3 NBA DraftKings Value Plays to Target on 2/5/18

Nikola Mirotic, PF, New Orleans Pelicans

DraftKings Salary: $5,800

It is important to denote that this is a tournament-only play, as this is only Nikola Mirotic's second game with the New Orleans Pelicans and we really aren't sure yet what type of role he will occupy for them. We saw him thrive in a high-usage bench role in his first game for the Pels, putting up 48 DraftKings points in 35 minutes. The 12 boards are likely an outlier, but if the minutes he saw are anywhere near what we can come to expect, then Mirotic's current price is drastically under-selling him.

He has put up a very strong 1.23 DraftKings points per minute on the year, a type of efficiency that isn't likely to drop too much as presumably the number-three option for a Pelicans team in need of another offensive threat. If he averages anywhere near that per-minute level and has access to 30-plus minutes, Mirotic's price tag will hover around $7,000 soon.

The matchup against the Utah Jazz is obviously less than ideal, although it is worth noting that the Pels still have the third-highest implied team total on the slate. This slate is full of slow-paced, defensive-minded teams, so the negative impact of this matchup with Utah isn't quite as drastic as it normally would be. Mirotic also dropped 44.75 DraftKings points on this Jazz team as a member of the Chicago Bulls earlier this season, for what it is worth.

The matchup and somewhat uncertain role make Mirotic tough to trust in cash formats. However, his ceiling at this price tag makes him quite intriguing in tournaments. Let's hope the Pelicans feel comfortable feeding Mirotic 30-plus minutes once again.