Siakam has had an inconsistent season to date. He’s coming off a 40.5 DKFP game, but prior to that, he scored 26.25 DKFP. On the season, he’s produced fewer than 30 DKFP in four games while going over 40 seven times, with two 50-burgers.
Now he gets a matchup against the Magic, which doesn’t look great on paper at first glance. The Magic are 22nd in pace and 18th in defensive efficiency. Against the power forward position, though, they boost fantasy points per minute by 9.93% above league average, good for third-most generous.
Siakam is averaging 1.05 DKFP per minute and 35.6 minutes per game.
Other Option –Domantas Sabonis ($9,100)
Value
Jeff Green, Brooklyn Nets at Washington Wizards, $4,900 – Green scored single-digit DKFP in six of the first eight games of the season. Since then, he’s scored double figures in 12 consecutive games, with nine over 20 DKFP. Zooming in a little closer, he’s scored over 20 DKFP in each of the past six games while averaging 32.6 minutes per game. What changed? Nash has been utilizing Green as the small-ball center and he’s been closing games at times due to his ability to space the floor and take more lead-footed big men off the dribble.
Green is only averaging 0.67 DKFP per minute but has been playing a lot of minutes.
Other Option – Davis Bertans ($4,700)
Center
Stud
Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors, $8,700 – Vucevic is averaging 1.37 DKFP per minute and 33.1 minutes per game, but he’s coming off an 18.5 DKFP stinker against the Clippers. The low DKFP total was a shocker but struggling against the Clippers was not, as they have been suppressing fantasy points per minute to centers by 13.52% below league average, good for fourth-best. Prior to that game, Vucevic had scored at least 40 DKFP in seven straight, with two 50-burgers and a 69.5 DKFP whopper against the Nets.
Vucevic should have his way with Aron Baynes out on the perimeter and punish Chris Boucher down low on the blocks.
Other Option – Andre Drummond ($8,400)
Value
Alex Len, Washington Wizards vs. Brooklyn Nets, $3,500 – Len doesn’t start but, since coming over to the Wizards, he’s averaged 15.9 minutes per game. He only played six minutes in one game, which brings the average down. In the other three games, Len played 20, 19 and 17 minutes and scored 20.25, 24.5 and 25.75 DKFP. On the season, he’s averaging 1.16 DKFP per minute.
He now gets the juiciest matchup for centers in the league. The Nets boost the fantasy points per minute by 18.44% above league average, the most generous in the Association.
Other Options – Dwight Howard ($3,800 - Joel Embiid is questionable)
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $500K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
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