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The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on January 12, 2022. Thunder Dan Palyo provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.
Wednesday isn't just "Hump Day," it's one of the best days for NBA DFS and we have an excellent nine-game slate on tap tonight with some really juicy games that we can target. I do my NBA DFS game value ratings every day and I posted them earlier on Twitter, where I noted that we have four games that check-in well above average tonight with three of those games having totals of 230 points or higher!
The most relevant injury news tonight is that Bradley Beal is out for the Wizards, Rudy Gobert remains out for the Jazz, and James Harden is questionable for the Nets game against Chicago. Other stars who won't be lacing them up tonight include Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porzingis, Clint Capela, Wendell Carter Jr., and Mo Bamba.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 1/12/22. And instead of meticulously trying to comb through the rest of the myriad of injury and "health and safety protocols" issues in play, be sure to check out our NBA Injury Report as well as NBA Player News for updated information.
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DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Spencer Dinwiddie - PG, WAS vs. ORL ($6,000 DK; $7,100 FD)
Dinwiddie has averaged 24-6-9 this season in the seven games that Bradley Beal has missed and is simply far too cheap for that level of production. Don't get too caught up in his 26 DK point outing against Orlando last week, he still had ten assists in that game and simply takes a backseat shooting the ball when Beal is in the lineup. Against a bad Orlando team, Dinwiddie should post a nice line tonight and should be a staple of your cash game lineups.
Dennis Schroder - PG/SG, BOS @ IND ($4,800 DK; $5,300 FD)
We have another guy here in Schroder who we expect to pick the slack from a teammate who is out of the lineup tonight as Marcus Smart has been ruled out for Boston's matchup with the Pacers. Whether or not he starts, Schroder is going to pick up some extra minutes and likely some extra shots and stats. His last few games have been rough, so perhaps the field will be off him, but this is a guy who's been invaluable to Boston this season as a spot-starter and sixth-man and is averaging 16-3-4 on the season.
Dejounte Murray - PG, SAS vs. HOU ($9,700 DK; $10,200 FD)
Murray is enjoying a major breakout campaign with a gaudy averages of 18 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists so far this season. He's been a really solid DFS asset this year, too, as his rebounding and assists totals have given him a great floor that can cushion his score on nights when he's not making shots. He should be taking a bunch of shots for the Spurs tonight as they are still without their other main guard Derrick White as well as important rotation players Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell.
DJM has averaged 21 shot attempts per game over his last four games and gets an awesome matchup against the Houston Rockets tonight, a team that bleeds production to opponents and also gives up a lot of steals to opposing guards. I like Murray in all formats tonight and I really like that price on DraftKings.
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Buddy Hield - SG/SF, SAC vs. LAL ($5,600 DK; $5,100 FD)
Buddy won me some money the other night as he came through with a solid outing against the Cavs. He's pretty much never a cash play but is always in play for GPPs with his shooting ability. He doesn't start for Sacto, but he's their main scoring option off the bench and often closes games for them.
He's averaging about 34 DK points per game in three meetings with the Lakers this season and this game is projected for one of the highest totals on the slate. The Lakers' defense continues to give up a lot of scoring to opposing guards, and Hield provides some nice cheap exposure to this game.
Chuma Okeke - PF, ORL @ WAS ($4,600 DK; $5,500 FD)
With WCJ and Bamba out, Okeke should get a ton of run at power forward tonight. In six games as a starter this season, Okeke is averaging 11-5-2 in 31 minutes. While that line might be all that impressive, consider that he's also averaging an absurd 3.2 steals per game in those six games, too.
He posted an 8-6-5 line with three steals and a block against Washington last week and that type of production will play at his price. He's not a scorer, but he gets it done in enough other categories to be a nice source of value on either site, especially DraftKings.
Also consider: Lonnie Walker IV vs. HOU, Corey Kispert vs. ORL
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Joel Embiid - C, PHI vs. CHA ($11,200 DK; $10,900 FD)
You should know by now that we target centers and big men against the Hornets, right? That positional matchup has been the best matchup in the entire NBA this season. Embiid dropped 74 and 50 DK points on the Hornets in back-to-back games in early December and that's probably about the range of outcomes here for him tonight with 50 points being his floor. He's been carrying the load for Philly all season and with the Sixers down several of their other scorers, we should expect him to have ridiculous usage rates and post some monster scores.
Jakob Poeltl - C, SAS vs. HOU ($6,300 DK; $6,100 FD)
Houston is a great matchup for just about every position, but centers tend to score really well against them especially. Poeltl isn't flashy, but he brings a solid floor just about every night and is a great bet for 30+ fantasy points. With the Spurs down several key contributors, I look for Murray, Lonnie Walker, and Poeltl to pick up their production and they are easily my three favorite Spurs in this one. The center position is pretty loaded tonight, but Poeltl's price and steady production is very attractive for cash games.
Also consider Hassan Whiteside vs. CLE, Christian Wood @ SAS
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