NBA

3 NBA DraftKings Value Plays to Target on 1/16/18

Jacob Gibbs  —  @jagibbs_23 Jan 16th, 2018
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Pat Connaughton, SG/SF, Portland Trail Blazers

DraftKings Salary: $3,500

If you are a risk-averse player, Pat Connaughton is not someone you are going to want to target. However, if you're fine with taking on a little extra risk on an already high-variance four-game slate, he's a terrific value play in an up-tempo matchup against the Phoenix Suns.

Cannaughton needs just 17.5 DraftKings points to reach value at this price tag. He is coming off of a 29.75-DraftKings-point performance and has averaged 15.9 DraftKings points in 21.6 minutes during eight January games. The Portland Trail Blazers could be without Shabazz Napier in this one, too, which would open up even more minutes and usage in the second unit.

Connaughton has averaged 25.8 DraftKings points in two meetings with the Suns this season, and he is one of the few Blazers that you can feel confident to see his normal allotment of minutes tonight. There is significant blowout risk with Portland listed as 10-point home favorites, but Cannaughton is likely to play 20-plus minutes, no matter how the game turns out.

If Napier sits, Connaughton is worth a look in any format. If he plays, Connaughton is more of a tournament dart throw than anything else. Also, if fading this game in fear of the blowout, consider throwing Connaughton in as a standalone play. His two strongest performances (31 DraftKings points against the Suns and 29.75 against the Minnesota Timberwolves) have both come in blowouts. In the scenario in which this game gets out of hand and limits the production of Damian Lillard or Devin Booker, Connaughton has a much more secure path to playing time.


Jacob Gibbs is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jacob Gibbs also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jagibbs23. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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