NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer: Monday (2/7)

Get ready for a wild week. The trade deadline is on Thursday, and there will be some crazy things that happen throughout the week. We already had one big trade over the weekend, and we anticipate more in the coming days. Be sure to monitor that every day because you don’t want to get stuck with a big fat zero in your lineup!

We had some massive slates over the weekend but are down to just five games here. It looks like it’s going to be a fun slate, too, with four of the five games having single-digit spreads. That always makes things easier on us with limited blowout potential and it has me excited to break these 10 teams down! With that in mind, let’s kick things off with the schedule and odds!

View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet

Schedule and Odds

• MIA at WAS (MIA -4.5) O/U: 209.5
• TOR at CHA (CHA -1) O/U: 226
• PHX at CHI (PHX -6) O/U: 228.5
• GSW at OKC (GSW -11.5) O/U: 213
• NYK at UTA (UTA -7) O/U: 213.5

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

Injury Report

• Bradley Beal (wrist) OUT
• Zach LaVine (back) Questionable
• Lonzo Ball (knee) OUT
• Jimmy Butler (toe) Questionable
• Tyler Herro (knee) Questionable
• Alex Caruso (hand) OUT
• Coby White (groin) Questionable
• Draymond Green (back) OUT
• Otto Porter (back) Questionable
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) OUT
• Luguentz Dort (face) Questionable
• Derrick Rose (ankle) OUT
• Rudy Gobert (calf) OUT
• Joe Ingles (knee) OUT
• Jordan Clarkson (knee) Questionable

Core Plays

Stephen Curry (PG – GSW): $10,500 DraftKings, $9,800 FanDuel
Chef Curry is falling out of the MVP race but he’s still having a magical season. The sharpshooter is leading all players on this slate with 47.1 DraftKings points per game, scoring at least 55 fantasy points twice last week. That sort of ability and upside are hard to overlook in this matchup, with Curry averaging 40 DK points per game in his two meetings with OKC. That’s scary since he was playing fewer than 30 minutes a night while shooting 43 percent from the field in each. Those are both his floor, and it means Curry could be in line for 60 DK points if this stays close.

Jimmy Butler (SG/SF – MIA): $9,700 DraftKings, $9,600 FanDuel
JB is in the midst of a career year, averaging 44 fantasy points per game. His floor has been equally as impressive, scoring at least 39 fantasy points in seven of his last eight games. That’s bad news for Washington, with JB averaging 28.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 2,7 steals in their three meetings this season.

Spencer Dinwiddie (PG – WAS): $6,200 DraftKings, $5,900 FanDuel
We’ve mentioned this a ton but Dinwiddie is impossible to fade when Beal is injured. He’s now played 11 games without BB, scoring at least 30 DK points in 10 of those. He’s leading the team with a 32 percent usage rate in these circumstances while averaging 41 fantasy points per game. Good luck finding that from another $6K player!

Cash Game Considerations

DeMar DeRozan (SF – CHI): $9,800 DraftKings, $10,400 FanDuel
DeRozan is also having a career year in Chicago, averaging a career-best 42.4 DK points per game. The role makes him so reliable, averaging 20 shots and 35 minutes a night. We love that since Zach LaVine is out, with DeRozan leading the team with a 37 percent usage rate with him off the floor.

Pascal Siakam (PF – TOR): $9,200 DraftKings, $9,700 FanDuel
Siakam is quietly having one of the best stretches in the NBA. This dude has scored at least 36 DraftKings points in 28 straight games, flirting with a 50-point average in that span. That’s one of the best stretches you’ll see all year, and it’s likely going to continue with Sia regularly playing 40 minutes a night. That looks even better against Charlotte, with the Hornets ranked 24th in defensive efficiency and 28th in points allowed. In their one meeting earlier this season, Pascal provided 56 DK points!

Donovan Mitchell (PG/SG – UTA): $8,400 DraftKings, $8,500 FanDuel
Mitchell made his return to action over the weekend, dropping 43 DK points across just 22 minutes of action. That blowout limited his minutes, but that sort of gem shows just how amazing this guy can be. He’s averaging 42 DK points per game for the season, and it makes it hard to understand why he’s still well below $9,000. The Knicks are far from scary, too, entering this matchup losing eight of their last 10 games while having one of the worst defensive backcourts in the NBA.

GPP Targets

Kyle Lowry (PG – MIA): $6,600 DraftKings, $5,600 FanDuel
Lowry has really struggled in his return to action, but this pricing is crazy. The former Raptor is usually $1,500 more on each site, averaging 35 fantasy points per game before his two-week absence. That alone makes him a great GPP play around $6K, especially with Washington surrendering the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards.

Darius Bazley (PF – OKC): $5,400 DraftKings, $5,300 FanDuel
With SGA out for the next week, Bazley has established himself as one of the Thunder’s primary playmakers. He’s played a season-high 36 minutes in three straight games, scoring at least 26 DraftKings points in five consecutive fixtures. Those are impressive numbers from a $5K player, and he’s quite simply the focal point of the offense with SGA on the sidelines.

Gordon Hayward (SF – CHA): $5,000 DraftKings, $5,200 FanDuel
Wow, this price made my jaw drop! Hayward has earned it with his two most recent games, but this is a $7,000 player. He’s got just 29 combined fantasy points in his two games since his return from injury, but he averaged 33 DK points per game before that. He’s been that sort of player for a decade, and we’re going to gamble on Hayward when his stock is at the lowest of his career. We also don’t mind that Toronto owns a 22nd OPRK against opposing wings, either.

Value Plays

Mason Plumlee (C – CHA): $5,400 DraftKings, $5,400 FanDuel
Plumdog has been feeling himself recently. The big man has played at least 24 minutes in seven straight games, averaging 31 DK points per game across 30 minutes a night in that span. That production doesn’t match this pricing, and it’s hard to understand what these DFS sites are thinking. He crushed Toronto earlier this season, too, dropping 29 DK points across 31 minutes of play.

Duncan Robinson (SG – MIA): $3,600 DraftKings, $5,000 FanDuel
This $3,600 price tag on DK is insane. This guy can shoot the ball with anyone, scoring at least 26 DK points four times over the last two weeks. He’s certainly had some duds in that span, but anyone playing 30 minutes while heaving double-digit shots is tough to fade in this price range.

Mamadi Diakite (PF/C – OKC): $3,700 DraftKings, $3,900 FanDuel
Mamadi got two rare starts over the weekend, and it looks like he’s going to be a significant part of this rotation as we advance. He’s played at least 18 minutes in three straight games, scoring at least 18 DK points in all of those. That might not sound like much, but it’s all you can ask for from a sub-$4K player. Not to mention, he’s averaging 24 DK points per game in that span and shouldn’t be a victim of the blowout potential in this lopsided matchup.

Advantageous Pricing

• Kyle Lowry (PG – MIA): $6,600 DraftKings, $5,600 FanDuel
• Duncan Robinson (SG – MIA): $3,600 DraftKings, $5,000 FanDuel
• Josh Giddey (SG – OKC): $7,800 DraftKings, $6,500 FanDuel
• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (SG/SF – WAS): $3,600 DraftKings, $4,700 FanDuel
• Javinte Green (SG/SF – CHI): $4,200 DraftKings, $5,400 FanDuel
• Jordan Poole (SG – GSW): $6,000 DraftKings, $6,900 FanDuel
• Bojan Bogdanovic (SG/SF – UTA): $6,800 DraftKings, $5,100 FanDuel
• Trent Forest (SG – UTA): $3,600 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel

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