Remember when your grandparents used to sit down at the dining room table every Saturday morning and clip coupons out of the newspaper? Well, that’s sort of what this article is, but with less old people and scissors. We’re here to find the best value plays on tonight’s six-game slate. It’s pretty simple stuff.
Without further ado, let’s dive in.
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SF Georgios Kalaitzakis, Oklahoma City Thunder at Utah Jazz, $3,000
At this point, just name this article The Weekly Thunder Tanking Update, because that’s what the 2021-22 regular season has devolved into. I mean, if you’re going to do something, you might as well do it the best, so kudos to Mark Daigneault for his efforts on Tuesday. Despite the Thunder dressing 11 players — including the likes of Theo Maledon ($7,100) and Aleksej Pokusevski ($6,700) — Oklahoma City basically ran a six-man rotation against the Blazers, with two of those six guys literally making their debut for the team. I’ve never seen anything like it. Still, the joke on the Thunder, as they ended up somehow winning.
One of those two making their first-career appearance for Oklahoma City? Kalaitzakis. In fact, the 23-year-old led every Thunder player with at least five minutes logged in usage rate at 24.2%. Kalaitzakis was also one of four players to exceed 42.0 minutes of action, joining Isaiah Roby ($6,500), Jaylen Hoard ($5,000) and Zavier Simpson ($3,000). Obviously, it’s going to be difficult to guess what exactly Oklahoma City plans to do with its rotation on the second night of a back-to-back, but with Kalaitzakis and Simpson priced at the bare minimum, you have to at least consider the duo. Especially with 40-plus minute volume in the range of outcomes.
PG Carsen Edwards, Detroit Pistons vs. Dallas Mavericks, $3,500
With Cade Cunningham ($8,800) not listed on the Pistons’ injury report for Wednesday, it’s safe to assume the first-overall pick will be ready to go for Detroit against Dallas. That means we can’t simply take the team’s statistics from Sunday’s win over Indiana — a game played without Cunningham — and expect them to duplicate this evening. However, I do think it’s notable how large a role Edwards played in his first action since signing a two-year contract.
Though Edwards didn’t start versus the Pacers, he did end up first on the team in assists (9), second on the team in field goal attempts (15) and third on the team in minutes (30.6). It’s also not as if this level of production is completely out of nowhere, as Edwards will finish this season as the G League’s second-leading scorer, averaging a robust 26.7 points per game. The man can fill up a statsheet and the Pistons would’ve only brought him in at this point in the calendar if they were truly interested in seeing what he brings to the table. I’d expect Edwards to get some serious run tonight, even with Cunningham back.
SF/PF Patrick Williams, Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics, $3,500
It’s unclear if Williams’ move to the starting lineup on Tuesday was permanent. On the one hand, Chicago just needed someone to fill in for the injured Zach LaVine ($7,600; knee) and Williams’ size was welcome in a matchup with the Bucks. On the other hand, Williams’ role has been steadily growing in recent days and it’s obvious that he’s going to be a part of any turn-around the Bulls think they can pull off in the coming weeks.
I think there’s a chance Williams starts against the Celtics on Wednesday even if LaVine is available. Even if he doesn’t, in his last three games, the former lottery pick has logged 36.8, 29.7 and 31.7 minutes, respectively. That’s translated into Williams exceeding 26.0 DKFP in all three appearances. Boston’s one of the best defensive teams in the NBA and this is an absolutely awful matchup in a vacuum; yet Williams’ salary should simply be well-above $4K at this point. You have to take advantage of the disparity while you still can.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $300K Shootaround [$100K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (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.
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