It feels like we’ve had several games every night, but that’s not the case here. We have five games for the day, with four of them making up the night slate. What’s interesting is that we have lower prices here. It seems as though DraftKings has taken notice of the smaller slate and made lineup construction easier by dropping everyone’s prices about five percent. That makes things really interesting, so let’s go ahead and get into it!

If you have any comments or questions, reach me on Twitter @Bartilottajoel.

Check out today’s NBA Tip-Off from DraftKings

Most Value Per Dollar 

The UTA-MIA and NYK-HOU games are definitely going to be the lower scoring games on this slate. Those are some of the slowest paced teams in the league and some of the best defenses. The BKN-GSW match is easily the highest-scoring total out there, but every spread should be relatively close. Obviously, we’ll be targeting the Brooklyn-Golden State game but will probably find more value in the other three fixtures.

If you’d like to see more information on how the betting landscape will be for this slate, check out BettingPros.

Below is a list of the top-10 players of the day expected to generate the most value relative to their salary. These are ranked in order.

Nerlens Noel (NYK) $3,900:
With Mitchell Robinson (hand) getting injured on Friday, Noel is the lock of the day. We say that because Robinson was playing 30 minutes a night, and Noel should step right into that role. That monstrous bump is huge for a guy like this, with Nerlens averaging 15.8 DraftKings points per game across 16 minutes a night. If he maintains that rate in 30 minutes, Noel could be looking at an 8X-9X value.

Myles Turner (IND) $5,800:
Turner has had a rough five-game stretch, but it lowered his price way too much. Before that, Myles was averaging 39 DraftKings points per game, playing at an $8K level. We love that for a guy who’s sitting around $6,000, and he should be asked to play 30-35 minutes against an average Atlanta defense.

DeMarcus Cousins (HOU) $6,500:
Cousins will continue to start for Christian Wood, making him a great option. In his eight starts this season, Cuz is averaging 38 DK points per game. We love that with the Knicks surrendering the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing centers. This is a guy who’s averaging 1.4 DK points per minute for the year, and as long as he’s receiving the playing time, Cousins will be productive.

Andrew Wiggins (GSW) $6,400:
Wiggins doesn’t have a huge floor, but this price is too low. We say that because Wig is averaging 32 DK points per game since the opening week and gets to face a Brooklyn team with the worst defense in the NBA over the last three weeks. Both of these clubs are Top-6 in pace, too, which should lead to an absolute shootout. Curry’s going to need some help scoring, and Wiggins is definitely the go-to guy.

Elfrid Payton (NYK) $5,100:
Payton started the season tremendously but hit a rough patch a few weeks back. He’s recaptured that early-season form recently, averaging 31 DK points per game across his last four fixtures. That’s all you can ask for from someone this cheap, and it makes Payton one of the best GPP players out there. If Derrick Rose sits in the second half of a B2B, that only adds to Payton’s value.

John Wall (HOU) $7,200:
With Victor Oladipo and Wood, both expected to sit here, Wall should be in for a heavy workload. That’s big news for a guy who’s scored at least 34 DraftKings points in seven-straight games. With those two off the floor, Wall has a 34 percent usage rate while averaging 1.2 DK points per minute. If he does those things here, 40 DK points look like a near guarantee, which is ridiculous from a $7,200 player.

Jeremy Lamb (IND) $5,100:
Lamb has been all over the map, but he’s shown some serious potential. He’s scored at least 28 DK points in five of his last eight games, which is a massive total from a $5,100 player. He does have some serious downside when you see some of his duds, but this cheap price tag limits most of that risk.

Joe Ingles (UTH) $5,700:
With Mike Conley out, Ingles has done a ton of ball-handling. In fact, he’s averaging over 25 DK points per game across his last eight outings, dropping 35-plus in two of his previous three fixtures. That’s similar production to what he did when Mitchell was out of the lineup, and he’ll take over whoever’s out between the two. That makes it hard to believe he’s below $6K still.

