NBA DFS Picks Today (1/3): DraftKings & FanDuel Top Plays, Sleepers
We’re back on a fine Wednesday with 10 games on the main slate on both DraftKings and FanDuel. They’ve again taken matters into their own hands and left the 2 late-night games off the schedule, so every game on this slate will tip within 2 hours of the 7 PM ET lock.
Below, you’ll find a few NBA DFS picks that stand out on DraftKings and FanDuel as of the early afternoon hours. If you’re looking for more in-depth analysis, sign up for RG Premium.
Top NBA DFS DraftKings Lineup Optimizer Value
PF Jalen Johnson ($6,300)
Another day, another slate in which the best point-per-dollar values also happen to be some of the priciest players on the board. Maybe some value will pop up later in the day. For now, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson grades out as a useful value in the midrange at $6,300 on DraftKings.
Johnson returned from an injury just last week, but he looks no worse for the wear. He’s posted back-to-back beefy double-doubles, and he got up to 37 minutes in the last game. Tonight’s matchup against the Thunder isn’t an easy one on paper, but the Hawks will have the benefit of facing OKC as they play the second half of a back-to-back.
Johnson is having a breakout season, and the middling Hawks really can’t afford to keep him on the bench. He’s up to 1.04 DK FP/minute on the year, and he could again feast on the boards against a Thunder side that ranks 29th in the league so far this year in rebound rate.
Top NBA DFS FanDuel Lineup Optimizer Value
PF/C Chimezie Metu ($4,600)
The Suns will be without Kevin Durant for a second straight game when they host the Clippers. We saw Chimezie Metu draw another start in KD’s place in the last game, and we’re projecting the same arrangement tonight. The ex-King logged 26 minutes in Durant’s place in the last game, which is exactly what we have him at in our current projections.
Metu’s been solid in the minutes he’s played without Durant, contributing 0.81 FP/minute despite middling 16.9% usage. One potential complicating matter is that we saw some overlapping minutes between Jusuf Nurkic and Bol Bol in the last game, so Metu likely doesn’t have a clear path to 30-plus minutes.
Cheap value is cheap value, though, and Metu’s $4,600 salary and PF/C eligibility make him stand out as one of the better salary relief options available over on FanDuel.
NBA DFS Sleepers
PG/SG Devin Booker ($9,400 DK, $10,000 FD)
It sure looks like Donovan Mitchell will be a chalky spend at guard, and with good reason. He’s doing everything for the Cavs offensively with Darius Garland and Evan Mobley sidelined, and his Cavs draw one of the more mouth-watering matchups on the slate against the woeful Wizards. If Spida is going to be pushing 30% ownership around the industry, however, I have no qualms with pivoting to a similarly-priced Devin Booker at around 5% pOWN%.
Bradley Beal being healthy means Booker won’t have to do absolutely everything offensively for Phoenix without KD, but he is still leading the team in usage (33.8%) and assist rate (38.3%) in these minutes. The Clippers have plenty of capable defenders to throw Booker’s way, but his ability to stuff the stat sheet still gives him a high floor and a massive ceiling.
Booker just makes for a logical pivot away from Mitchell in tournaments, given the sizable projected ownership gap between them.
C Chet Holmgren ($8,000 DK, $8,400 FD)
We’ve been picking on the Hawks all season, so why stop now? Atlanta has run at the league’s 5th-quickest pace thus far, while they’re a grim 28th in defensive efficiency. OKC’s 124.5 total is among the highest on the slate, and they’re slight favorites on the road here.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserves most of the praise for the Thunder’s hot start, but this team wouldn’t be where it is without Chet Holmgren, either. Chet is up to 1.29 DK FP/minute on the season. His usage is pushing 22%, while he’s also posted double-digit assist and rebound rates. The rookie is also averaging a shade under 3 blocked shots per game, which is 4th in the league.
Center is a predictably deep position on such a full slate, and you can argue Chet’s salaries in the $8,000 range around the industry are still a little light.
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