What is up, FANation! Happy Friday and welcome back to another edition of the Fantasy Alarm NBA DFS Value Vault!
DRAFTKINGS
De'Aaron Fox ($7,500) - Mainly, any time I can get a guy with 40+ upside at a relatively sub 7K price, I am going to play him, just as we get with Fox here tonight. Not only has Fox topped 38 fantasy points in three of his last four, he gets a nice pace-up spot here with the Bucks coming into town, as they rank in the top five in the league in terms of PACE. Fox is carrying a hefty 28.1% usage rate over his last five, and has played 30 or more minutes in his last six games straight. Hard to pass up this price.
RJ Barrett ($5,200) - Dipping back into a well that I have went to more than once this season, with Barrett returning to Madison Square Garden after a 3-4 game road trip. Barrett has been flames in home games this season, and he gets a nice spot here against the fast-paced Pelicans team, who are also without starting SG Jrue Holiday . Let us also mention that Julius Randle has already been ruled out for personal reasons again tonight, and Barrett sees an extra 2.5-percent usage bump up to 26% total without Randle on the floor. Barrett has also put up 30 or more fantasy points in three of his last four in MSG, and the Pelicans are allowing the fifth most FPs to opposing SGs on the season as is.
Anzejs Pasecniks ($4,600) - Going out on a bit of limb here with Pasecniks, however we did just see him play a whopping 35 minutes for the Wiz last game against the Magic, a game where he also put up a 16 point, five board, three assist, and two block stat line. He has now played 22 or more mins in his last three, while also topping 26 fantasy points in two of his last three. It will be interesting to see if he gets the bulk of the load once again tonight, against an ATL team that has been absolutely demolished by opposing Centers lately, allowing the third most to the spot on the season.
FANDUEL
Thaddeus Young ($5,400) - Young is in a great spot tonight, which also happens to be a revenge spot and his return to Indiana. Young has seen 27, 27, and 34 minutes in his last three games with the absence of starting center Wendell Carter Jr., thus allowing Young to get extended run at the PF spot. He has made the best of it as well, going for 35.2, 35.3, and 19.9 FD points over those three also. Not to mention, he has amassed seven total steals in his last three games, which bodes very well over on FanDuel. *NOTE* Daniel Gafford has been announced the starter over Young. Young will be coming off of the bench.
Bobby Portis ($4,400) - Likely chalky on FD, as he is a great pay-down center spot over there, but it is for good reason. He played 28 minutes in the absence of starting PF Julius Randle in the Knicks' most recent game, and with Randle already ruled out for tonight, we should expect him to once again receive the starting nod for tonight’s match with the Pelicans. In those 28 minutes from last game, Portis put up a 13 point, 13 rebound, six assist line, and although he didn’t record a steal or block, that is very unusual of Portis. It was still good for 36.4 FD points, and I would highly expect him to record some blocks and/or steals in tonight’s paced-up affair.
Khem Birch ($3,900) - If you need another pay-down spot for tonight on FD, and Khem gets another start, as he did last game in the absence of Jonathan Issac, who looks to be out for a short bit, this is a great play. Birch played 29 minutes last game for the Magic starting at the PF spot, and was able to manage a modest 11 points, nine rebounds, two assists, a block, and THREE steal stat line. This was good for 35.8 FD points, and he gets a nice match up in also a pace-up spot here against the Suns tonight in Phoenix.