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Fantasy Basketball Value Picks: Top DraftKings NBA DFS Bargain Plays for January 6

Kenny Ducey breaks down his top DraftKings value plays for Wednesday’s 11-game NBA slate, which starts at 7:00 p.m. ET.

New York Knicks v Atlanta Hawks Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Whooo boy. After a quiet Tuesday, we’ve got eleven games to watch in the NBA on Wednesday, meaning there are a plethora of options out there for your DraftKings lineups. Speaking of Tuesday, the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls all played last night, meaning they could be resting players on a back-to-back or dealing with fatigue on the court. We’re already running through some lower-cost options, but more could be available should some starters sit for these teams, so be sure to follow @dklive on Twitter and download the DK Live app to stay up-to-the-minute with all the latest news leading up to tipoff. We’ll let you know who should see an up-tick in minutes.

There are plenty of high-profile, high-priced options that are worth considering at the top of the salary structure, but you’ll need to balance out some of those hefty salaries with some cheap plays as well. Check out these four players who seem primed to outproduce their minimal salaries based on form, matchup and expected workload.

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $700K Shootaround [$150K to 1st]


SG/SF Garrett Temple, Chicago Bulls at Sacramento Kings, $3,300

The Bulls are hot! Chicago has now won four of five, and comes in fresh off an impressive win over Portland — a game in which they trailed by 20 at one point. With Lauri Markkanen still out and guards Zach LaVine (43) and Coby White (39) playing a ton of minutes on Tuesday, there should be value aplenty on the Bulls roster. I’m looking squarely at Temple, who is super cheap and also played big minutes for Chicago last night, totalling 28 for the game and hitting four three-pointers. Temple can play at the two or the three, and I expect him to get run at both positions, spelling both guards as well as Otto Porter Jr. Mix in the fact the Kings have the second-worst defense in the league against shooting guards — giving up 24.9 points per game to the position — and you’ve got yourself a strong play.


PG/SG Austin Rivers, New York Knicks vs. Utah Jazz, $3,600

The Knicks are one of the hottest teams in the NBA, while the Jazz are on a back-to-back and just got absolutely taken to the woodshed by the Brooklyn Nets — a game in which they showcased some very bad perimeter defense. Utah is allowing opposing two-guards to score over 27 points per game on better than 50% shooting, both well-below league average.

This play could be up-ended if Reggie Bullock ($4,200) suits up for New York, since he has gotten plenty of minutes this year for Tom Thibodeau, but I do think Rivers should be a great option at this price even if Bullock plays. Down the stretch of the Knicks’ thrilling win over the Hawks, it was Rivers who was taking (and making) the big shots for the Knicks as an integral part of their crunch-time lineup. New York is already without Alec Burks, meaning there’s plenty of minutes to be had at shooting guard, and after scoring eight points on 3-6 shooting in 33 minutes, I think the Knicks will go right back to Rivers to see if he can heat up and work into the rotation in his third game back from injury. Rivers went for 14.5 DKFP in 33 minutes Monday, but 20.5 in just 17 minutes the game prior, so I’m bullish on a good return on value if he can just play north of 20 minutes.


SF/PF Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets at Atlanta Hawks, $5,300

I know, this is a lot higher than the other salaries I’ve run through. This game holds the highest total on the slate, though, at 232.5 at the Draftkings Sportsbook, and we’ve got the Hawks coming into this one with the sixth-worst three-point defense in the NBA. We know Bridges takes a lot of threes in this offense — four per game, to be exact — and we know he has big upside, going for 48.0 DKFP against Dallas not too long ago on Dec. 30. The Hornets are going to need to look somewhere for points, and I think this is where they turn, especially in the second unit. Atlanta has also allowed the 28th-most DKFP to the small forward position.


SG/SF Luke Kennard, Los Angeles Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors, $4,100

I’ll keep this short and sweet. Kawhi Leonard is expected to miss this game, and we’ve got Kennard coming off a game where he saw a season-high 38 minutes with Paul George out. With the other wing now likely out for Los Angeles, Kennard should enjoy a relatively similar amount of playing time. The Clippers didn’t acquire the southpaw shooter on draft night to have him sit on the bench, they did so for nights like these, back-to-backs where they need shooting on the wing. Kennard shot five threes on Tuesday, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him eclipse his season-high of six here. The volume will be there for a big-time value at around $4K.

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $700K Shootaround [$150K to 1st]


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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is jetsfan196) 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 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.


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