NBA DFS: Studs, scrubs, and duds DraftKings and FanDuel Jan. 11
Top star players, best value picks, and guys you should stay away from on January in NBA DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Welcome to Studs, Scrubs, and Duds; FanSided’s NBA DFS lineup helper.
Here’s what’s on the slate for tonight:
7 p.m. ET: New Orleans at Boston, Chicago at Detroit
8 p.m. ET: LA Lakers at Oklahoma City
8:30 p.m. ET: Philadelphia at Dallas
9 p.m. ET: Cleveland at Denver
10 p.m. ET: Milwaukee at Portland
How this works:
Studs: Top high salary picks that you can build your lineup around.
Scrubs: Value players looking for a big night or consistent options to help fill out your lineup.
Duds: Players to avoid given their high salary and/or poor matchup.
Five players are picked on each slide, positions are not applicable, and both DraftKings and FanDuel salaries are listed.
Studs
Giannis Antetokounmpo (at POR – $11,500 on DK; $11,200 on FD): It’s a back to back for the Bucks but I’m not concerned about that when it comes to Giannis because he’s always relatively rested. It’s a great matchup against a Blazers team that, at this point, simply might not be very good. They certainly aren’t good on defense. Giannis will be in for his usual production and then some.
Nikola Jokic (vs CLE – $9,700 on DK; $9,500 on FD): Jokic back? He’s certainly playing more like we know he’s capable of in recent games and that’s a positive sign moving forward. He’s got a great matchup against the Cavaliers, who shouldn’t be bought into simply because they beat a weak Pistons team. The season inconsistency is concerning but trust him here.
Jayson Tatum (vs NO – $8,000 on DK; $6,900 on FD): Tatum has been consistent for the Celtics for the majority of the season as he gets plenty of scoring opportunities and chips in with rebounds. It’s a Pelicans team on a back to back and a little banged up, which should certainly help. Tatum will at least give you value and the ceiling is higher.
Chris Paul (vs LAL – $6,800 on DK; $7,600 on FD): Once again, you can rarely go wrong with the OKC three guard lineup. All of them do different things and find ways to contribute but this feels like a close game given the matchup and that means it’s going to be Chris Paul time in the fourth quarter. But you can grab anyone of the three guards and feel comfortable depending on the money you’re willing to spend.
Al Horford (at DAL – $6,700 on DK; $6,400 on FD): With Embiid out, Horford is playing a more natural role and it led to be production against the Celtics. The Mavericks are on a back to back which should help the Sixers as a whole. Horford is at the best price of the bunch and showed that he can deliver under these circumstances.