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It's a small slate today with only four games on the docket this Tuesday evening, but there are some compelling options at all price points and I'm going to do my best to highlight some picks in each price range.
The matchup between Portland and Denver carries the highest total today at 238.5 points and a showdown between superstars Damian Lillard and Nikola Jokic, too. The Nets have a favorable matchup against the Spurs, and the late game features Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers hosting Joel Embiid, James Harden, and the Philadelphia 76ers.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the respective main slates on DraftKings and FanDuel on 1/17/23. Remember to monitor the NBA injury report as the slate can completely change before lineups lock, which is at 7:00 pm ET on DraftKings and FanDuel.
DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Damian Lillard - PG, POR @ DEN ($9,500 DK, $9,900 FD)
Dame is pretty much my favorite play at any position on this slate, and I am probably going to be investing in his player props. He's in great form right now, averaging 38 points over his last five games and putting up some big numbers even in tougher matchups (Dallas twice, Cleveland, Toronto).
He's been spectacular against Denver this season, too. In three previous matchups with the Nuggets, Dame is averaging a lofty 35-6-9. Denver is a pretty decent team on defense, but they have struggled to slow down really good point guards at times and we know Dame thrives against better competition.
The Blazers are road dogs here, but Vegas is expecting a lot of points and for Portland to keep it withing 5-6 points. I look at Lillard as the cheapest stud on this slate with 60+ fantasy point potential and I am locking him in first in my lineups.
Tre Jones - PG, SAS vs. BKN ($6,500 DK, $6,800 FD)
Jones continues to be fairly priced on both sites, though some might even view him as a bit too expensive since we were used to getting him around 5.5k to 6k for such a long stretch.
But the price hike is warranted, as Jones is one of the most reliable options for the Spurs this season and has benefitted from the absence of Devin Vassell due to multiple injuries. Without Vassell in the lineup, Jones averages over 16 points per game which is a full three points more than his season average. He's actually cracked 20+ points in three of his last six games and the only thing really holding him back from massive numbers is minutes, as Popovich insists on playing a deep rotation and the Spurs have no interest in actually winning these games.
You know what you're getting here, though. You're getting at least 30 fantasy points with a ceiling of something like 45, which makes Jones a little better suited for cash lineups than GPPs.
Seth Curry - PG/SG, BKN @ SAS ($4,300 DK, $4,900 FD)
Kyrie Irving gets the biggest bump in usage with Kevin Durant out, but did you know that Seth Curry gets the second-biggest increase (around 5%) in usage, too?
Curry's game is pretty scoring-dependent, so he has some bust potential. But the Nets have a very favorable matchup with the Spurs here and Curry is projected to play 24-26 minutes off the bench and get up a lot of shots with the second unit. He's very affordable and if he can come anywhere close to what he did last time out against OKC (23 points, 3 threes), he's going to be one of the better values on this slate.
His PG/SG eligibility on both sites is also really nice, allowing us some flexibility to build the lineups we want.
ALSO CONSIDER: Royce O'Neale, Josh Richardson, Joe Harris
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Aaron Gordon - PF, DEN vs. POR ($6,600 DK, $6,500 FD)
The Nuggets are a hard team to target in DFS unless you just pay 12k for Jokic and call it a day. When one of their starters is out, we can take a harder look at the rest of the guys, but when they are all playing they tend to trade off big nights and it can be frustrating to play the guessing game with Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr.
MPJ is underpriced tonight, too, but I love this spot for AG. He's flashed a ceiling more often than MPJ this year and is playing some incredibly effective and efficient basketball. Nurkic will have his hands full with Jokic, leaving Jerami Grant to deal with Gordon and AG is going to be a matchup problem for Grant inside. He's taking fewer perimeter shots this year and has really focused on getting to the rim, which has paid off as he has fewer bad shooting nights.
With no true point guard on the roster, AG has some nice assist upside, too, as he and Jokic end up initiating the offense more often than Jamal Murray. He's a bit of a game theory play here as I think the most popular way to stack the Portland-Denver game will be to click Lillard and Jokic (but that will really force you into punting multiple roster spots, too).
Ben Simmons - PG/PF/C, BKN @ SAS ($5,900 DK, $6,900 FD)
Simmons sat out Brooklyn's last game but posted 35 DK points in only 26 minutes against Boston before that - WITHOUT SCORING AN ACTUAL POINT. Yeah, that's right he had 9 boards and 13 assists in that game to go with 2 steals and a block.
His DK price didn't budge at all, making him underpriced again tonight and he's one of multiple Brooklyn pieces that I plan on using in lineups tonight against a Spurs team that plays absolutely no defense whatsoever. You can play him at PG or PF on FanDuel, or PF/C on DraftKings.
Norman Powell - SG/SF, LAC vs. PHI ($6,000 DK, $6,000 FD)
Paul George is officially questionable tonight and if he returns, it could throw a bit of a wrench in my plans to play him. He's had to step up as the secondary scorer to Kawhi while PG13 has been on the shelf and has been playing closer to 30 minutes a night in George's absence.
Powell is an effective scorer off the bench and has been a pretty reliable DFS play the last few weeks. The uncertainty around George's return and this game is the last game on the slate might keep people off him and I understand why. I will have some lineups with an open roster spot or two left going into the last game just in case we get another absence from PG13, that way I can deploy some shares of Powell, Leonard, and maybe even a guy like Robert Covington, too.
ALSO CONSIDER: Kawhi Leonard, Pat Connaughton, Jeremy Sochan, Robert Covington
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Nicolas Claxton - C, BKN @ SAS ($7,200 DK, $7,200 FD)
Claxton has emerged this year as Brooklyn's third-best player behind KD and Kyrie and his interior presence has really been a huge boon to their success on both offense and defense.
Claxton is blocking 2.7 shots per game while averaging a solid 12-8. This matchup against the Spurs is really appealing for big men, as they've really struggled all season to stop opposing centers and power forwards. Claxton is much too physical for the Spurs front court and he should continue to soak up some shots and boards that have been vacated by Durant.
This price is hard to stomach at first, but it's appropriate given his upside in this spot. While the Joker and Embiid are both deserving studs to pay up for on this slate, I like saving some cash and rolling with Claxton. Let's hope we get a block party and another 40+ fantasy point outing.
ALSO CONSIDER: Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid,
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