Love is in the air and DraftKings is celebrating Valentine’s Day with a nine-game NBA main slate. The action gets underway at 7 p.m. ET and the final game tips off in Los Angeles at 10:30 p.m. ET. Let’s go position-by-position and break down everything you’ll need to know to set your lineups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $400K Micro Millions Opener [$100K to 1st, 150 Entry Max]
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POINT GUARD
Stud
De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings at Brooklyn Nets, $8,200 — The Nets are a mess. Their trade deadline move makes them the Eastern Conference favorite when they get healthy. For now, Harden is gone, and Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Joe Harris and Ben Simmons are out. This is Seth Curry’s team? It’s never a good sign when the best player was a bench player for his last team, and he is making his first start. The 22-36 Kings are four-point favorites on the road in Brooklyn. While the Nets are in a bad spot, the Kings are on the verge of a turnaround. Sacramento’s offense is complemented by Domantas Sabonis. Fox was already warming up before the addition (26 points or more in six of the last seven games). The Kings have won four of six and are 2-0 with Sabonis. Fox should only become more dynamic as the offense gels.
Other Options: Josh Giddey ($7,500)
Value
Ayo Dosunmu, Chicago Bulls vs. San Antonio Spurs, $5,900 — In three of the last five games, Dosunmu has scored 37 DKFP or more (29 or more in six of eight). The Bulls will again be without Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, but now Zach LaVine is out. On Saturday, Dosunmu played over 40 minutes for the second game in a row. His usage rate is an anemic 13%, but 40 minutes for the short-handed Bulls in a matchup with the Spurs (eighth in pace) carries a lot of upside.
Other Options: Bones Hyland ($3,500), Ty Jerome ($3,200)
SHOOTING GUARD
Stud
Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets, $9,200 — Jokic and Giannis stand out as the best players on the board on Monday night. Their matchups make them even more preferable, but the matchups could result in blowouts and limit their run. Mitchell is in a similar spot. The Rockets play fast (seventh in pace) and don’t play defense (29th in defensive efficiency). Mitchell should cruise to 50 DKFP, but can this game remain competitive long enough for Mitchell to go north of 60?
Other Options: C.J. McCollum ($7,900)
Value
Corey Kispert, Washington Wizards vs. Detroit Pistons, $4,100 — In the two games without Spencer Dinwiddie, Kispert has been great and garbage. Kispert scored 31 DKFP on Feb. 7 and 33.8 DKFP on Feb. 12, but sandwiched in between, he recorded 18 DKFP in 29.5 minutes. What is Kispert’s kismet? Being that he is a value play, he likely will be closer to garbage on most nights. This is not most nights. He is still cheap, and he draws a matchup with the lowly Pistons, who boost the fantasy points to opposing SG by 7%.
Other Options: Devin Vassell ($5,200)
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SMALL FORWARD
Stud
Kyle Kuzma, Washington Wizards vs. Detroit Pistons, $8,600 — Bradley Beal is on the shelf and the Wizards shipped off Spencer Dinwiddie. This is Kuzma’s team, and he’ll run the show as the point forward moving forward. Kuzma has score over 42 DKFP in six of his last eight contests, and only the last two have been the Kyle Kuzma show. In the last two, he has a triple-double and a near triple-double. On Monday night, Kuzma draws a dream matchup against an up-tempo team — every team is up-tempo compared to the Wizards — that plays poor defense.
Other Options: Khris Middleton ($8,400)
Value
Seth Curry, Brooklyn Nets vs. Sacramento Kings, $5,400 — This is a slight pace-up spot for the Nets, and they’re playing the 29th ranked defense. The Nets might still lose at home because the Kings have upgraded with Domantas Sabonis and the Nets’ roster is a hot mess. However, the roster is such a mess, that Curry could play over 30 minutes and have close to a 30% usage rate in his debut. It’s risky, but Brooklyn features some intriguing GPP plays on Monday night’s slate.
Other Options: Terance Mann ($4,300)
POWER FORWARD
Stud
EDITOR’S NOTE: Bucks PF/C Giannis Antetokounmpo (ankle) has been ruled out Monday vs. the Trail Blazers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks vs. Portland Trail Blazers, $12,000 — The Trail Blazers are yet another mess, but let’s hope they do not completely fall a part on Monday night. The last time the Bucks played the Blazers, the Bucks’ starters barely played in the second half. In the Feb. 5 matchup, Antetokounmpo scored 52.8 DKFP in 25.5 minutes. It’s unlikely that he will need to play 30 minutes — he is sporting a probable tag heading into this game — but if he does, 70 DKFP is not out of the question
Other Options: Domantas Sabonis ($9,700)
Value
Editor’s Note: Thunder SF/PF Lu Dort (shoulder) is listed as out tonight vs. the Knicks.
Luguentz Dort, Oklahoma City Thunder at New York Knicks, $6,200 — Without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort has become the Thunder’s leading scorer. Josh Giddey has been a great facilitator and a poor man’s Luka Doncic, but he’s not a scorer. Dort’s usage rate has exploded over the last four games. It’s been over 30 % in each contest and will likely be over that number again on Monday night in a matchup with New York’s 20th ranked defense. Both teams are playing at a very slow pace and at this price point, Dort will garner very little ownership on this slate.
Other Options: Kessler Edwards ($3,400)
CENTER
Stud
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets vs. Orlando Magic, $12,200 — There are two elite DFS options on Monday night: Giannis and the Joker. It’s one or the other, and both will likely work. Each have great matchups, but the matchups may be too good. Both teams are double-digit home favorites and this could limit their ceilings, but it also guarantees a very high floor. If there were other top-tier options available, then Jokic could easily be faded. There isn’t, so an inefficient but large raw score by Jokic could be optimal on Monday night.
Other Options: Nikola Vucevic ($9,800)
Value
Udoka Azubuike, Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets, $4,000 — Rudy Gobert is questionable, and it would make a lot of sense to leave him out for one more game. The Jazz will not need him versus the Rockets. The rotation has been fine splitting minutes between Hassan Whiteside and Azubuike. With the Jazz being 13.5-point favorites this is a great time to also give Whiteside a little rest and let Azubuike carry the bulk of the minutes. At his price, 25 minutes in an up-tempo matchup against a weak defense should result in a 6x return. In his five games in February, Azubuike has averaged 9.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 22.6 minutes per game.
Other Options: Hassan Whiteside ($5,900)
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $400K Micro Millions Opener [$100K to 1st, 150 Entry Max]
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