Kendrick Nunn (MIA) $5,900:
Nunn has benefited from Goran Dragic being out, and it’s done wonders for his fantasy value. He’s now scored at least 27 DK points in eight of his last 11 games, averaging 30 fantasy points per game in that span. That’s the guy we saw last year in his battle for Rookie of the Year votes, and he’ll continue to get heavy minutes as long as Dragic is out.

Kevin Huerter (ATL) $6,100:
With Deandre Hunter missing games, Huerter has taken his role. In fact, The Red Velvet is averaging 35 fantasy points per game across his last five fixtures. He’s also playing about 35 minutes a night in that span while firing up double-digit shots regularly. With Trae Young and John Collins taking a lot of the attention, look for Huerter to thrive.

Check out our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet for the top bets of the day

Studs Worth Their Salary

• Stephen Curry (GSW) $10,100: We already discussed how Brooklyn has the worst defense in the NBA since the Harden trade, and it’s scary to think they have a date with Curry here. The sharpshooter has at least 37 DraftKings points in 15-straight games, averaging 48 fantasy points per game in that span. He’s also scored at least 27 raw points in eight-straight outings, which looks like the floor in a matchup like this. Facing off against this team full of studs will surely light a fire under Curry, and he should be extra motivated to go off yet again.
• Trae Young (ATL) $9,800: Young has been doing some scorching of his own. Amazingly, Trae has at least 51 DK points in 10 of his last 11 games, en route to a 51-point average in that span. He certainly wasn’t worried about Indiana’s defense last year either, scoring at least 63 DK points in two of their three meetings. That hot stretch direct correlates with Hunter being out of the lineup, and his usage should continue to be sky-high as long as he’s sidelined.
• Domantas Sabonis (IND) $9,000: The Hawks have really struggled with opposing bigs, surrendering the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season. That’s bad news against a guy who’s reached at least 39 DK points in all but three games this season. That’s clear by his 39-point average against Atlanta last year, which looks like the floor considering the aforementioned numbers.
• Julius Randle (NYK) $8,700: Randle’s enormous role has made him one of the most reliable players in fantasy. He’s actually averaging 37 minutes a night while posting a 27 percent usage rate. That’s led to him scoring at least 38 fantasy points in 24 of his 26 games this season and should be able to duplicate that against a Houston team that plays at the fifth-fastest pace in the NBA. All of this has him at a 47-point average for the season, and that’s simply too much for a player south of $9,000.

Notable Players to Fade

• R.J. Barrett (NYK) $6,000: Barrett provides very little outside of scoring, and that’s troublesome for a guy with lackluster percentages. He’s shooting just 43 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point range for the year and has been even worse recently. He’s only cracked 31 fantasy points once in his last nine games, averaging 24 DK points per game in that span. Houston is certainly not a team we expect to improve against either, ranked fourth in defense since trading away Harden.
• Joe Harris (BKN) $5,600: Now that Harden, Kyrie, and Durant are all back in the lineup, Harris doesn’t have the same role. His usage drops to a minuscule number with all of those guys in action, and the only way he can provide value is to shoot lights out from the field. What really scares us here is this price tag. Harris earned it with his increased role when KD was out but look for that to drop here.
• Derrick Rose (NYK) $4,800: People might get excited about Rose joining the Knicks, but he’s ceding touches to Randle, Payton, Alec Burks, and Barrett. That’s too many mouths to feed, especially with Rose playing just 20 minutes in his debut. We also don’t like that this is the second half of a back-to-back set, which might keep Rose limited or on the bench altogether.

Create DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool

Beyond our daily fantasy basketball content, be sure to check out our Daily Fantasy Basketball Tools. Our Lineup Optimizer allows you to build winning DFS lineups in seconds for Cash and GPP contests – to our DFS Cheat Sheets – that helps you get a quick read on the day’s players we’ve got you covered this fantasy basketball season.

Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.