This is my final article of the week, and I’m ready to go out with a bang. I’ve been close to blinking a GPP a few times this season, but I have an excellent feeling about this slate. There’s a lot to discuss, though, so let’s go ahead and break it down!

We had a monstrous slate on Wednesday, but we’re back down to five games here. That’s a perfect amount for DFS, leaving us with a moderate player pool. The thing we need to track here is the injuries. There’s going to be a lot of value that opens up right before tip, and it’s tough to know who’s going to play at the time of writing this. We’re going to take some stabs and calculated guesses, so let’s kick things off with the odds!

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Schedule and Odds

• CHI at NYK (CHI -2.5) O/U: 214.5
• MIL at TOR (MIL -4.5) O/U: 216
• OKC at MEM (MEM -8.5) O/U: 216
• DET at PHX (PHX -13) O/U: 210.5
• SAS at POR (POR -3.5) O/U: 221.5

Check out our consensus game odds as well as the odds from each sportsbook at BettingPros

Injury Report

• Damian Lillard (abdomen) OUT
• R.J. Barrett (illness) Questionable
• Brook Lopez (back) OUT
• OG Anunoby (hip) OUT
• Gary Trent Jr (calf) Questionable
• Ja Morant (knee) OUT
• Kelly Olynyk (knee) OUT
• Devin Booker (hamstring) OUT
• Norman Powell (quad) Questionable
• Josh Giddey (illness) Questionable

Core Plays

Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF – MIL): $12,000 DraftKings, $11,000 FanDuel
Giannis and Jokic stand above everyone else in fantasy basketball right now, and it makes Antetokounmpo an easy choice on a five-game slate. The Greek Freak has at least 38 DraftKings points in every game this season, surpassing 63 fantasy points in six of his last 12 games. That upside is impossible to overlook, especially with Giannis averaging 27 points, 13.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 2.7 steals in his three meetings with the Raptors last season.

Dejounte Murray (PG – SAS): $9,800 DraftKings, $9,800 FanDuel
Murray is a triple-double threat on every slate right now. The stat-stuffing guard is averaging 19.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game for the season. That has led to him reaching at least 48 DraftKings points in 12 of his last 16 games, averaging nearly 50 fantasy points per game in that span. Facing Portland’s putrid defense only adds to his intrigue, with the Blazers ranked 29th in defensive efficiency ratings.

Chris Paul (PG – PHX): $8,600 DraftKings, $8,400 FanDuel
Phoenix finds themselves in the midst of a majestic 17-game winning streak, and CP3 is a primary reason why. He’s leading the league in steals and assists, scoring at least 33 fantasy points in 15 of those 17 games. He’s also providing a 41-point average in that span and could be asked to do even more here with Booker sitting due to his hammy issue.

Cash Game Considerations

Deandre Ayton (C – PHX): $7,600 DraftKings, $7,800 FanDuel
Many skeptics have called Ayton a bust because of Luka Doncic, but the gap between these two seems to be getting shorter by the day. The big man has been one of the best centers in the NBA, scoring at least 31 DK points in 11 of his last 12 games. He’s also got a 39-point average in those 11 fixtures, averaging nearly 18 points and 13 rebounds per game. That should be easy to do here, with Detroit ranked 22nd in defensive efficiency.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (PG/SG – OKC): $8,100 DraftKings, $7,900 FanDuel
SGA is the man in OKC, and he should be in for a massive role for the remainder of the season. What makes him so good is his athleticism, and that’s a recipe for success in a matchup like this. Memphis ranks dead-last in points allowed and defensive efficiency, playing at one of the fastest paces in the NBA. That’s big news for a guy who’s dropped at least 40 fantasy points in 11 of 19 games this year.

Dillon Brooks (SG/SF – MEM): $7,000 DraftKings, $5,800 FanDuel
It looks like Brooks will run the show in Memphis with Morant out for a few weeks. It’s evident in his usage, generating a team-high 37 percent usage rate with Ja off the floor this season. He’s also averaging over 1.2 DK points per minute while taking 25 shots per-36 minutes played. If those things continue, Brooks should be $1,000 more on DK and $2,000 more on FanDuel.

GPP Targets

Jaren Jackson Jr (PF/C – MEM): $7,100 DraftKings, $6,900 FanDuel
We just said that Brooks is running the show in Memphis but don’t forget about JJJ. He ranks second on the team in usage with Ja off the floor, averaging over 1.3 DK points per minute. He was undoubtedly the star in the first game without Morant, collecting 45 DK points in his second-best game of the season. We certainly don’t mind that OKC surrenders the second-most fantasy points to opposing forwards, either.

Jusuf Nurkic (C – POR): $7,000 DraftKings, $6,700 FanDuel
Nurk has been limited all season long, and it makes no sense why. The big man is averaging 36 DK points per game, despite barely cracking 25 minutes a night. That’s why we have him in the GPP section, but he’d be a cash game option if he played the 30 minutes he should. We like his recent form, too, averaging 39 DK points per game across 28 minutes a night over his last four fixtures. San Antonio is not the scary matchup it used to be either, with the Spurs sitting 22nd in points allowed. Look for Nurk to do more with Dame out as well,

Cameron Johnson (SG/SF – PHX): $4,200 DraftKings, $3,900 FanDuel
Cam could enter the starting lineup with Book out and that would make him a fantastic GPP play. Even if he doesn’t start, CJ should be looking at 25-30 minutes. If you look at the 33 games Johnson has played 25 minutes or more, he’s averaging over 20 DK points per game. That’s all you can ask for in this price range, particularly against a disastrous Detroit defense.

Value Plays

Robert Covington (PF/C – POR): $4,000 DraftKings, $5,200 FanDuel
RoCo has really struggled at times this season, but this DraftKings price is ridiculous. Covington has been a $6K player in the past and has performed at that level for most of this season. In fact, RoCo has at least 24 DK points in nine of his last 15 games and would have reached that total on Wednesday if he weren’t ejected. That means you have a 66 percent chance to reach 6X value, and you can’t ask for better odds in this racket.

Derrick White (PG/SG – SAS): $6,300 DraftKings, $7,200 FanDuel
White was slow to get going this season, but he’s starting to turn things around. The Colorado native has at least 38 DK points in three of his last four games, combining for 87 DK points over the previous two outings. That’s an absurd total from someone in this price range, and we love that he faces the second-worst defense in the NBA here.

Immanuel Quickley (PG – NYK): $5,000 DraftKings, $4,100 FanDuel
Now that Kemba Walker is out of the rotation, it looks like Quickley is in for an expanded role. That was certainly the case on Tuesday, with IQ dropping 26 DK points across 38 minutes. That minute total is absurd from someone this cheap, and it marks the fourth straight game he’s reached at least 23 fantasy points. Looking at the 12 games Quickley has played at least 27 minutes in his career, he’s averaging 32 DK points per game.

Advantageous Pricing

• Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF – MIL): $12,000 DraftKings, $11,000 FanDuel
• Fred VanVleet (PG/SG – TOR): $8,900 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel
• Zach LaVine (SG – CHI): $8,800 DraftKings, $7,800 FanDuel
• Cade Cunningham (PG/SG – DET): $7,900 DraftKings, $6,900 FanDuel
• Dillon Brooks (SG/SF – MEM): $7,000 DraftKings, $5,800 FanDuel
• Robert Covington (PF/C – POR): $4,000 DraftKings, $5,200 FanDuel
• Tyus Jones (PG – MEM): $5,500 DraftKings, $4,600 FanDuel

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