Hittin' The Nuts: Squirrelpatrol's NBA DFS Lineup Advice - Tuesday, January 23rd
Want to hit the nuts and take down 1st place in these massive contests posted by FanDuel and DraftKings? Who better to walk you through their favorite NBA DFS picks than Squirrelpatrol! Undoubtedly one of the best DFS players in the game today, Squirrelpatrol has accumulated 90+ Live Final seats, won the FanDuel 2021 World Fantasy Basketball Championship for $500,000, and most recently, took down the NFL Milly Maker in Week 2.
The NBA season continues on Tuesday with a mid-sized, 5-game slate that tips off at 7:00 PM ET, as the Nuggets travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers in a game with a 237.5 total and Denver favored by 5 points. That game is followed by the Knicks crossing the bridge (or tunnel) to face Brooklyn at 7:30 PM ET in a game with a 223 total with the Knicks favored by 4 points.
At 8:00 PM ET, we get two games, with Portland in Oklahoma City as 13.5-point underdogs in a game with a 234 total and Utah at New Orleans in a game with a 239.5 total where the Pelicans are 6.5-point home favorites.
The last game of the night is at 10:00 PM ET, as the Lakers pretend to be the road team in the Crypto.com Arena facing the Clippers, with the Clippers favored by 9.5 points in a game with a 234.5 total. This game has the most significant injury news on the slate, as LeBron James is not questionable but actually listed as out.
The only other injury news that could impact the slate as of now is Andrew Nembhard listed as questionable for the Pacers in the first game of the night, and Kris Dunn listed as questionable for Utah in one of the 8:00 PM ET games. We should have the Pacers news before lock, but it’s important to monitor to see if T.J. McConnell ends up in the starting lineup over Nembhard.
Let’s sort through the slate and figure out what to do with our DFS lineups.
NBA DFS Lineup Advice: Squirrelpatrol’s ‘Hittin’ The Nuts’ (January 23rd)
High Flyers
Who are the players I’m picking first for my squad? These guys are the first selections for both my cash game and tournament lineups, and I’ll sacrifice elsewhere, if need be, to ensure I get them in:
DAngelo Russell
FanDuel: $7,100
DraftKings: $6,500
Russell has started the last 5 games for the Lakers after coming off the bench beginning in mid-December. In these last 5 games as a starter, he has averaged 44.3 DK points per game with 27.2 points per game and 6.4 assists per game, but his price has only risen $300 on DraftKings and $1,100 on FanDuel. LeBron being out is the headline news and should help Russell even more, but he was underpriced even for LeBron being in.
Zion Williamson
FanDuel: $7,700
DraftKings: $7,400
Zion draws a plus matchup against a Utah team that has allowed the 8th-most points in the NBA per game this season and has been even worse recently, allowing the 5th-most points over their past 10 games. They have been poor defending the paint, allowing the 12th-most points per game in the paint, which could be trouble against Zion, who ranks 2nd in the NBA in points in the paint. Zion has been consistent but not explosive this season and hasn’t seen a 50 DK point game since November, but he has seen his price drop $1,100 on FanDuel and $1,500 on DraftKings since December 1st.
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