3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 1/13/20
While building a daily fantasy basketball lineup, it's important to make sure you find the right studs to anchor your team. As the most expensive players in your lineup, they need big-time production to match their high price tag.
You may find it hard to fit some of these guys in while staying under the salary cap, but you can check out our projections to find value players for your rosters. Let's take a look at the top high-priced DraftKings plays of the day.
Andre Drummond, C, Detroit Pistons
DraftKings Price: $10,300
The state of tonight's elite plays is, in a word, lacking. All of Karl-Anthony Towns, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis are questionable with their respective injuries and illnesses, while Joel Embiid -- who underwent surgery on Thursday -- has already been ruled out against the Indiana Pacers. Above $9,000, Andre Drummond is the only healthy option.
It's not so much a matter of being the only guy, though, as Drummond was on a mini-roll heading into his last game. On Saturday, he was held to 19.0 DK points in 19 minutes before being ejected in the Detroit Pistons' loss to the Chicago Bulls. But, prior to that, the big man had gone for 61.5 and 62.25 DK points in the previous two games, and he had at least 50 in three of four. That included two 20-20 outbursts and 39.3 minutes a night.
For Monday, Drummond and his Pistons host the New Orleans Pelicans, against whom they are one-point underdogs at FanDuel Sportsbook. And according to NBA.com, it is a clear pace-up spot for Detroit as the Pels average more than four more possessions per game this season. The big man should be one of the top plays of the night and carries a projection of 47.5 DK points into the matchup.
Nikola Vucevic, C, Orlando Magic
DraftKings Price: $8,300
Nikola Vucevic offers similar upside at the same position. And while he is a whole $2,000 below Drummond, he might be even more of a lock in cash formats and someone to give a shot at producing from the utility spot. In other words, two centers might be the way to go on this seven-game slate.
On the road against the Sacramento Kings, the Orlando Magic are 2.5-point underdogs, but a close game bodes well for key pieces here. That obviously goes for Vooch, who played 33 minutes in a close game on Friday compared to the 28 he played in a 34-point victory two nights before. When the game is close, he is a virtual lock for 30-plus minutes. In the 23 games he's hit that mark he has posted averages of 19.5 points, 11.9 rebounds and a total of 45.3 DK points a game -- 2.7 north of his season average.
That is promising for Vucevic to return the five-times value we are in search of, but so are his recent game logs. Going back to December 27, he has tallied no fewer than 41 DK points in each game including eight games at or above tonight's salary-implied total (41.5). If you're willing to drop to the second tier Vucevic is as rock-solid as it gets.
Brandon Ingram, SF/PF, New Orleans Pelicans
DraftKings Price: $8,100
In that same general price range, Brandon Ingram is another fantastic play on the other side of that cross-conference tilt in Detroit. Fortunately for us, though, his price is down by $300 after a down game Saturday against the Boston Celtics. He was held to 16 points and 30.25 DK points on 4-for-15 shooting a game after popping off for 51.0 DK points at a salary of $9,200. We need to take the discount.
That 51-point showing marked three straight of 28 points and 50-plus fantasy points with Jrue Holiday sidelined. Holiday is listed as questionable alongside, J.J. Redick, meaning Ingram could be in for a few more shots on top of his 18.5 a game to date. That raises his scoring and fantasy floor, but the absence of Holiday has helped in the assist department, as well. According to NBA Wowy, Ingram has used 30.6% of the offensive possessions with a 27.7% assist rate in the 452 minutes sans Holiday. Those figures sit at just 28.5% and 15.9% when he's on.
The final thing in Ingram's favor? Matchup. The Pistons are a slower team, but their defense ranks 23rd in the league while they allow top-10 production to opposing power forwards, who average 24.6 points, 3.2 assists and 50.1 DK points per game against them. We project him for 40.9 DK points and a return of 5.05 points per $1,000.
Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BrettOswalt__14. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her 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.
