NBA DFS Expert Survey: Friday, January 17th

by Justin Bailey (Jbails26) Last Updated 2025-01-17 19:24:20 Premium Content Part of the product NBA DFS

Our panel of experts is here to give you their NBA DFS advice for the upcoming slate by answering a handful of questions to help you make crucial lineup-building decisions. Want to know headChopper’s favorite tournament play? Or Noto’s favorite salary saver? Find out below!

NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings & FanDuel Expert Survey for Friday, January 17

Who is your favorite player to spend up for in cash games?

Notorious: LaMelo Ball
Dean78904: Giannis Antetokounmpo
tcsmith031: LaMelo Ball
TJ Zwarych: Giannis Antetokounmpo

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What is your preferred tournament format (e.g. large-field, single-entry) to play on this slate? How do you plan to beat that field of opponents? What tactic or strategy will set you apart?

Notorious: I love small-field and single-entry tournaments. I’ve been on team #FadeGiannis for quite some time, and that will continue tonight. A matchup against the Raptors is enticing, but there’s blowout potential, and he’s been held under 62 fantasy points in 8 of his last 10 games. I’d rather start lineups with LaMelo Ball or go with a more balanced attack.

Dean78904: My main focus is single-entry and smaller-field contests. Mark Williams is my favorite play on the board, and teammate LaMelo Ball isn’t too far behind. I expect to have one of them in every lineup and am not opposed to playing them together.

tcsmith031: It’ll be a mix of 20-max and single-entry for me, as usual. As of now, I’m coming in under the field on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic and building more heavily around cheaper spends, like LaMelo Ball and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. I also like RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes quite a bit as potentially lower-owned plays to correlate with a piece or two from the Milwaukee side in a mini TOR/MIL game stack.

TJ Zwarych: I plan to play single-entry tournaments, and while the field is flocking to Giannis Antetokounmpo in a great spot, my preferred spend-ups are LaMelo Ball and Victor Wembanyama (on FD). There are 3 games that really stand out to me, so I’ll be primarily looking to roster players from CHA/CHI, UTA/NOP, and MEM/SA (on FD).

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