3 NBA DraftKings Value Plays to Target on 4/4/18

The Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks will be without Dennis Smith, Harrison Barnes, Dwight Powell, Dirk Nowitzki, and Nerlens Noel tonight, leaving a makeshift lineup that is only eight or nine players deep, including only two healthy bigs. Fortunately, they face an Orlando Magic team that isn't quite as banged-up but is tanking just as hard. This game should stay close as Orlando is favored by just four points.

You're not going to find any splits with all the players listed above out that is a reliable sample size, so instead we're going to focus on their season-long numbers and their production with both Smith and Barnes off the court. Those two are easily the highest-usage players as Powell, Nowitzki and Noel have not had much of an impact on the numbers of the healthy players this season.

Jose Juan Barea ($5,300) easily stands out as the top option as he has seen his already strong DraftKings points per minute mark of 1.11 rise to 1.18 with both Smith and Barnes off. He needs just 26.5 DraftKings points at this price tag, which he could hit in just 23 minutes at that per-minute rate. He is a strong play in all formats.

Yogi Ferrell ($5,100) should also step into a larger role with Smith off the court, but his 0.80 DraftKings points per minute without Smith and Barnes isn't quite as exciting. Still, he is in play given the soft matchup and additional playing time.

The other two who stand out as plays in both cash and tournaments are Maxi Kleber ($3,800) and Salah Mejri ($3,200). Mejri has been much better on a per-minute basis, averaging 1.01 DraftKings points per minute to Kleber's 0.72. However, of the two, Kleber is much more likely to push for 30-plus minutes. Especially with Mejri dealing with a knee issue, it is unlikely he pushes for big minutes on the back end of a back-to-back. Kleber could realistically play 35-to-40 minutes with nobody else available inside for Dallas. He needs only 19 DraftKings points at this price tag and is a viable play in all formats.

If really looking to squeeze every ounce of value out of this one, you could also entertain Aaron Harrison ($3,000), Dorian Finney-Smith ($3,400), or Doug McDermott ($3,300) as options. All three have averaged fewer than 0.70 DraftKings points per minute on the year, making them low-upside options.