I hope everyone had a fantastic time bringing in the new year! We’ll open up 2023 in the association with a small three-game slate. Smaller slates are straightforward and easier to navigate. However, they can also make it challenging to find ways to differentiate your lineup. Therefore, value and low-rostered upside plays will be critical, especially in large-field tournaments. With that said, chalk is chalk for a reason, so pay attention to your exposure and when to pivot off a high-percentage play.
Enough small talk, though. Let’s jump into this short slate and start 2023 in the green.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet 
Schedule & Odds
- SAC (+4.5) @ MEM (-4.5) O/U: 241
- WAS (+8.5) @ MIL (-8.5) O/U: 225.5
- BOS (-1.5) @ DEN (+1.5) O/U: 234
Check out our consensus game odds as well as the odds from each sportsbook at BettingPros
I hope everyone had a fantastic time bringing in the new year! We’ll open up 2023 in the association with a small three-game slate. Smaller slates are straightforward and easier to navigate. However, they can also make it challenging to find ways to differentiate your lineup. Therefore, value and low-rostered upside plays will be critical, especially in large-field tournaments. With that said, chalk is chalk for a reason, so pay attention to your exposure and when to pivot off a high-percentage play.
Enough small talk, though. Let’s jump into this short slate and start 2023 in the green.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Schedule & Odds
- SAC (+4.5) @ MEM (-4.5) O/U: 241
- WAS (+8.5) @ MIL (-8.5) O/U: 225.5
- BOS (-1.5) @ DEN (+1.5) O/U: 234
Check out our consensus game odds as well as the odds from each sportsbook at BettingPros
Injury Report
Top Plays
Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF/C – MIL): $12,100 DraftKings, $12,200 FanDuel
The “Greek Freak” will likely be chalky, but for a good reason, you will undoubtedly want your fair share of exposure. The Bucks’ other top scorers, Jrue Holiday (illness) and Khris Middleton (knee) are ruled out, bringing Giannis’ usage rate up over 40%. He’s coming off back-to-back 40-20 games which resulted in him going for over 80 DK points in each. This game could be closer than the 8.5-point spread indicates. Therefore, Giannis should see a full workload, and while I’m not sure if he has another 40-20 game left in the tank, I’m confident we’ll see him towards the top of leaderboards.
Ja Morant (PG-MEM): $9,900 DraftKings, $10,500 FanDuel
Ja’s price tag is more appealing on DraftKings, so I’ll have much more exposure to him there. Nonetheless, I love this matchup for him because this game as a whole is going to be a fantasy gold mine. The Grizzlies and Kings both love to get out and push the tempo. They’re each top ten in the NBA in terms of pace, and Sacramento is in the top five. Add in the Kings’ bottom-eight defensive rating combined with the highest implied total on the slate (241), and Ja could be in line for a massive outing.
Cash Game Consideration
Domantas Sabonis (PF/C – SAC): $10,300 DraftKings, $10,300 FanDuel
Nikola Jokic will be a chalky pay-up option, but I want to give a play that may be less obvious. I already mentioned how excellent of a game environment this will be to target, and Sabonis projects to be one of the better plays within it. The big man has been playing as well as any player in the NBA. Since the end of November, Sabonis has scored less than 40 DraftKings points only once and twice on FanDuel while logging 12 consecutive double-doubles. He’s also one of the better passing bigs in the league, and his do it all type of skillset offers a safe floor for cash games. Look for Sabonis to keep rolling in a game that projects to have a ton of points.
Marcus Smart (PG/SG – BOS): $6,000 DraftKings, $6,500 FanDuel
The Celtics Vs. Nuggets should be a great game with a lot of viable fantasy plays in it. Marcus Smart pops in my projections as one of the better plays. Denver has been terrible against point guards this season. They’re almost dead last against the position with an OPRK of 28th on FanDuel and 29th on DraftKings. Over the previous 15 games, Smart has had less than five assists only once, and he continuously shows up in the box score with his defense. With Boston favored by less than two points, Smart should see his usual 30-plus minutes, and at his current price point, we only need around 30 fantasy points for him to return five times the investment.
Value Plays
Monte Morris (PG – WAS): $4,900 DraftKings, $5,600 FanDuel
I like Monte on DK, but there’s still value to be squeezed out of his FD salary. Morris has been showing up big over the past couple of games scoring double-digits in both and totaling 18 assists. The veteran also scored over 30 DK points in three of his past four games. Bradley Beal (hamstring) could again be sidelined, making Monte even more appealing of a play. Either way, with the Bucks’ elite defender Jrue Holiday (illness) out, Morris looks to be an excellent source of value.
Derrick White (PG/SG – BOS): $4,600 DraftKings, $5,300 FanDuel
White is still too cheap on DraftKings with how productive he’s been over the past four games. In that span, the point guard has averaged 13 points, 3.8 assists, and 4.6 rebounds, resulting in 27.7 DK points. With how bad Denver is against point guards, White should be able to keep this level of consistent production going.
Advantageous Pricing
- Derrick White (PG/SG-BOS): $4,600 DraftKings, $5,300 FanDuel
- Monte Morris (PG-WAS): $4,900 DraftKings, $5,600 FanDuel
- Marcus Smart (PG/SG-BOS): $6,000 DraftKings, $6,500 FanDuel
- Ja Morant (PG-MEM): $9,900 DraftKings, $10,500 FanDuel
- Jamal Murray (PG-DEN): $7,200 DraftKings, $8,100 FanDuel
- Jayson Tatum (SF/PF-BOS): $10,200 DraftKings, $11,000 FanDuel
- Kristaps Porzingis (C/PF-WAS): $8,900 DraftKings, $9,500 FanDuel
- Steven Adams (C-MEM): $5,200 DraftKings, $6,400 FanDuel
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