Hoop-Dreaming: DraftKings NBA Plays for Monday 1-9-17

February 15, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Western Conference guard Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder (0) shoots the basketball against Eastern Conference guard Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls (21) during the second quarter of the 2015 NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Hoop-Dreaming: DraftKings NBA GPP Plays for Monday 1-9-17

Thanks for clicking! I am going to be breaking down tonight’s DraftKings NBA action and discussing the various picks that are aimed to help win some money on DraftKings. The picks are mainly geared for GPP tournaments and will carry more risk but also offer more reward. After all, we are seeking to have one of our tickets be the winner amongst hundreds of thousands of other entries.

We have an extremely short slate tonight with only 3 NBA games on the docket. Fortunately they are expected to be close and well-paced. The Dallas Mavericks travel to play the Minnesota Timberwolves (-4.5) in the lowest projected point total of 194. The games that most people will be targeting are the New Orleans Pelicans at the New York Knicks (-4) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (-1.5) at the Chicago Bulls. These two games are projected at 215 and 209.5 points respectively.

On a short slate of games, it is imperative to not only have picks who perform, but also a couple of players whom the rest of the field has overlooked. Roster differentiation is necessary on nights like tonight, but there is a difference between taking chances and simply shooting in the dark.

Of course, there are always injuries which will open the door for some players to significantly outperform their salary. Make sure and check Fantasy CPR for other helpful NBA articles. Also, don’t forget to look for lineup changes periodically throughout the day and especially before tipoff. Let’s take a look at tonight’s games.

Apr 3, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea (5) shoots against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) in the first quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

Point Guards and Shooting Guards

Let’s get the obvious plays out the way first. Russell Westbrook ($13,00) and Jimmy Butler ($9,300) are going to be heavily owned tonight for multiple reasons. They are both coming off excellent performances, but also because they are a couple of the biggest NBA stars and the public likes to play stars on short slates.

With only 3 games though, we are looking for maximum value while also having enough diversification in our lineups to separate ourselves from the pack. J.J. Barea ($4,000) is a player who should slip under the radar tonight. It will be his second game back from injury so his price is still down and he will have extra motivation to play well against his former team.

If Jimmy Butler is unable to suit up tonight due to illness, the door is open for Dwyane Wade ($6,200) to step up and showcase what he still has left in the tank. Wade is as streaky as they come but an increase in minutes will help his cause. Even if Butler plays, Wade is still worth a look as an outlier.

Another player who will potentially be overlooked tonight is the former MVP Derrick Rose ($5,800). He is coming off a rather cold stretch lately and has not been shooting the ball particularly well. The New Orleans Pelicans backcourt offers ample opportunity for opposing guards to rack up fantasy points though and Rose seems to be on the edge of a breakout. Perhaps tonight is a step in that direction.

Nov 27, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes (40) defends against New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Small Forwards and Power Forwards

Anthony Davis ($11,100) is going to be one of the highest owned players tonight and for good reason. He has been on a relative hot streak lately but there are red flags. Davis has only hit 6x his current salary once in the past month. He may be more of a fade play despite his ability to stuff the stat sheet on any given night.

If Jimmy Butler does not play tonight, Chicago Bulls Head Coach Fred Hoiberg said that Doug McDermott ($4,200) will get the start. “Dougie McBuckets” has dropped 29.5 and 34.5 fantasy points in his last two games and seems to be catching stride within the offense. His salary makes him hard to resist and he will be one of the most rostered value plays tonight whether he gets the start or not.

While Kristaps Porzingis ($7,400) is a steady option tonight, his teammate Carmelo Anthony ($7,200) might be the sneakier play. Carmelo followed two excellent games with a disappointing performance of 27.5 fantasy points at Indiana on Saturday. It was the third game in 4 nights for the Knicks and their blowout loss showed as much. Carmelo will see a dip in ownership and he offers similar upside as Porzingis.

A couple of forwards I will be targeting tonight are lined up across from each other in Minneapolis. Andrew Wiggins ($6,500) is mired in an inconsistent slump. He followed a 2-15 shooting performance in Philadelphia 76ers with a 41 point outing the next game against the Washington Wizards and most recently struggled to a 28.3 fantasy point outing on Saturday.

Wiggins has plenty of upside though and will be going against Harrison Barnes ($6,400) who has been performing consistently and averaging 36.38 fantasy points in his last 5 contests. With a mid-range salary and a matchup against Wiggins and the defensively soft Minnesota Timberwolves, Barnes has an opportunity to display the skills that earned him a max-contract.

Mar 15, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter (34) reacts being called for a foul in action against the Chicago Bulls during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Centers – The Men in the Middle

The Chicago Bulls have had a tough time replacing the interior toughness of Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah. The Oklahoma City Thunder have had a similarly tough time adjusting to the loss of Serge Ibaka leaving Steven Adams ($6,000) and Enes Kanter ($5,000) to pick up the slack. While Adams gets the starts, Kanter is the more volatile performer and is the kind of player we want to target on short slate nights.

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Since he has officially been playing Center lately, Dirk Nowitzki ($5,200) is worth mentioning. He has averaged 25 fantasy points over his last 3 games and it is difficult to believe that this is a positive considering his talent level. Father Time remains undefeated indeed, but Dirk is still showing signs of his old self and mentioned that his legs are getting closer to playing shape.

With Dirk playing Center, most opposing big men will be able to post him up and gain a rebounding edge. While this has been the case for most of his career, Dirk is especially vulnerable without a rim-protector and Karl Anthony-Towns ($8,900) is young, hungry, and supremely talented. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been inconsistent this year however and this has made their fantasy production inconsistent as well. “KAT” has been one of the few exceptions though as he has averaged 46 fantasy points over his last 7 games. On a short night of games, he is worth the risk.

Thanks for reading and best of luck tonight!

Next: FanDuel NBA Daily Picks and Pivots – January 9

Best of luck in your DFS contests tonight and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR throughout the day for the late breaking lineup news and roster updates!