It’s a great day to be a sports fan as we kick off the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs and get seven games on the dance card in the NBA. There are some fun matchups, too, as we see the return of RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to MSG, along with some prime matchups for top centers (Joel Embiid and Victor Wembanyama).
Let’s see what plays we’re targeting today, and be sure to pay attention to the injury reports!
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
It’s a great day to be a sports fan as we kick off the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs and get seven games on the dance card in the NBA. There are some fun matchups, too, as we see the return of RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to MSG, along with some prime matchups for top centers (Joel Embiid and Victor Wembanyama).
Let’s see what plays we’re targeting today, and be sure to pay attention to the injury reports!
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer
Core Play
Joel Embiid (C – PHI) | $11,500 DK/$12,500 FD
It’s a tough sell with Embiid being in a pricing tier of his own compared to the other studs. Still, when you factor everything in, you’ll see he’s completely worth the price tag. As long as Embiid doesn’t miss 18 total games this year, he’s on a collision course for his second straight MVP award, averaging 35.1 PPG with a 38.1% usage rate. There’s blowout risk here against the Hornets, but Embiid only had to play 31 minutes in last night’s blowout, so we could see a bit of extended run. Charlotte is also dead last in defensive efficiency and is 26th in rebounding rate.
Cash Game Considerations
Jarrett Allen (C – CLE) | $8,000 DK/$8,600 FD
The Cavaliers have been force-feeding Jarrett Allen lately, and it’s paying major dividends as they’ve moved into the fourth seed in the East. Allen now has 10 straight double-doubles and is averaging almost 1.4 FPPM over that span. Tonight, he gets the Hawks, who are 27th in defensive efficiency and consistently get beat up inside (they also have allowed the third-most offensive rebounds per game).
Nikola Vucevic (C – CHI) | $7,700 DK/$8,300 FD
It’s center night, and you’ll be thanking your lucky stars that you can play two of them on DK (FanDuel, good luck). Nikola Vucevic is seemingly all the way back from his injury, double-doubling in four of his last five starts with a 19.4 PPG/12.4 RPG/4.2 APG line. Memphis ranks 27th in rebounding rate and is a shell of their former selves defensively.
Value Plays
Brandon Miller (F – CHA) | $5,300 DK/$5,300 FD
Brandon Miller typically lacks a ceiling for GPPs (although he showed it off yesterday), but he’s a terrific minutes play for cash games. Charlotte runs a very tight rotation, and their frontcourt remains banged up. Miller played 35 minutes last night and put up 42.75 DK points. The Sixers are also far more vulnerable on the wing than inside.
Marvin Bagley (F – WAS) | $5,000 DK/$6,000 FD
Another center! This is a bit more of a DK-specific value as Marvin Bagley’s price has adjusted more on FD, but he’s playable there, too (especially with PF eligibility). With Daniel Gafford in concussion protocol, Bagley started and played 39 minutes against the Knicks in his first game as a Wizard. He had a solid double-double and 46.75 DK points, and that was in a far tougher matchup. The Spurs are incredibly soft inside (even with Wembanyama), giving up the fifth-most FPPG to centers and ranking 25th in rebounding rate.
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