3 NBA DraftKings Value Plays to Target on 1/23/19

Fred VanVleet, PG/SG, Toronto Raptors

DraftKings Price: $4,600

The Toronto Raptors will be without Kawhi Leonard once again tonight. There are a number of players who see their fantasy stock rise when he misses time. You could use C.J. Miles, who averages 4.7 more DraftKings points when Kawhi is out; Norman Powell, who sees a less significant 2.3-point bump; or perhaps even Delon Wright, whose DraftKings output increases 3.4 points to 18.2 when Leonard misses time.

Those guys are all interesting choices and worth a look, but for my money, I'm taking a shot on Fred VanVleet. While most people might associate FVV's biggest value as a fill-in for Kyle Lowry, he's nearly as valuable a part of the team when Kawhi misses time.

In the 12 games he's played without his new teammate, VanVleet is putting up 11.6 points, 3.1 boards, 5.7 assists, and 26.2 DraftKings points. That compares to averages of 9.9, 2.6, 4.2, and 22.1, respectively, in the 31 games they've played together.

Despite three solid games in a row -- including a 42.5-point effort in his last outing against the Sacramento Kings -- VanVleet's salary has actually dropped to $4,600, the lowest it's been since December 12. Go figure. Like Kanter, exploit the price drop and take a chance on VanVleet tonight.