RADIO
There are few things that set the tone for the week better than a nine-game NBA DFS slate. While options are aplenty, so is value. Fortunately, the early injury reports have let us glimpse ahead of time into players who should exceed their value and provide excellent plays, no matter the format.
With two MVP candidates on the slate, it’s worth reminding that these players can always be argued as building blocks of any lineup. Today, we’ll highlight one, while filling in the remainder of the gaps.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 1/6/20. You can also check out today's FanDuel lineup picks. Remember to monitor injury news as the slate can completely change before line-up lock.
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DraftKings DFS Guards
Zach LaVine - PG/SG, CHI @ DAL ($7,700)
For those owners who love shot attempt volume, Lavine is the arguably the kingpin of the Monday night slate. With Lauri Markkanen doubtful to play with a sprained ankle, Lavine will take on an enormous offensive role. Since dropping 31 points versus the Clippers on Dec. 14, Lavine has averaged 28 points per game over his last nine contests, attempting 21.7 shots on a nightly basis, 9.1 of which have come from behind the three-point line. It’s worth noting that he had Markkanen on the floor for all of those games; the projected starter with the next highest shot attempt total this season will be Thaddeus Young, who has gotten up an average of 8.7 shot attempts per game this season. (Young also presents a solid low-priced option Monday for those owners desperate to cram big money stars into their lineups.)
Marcus Smart - PG/SG, BOS @ WAS ($5,200)
No Kemba Walker for the third consecutive game once again paves the way for Smart to see increased duties in the backcourt. He has been hit or miss in his last two outings (46.5 and 16.5 DK points, respectively), but facing a Washington defense that is yielding 52.1 DK points per game to opposing point guards, counting on a bounce-back effort is a worthy risk at this price tag. Smart has averaged 4.8 assists per game this season, a number that he is likely to exceed when factoring in the speed of play against the Wizards (the contest is projected for 226.5 points as of Monday morning) and the shot-making ability of his teammates.
DraftKings DFS Forwards
Bojan Bogdanovic - SF/PF, UTA @ NO ($5,900)
Bogdanovic enters Monday’s game with the Pelicans as likely the most unheralded player to be averaging better than 20 points per game this season. The powers that be have decided it time for Bogdanovic’s price to drop below the $6,000 line for the first time Dec. 13 just as he gets set to face an up-tempo New Orleans squad; that’s more than enough reason to find value in this pick. Bogdanovic has shot 34.9 percent over his last six contests, but has still managed to average 17 points per game in that span. On Saturday versus Orlando, he failed to record an assist, steal or block, the first time that has occurred since Nov. 15, a trend that appears unlikely to continue. With his staggering consistency scoring the ball (just one single-digit effort all season), Bogdanovic is a safe call in a game that features a projected total of 221 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo - SF/PF, MIL @ SA ($10,900)
In order to counteract the enormous attention that Luka Doncic is sure to get, Antetokounmpo appears to be in an excellent spot to soar past value on his price tag, which is as low as it has been in over a month. San Antonio resorted to hacking the league’s reigning MVP in their last matchup Saturday, as he went 15-for-18 from the free-throw line. The only thing holding his numbers back was the one assist that he collected, a difficult statistic to project. Assuming that he can dish out a handful more dimes in a rematch of a game that featured 245 points last time out, Antetokounmpo should be in line to put together a monster stat line, which has become tradition for him.
DraftKings DFS Centers
Myles Turner - C, IND @ CHA ($5,500)
There are a slew of center options across the board that should deliver hefty point totals Monday, so owners should feel free to select the one that best fits the salary that they’re eyeing. In this case, Turner is a mid-level priced center that has been turning his season back around as of late, having exceeded value on his price tag in six of his last 10 games. The last time that he faced Charlotte on Dec. 15 marked his third double-double of the year (and most recent), as he also swatted five shots. Turner’s elite fantasy evenings are intrinsically related to blocked shots, a finnicky proposition to predict, but having exceeded 31 minutes in each of his last two games, he should be in position to be on the floor long enough to impact the game significantly on the defensive end of the floor.
