DraftKings Salary: $11,300

After an otherworldly start to the season, DeMarcus Cousins's numbers have fallen back down to earth over the past couple weeks. He has played much better in his last two games though, which is directly correlated to the absence of Anthony Davis. In 331 minutes without Davis this season, Cousins has seen big boosts in both his usage rate (38.2%) and DraftKings points per minute (1.63). If we assume he gets his usual 35.3 minutes in this one, his baseline projection at 1.63 DraftKings points per minute is 57.5 DraftKings points, which is just under the slate-leading total our projections have him at today.

Not only will he benefit from Davis' absence, but his New Orleans Pelicans have the highest implied team total (113.5 points) on the slate against an injury-depleted Denver Nuggets squad. The Nuggets have not been nearly as good defensively without Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap -- their defensive efficiency in 337 minutes with both bigs off the floor would rank dead last over the course of the full season. They've also posted a 49% rebounding rate during that time, which would drop them from third to 22nd in said category.

Also, this may be a bit of an outdated narrative, but if you've ever watched them go head-to-head, it is clear that Boogie and Mason Plumlee do not like each other. In four meetings with Plumlee last season, Cousins averaged 64.7 DraftKings points. He should have his way with this short-handed Denver frontcourt.