It’s Friday, January 31. We have a total of seven games on the schedule for the National Basketball Association (NBA), with two games tipping off at 7 p.m. ET, and an ESPN game between the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The lone late-night game is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET, with the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors meeting in the Bay Area. DraftKings is offering a six-game slate, excluding the Suns-Warriors contest, so we’ll exclude that game, too.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer
NBA DFS Core Plays
- DraftKings: $9,400
- FanDuel: $9,700
There might be a lot of casual fans surprised to see Barnes held in such high regard, but the 23-year-old standout out of Florida State is having a strong season. He is quietly averaging 20.3 points (PPG), 8.1 rebounds (RPG) and 6.5 assists (APG) per game while hitting 45.9 percent from the field.
Barnes has really kicked it into high gear in the past four games, averaging 23.5 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 5.5 APG in the span, while hitting exactly one 3-pointer. He also has a total of seven steals with four blocked shots in the past four outings. He has been consistent, too, as he was exactly 8-of-17 in both ends of a back-to-back in Atlanta Jan. 23-25. Barnes gets a crack at a bad Chicago Bulls defense which is allowing 120.0 PPG, ranked 29th in the league, while allowing teams to hit shots from the field at a 47.1 percent pace.
- DraftKings: $9,000
- FanDuel: $9,200
Dame has really picked up the pace lately, going for 20 or more points in 12 straight games since Jan. 6, while posting two triple-doubles in the past four outings. He has been especially productive from the perimeter in January, too, hitting 3.4 3-pointers per game across 14 games in the month, averaging 25.6 PPG, 6.7 APG and 4.9 RPG with 1.4 SPG.
This will be Dame’s second game against the San Antonio Spurs since Jan. 8. He posted 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting, with four made 3-pointers, while adding eight assists and five rebounds in a 121-105 victory in Cream City.
- DraftKings: $9,700
- FanDuel: $10,000
Maxey has been on fire in the scoring department, going for 28 or more points in 12 straight games since Jan. 6, while posting three double-doubles during the span. He has posted 45.9 Fantasy Points Per Game (FPPG), and he is facing a Nuggets team with an OPRK of 24th.
In January, he averaged 29.1 points, 7.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 3.2 3-pointers and 1.8 steals per game across 15 games. He gets a crack at the Nuggets for the second time since Jan. 21. In the first meeting at Ball Arena in the Mile High City, Maxey was good for 28 points on 11-of-21 from the field, while adding 10 assists with two rebounds and two steals in 34 minutes in a 35-point loss.
NBA DFS Cash Game Targets
- DraftKings: $7,200
- FanDuel: $7,200
Giddey faces a favorable matchup in a game in Toronto with a total of 233, the highest expected total, according to the sportsbooks. The Bulls and Raptors are expected to have quite the shootout, so you’ll want Giddey and some of his teammates against the Raps.
Giddey is averaging 33.6 FPPG, and he faces a Raptors team 19th in OPRK. He has managed 10 or more points in five straight games, his longest such streak since going for 10 or more points in each of the first eight games this season from Oct. 23-Nov. 6. He has managed four double-doubles in the past five outings, too, while averaging 9.7 PPG, 8.1 RPG and 6.1 APG in 15 January outings. He’ll also give you an occasional 3-pointer while picking up at least one steal in 12 of 15 contests.
- DraftKings: $6,800
- FanDuel: $6,800
White has been a little bit of a Jekyll and Hyde character in the past couple of weeks. He has managed 20 or more points in four of the past six games, but in the two outings he didn’t reach the mark, he went for three points against the Los Angeles Lakers last Thursday, while going for just eight points on Jan. 20 at Golden State.
White has a very favorable matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, a team allowing 118.1 PPG, while allowing a 48.3 percent field-goal percentage and 36.5 defensive 3-pointer percentage. He is averaging 22.5 PPG, 4.5 APG and 4.0 3PT per game in the past two outings. Temper expectations, though, as he managed just six points with four boards, two assists and three steals on 1-of-6 shooting in the first matchup with the Pels on Jan. 12 at TD Garden.
- DraftKings: $5,900
- FanDuel: $6,100
White had a shaky option in Portland on Sunday, going for just nine points, but it was his only game under 15 points in the past 13 contests. In January, White is good for 18.8 PPG, 4.5 APG and 2.7 RPG with 2.9 3PT per game in 10 outings in the month. At this price point, he is a must-have for all DFS players, especially against a team with an OPRK of 19th.
NBA DFS GPP Targets
- DraftKings: $5,700
- FanDuel: $5,600
Stick with the Bulls stack plan, Dosunmu is another player you’ll want in your lineup at a mid-tier price. He is averaging 26.3 FPPG, which is much better than several other players in the same price range.
Dosunmu faces an OPRK of 19th. After a tough start to the month with 9.0 PPG in the first two games, he is averaging 12.4 PPG with 2.8 APG and 2.2 RPG in the past five outings, and he has knocked down 10 total triples with at least two treys per contest in the past four games.
Guerschon Yabusele (PF, C – PHI)
- DraftKings: $6,000
- FanDuel: $6,300
Yabusele will continue to see meaningful run with Joel Embiid (knee) and Andre Drummond (toe) sidelined. He’ll see all of the minutes he can possibly handle. He is having a productive month, going for 11.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.6 3PT per game in 14 games in the month of January.
- DraftKings: $5,500
- FanDuel: $5,300
With LaMelo Ball (ankle) remaining sidelined, while Tre Mann (back) is done for the season, Micic and KJ Simpson figure to see a solid amount of run over the next week or so. The Clippers have a tough defense, allowing just 107.1 PPG. Be careful.
NBA DFS Value Plays
- DraftKings: $5,200
- FanDuel: $5,400
Castle is worth a look at this low price, as the 20-year-old out of UConn has really turned up the intensity lately. Since Jan. 13, he is good for 17 or more points in five of the past seven outings, including 20 points, three rebounds, two 3-pointers and two steals in 33 minutes against the L.A. Clippers last time out on Wednesday.
Payton Pritchard (PG, SG – BOS)
- DraftKings: $5,000
- FanDuel: $5,700
If you’re not sold on the others, and you’re looking to save a little money at DraftKings, the 3-pointer specialist Pritchard is a solid option. He will give you a solid, yet unspectacular, line. Pritchard is averaging 10.5 PPG, 3.5 APG and 3.1 RPG with 2.1 3PT per game in 15 games in January.
Davion Mitchell (PG, SG – TOR)
- DraftKings: $4,000
- FanDuel: $4,100
Mitchell is a cheap option capable of outproducing his DFS salary by a thousand miles. He posted 10 points with nine assists and four rebounds against the Washington Wizards last time out on Wednesday, hitting 4-of-4 from the field, including 2-of-2 from downtown.
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