Shaun Evans 
We’re kicking the week off with a six-game NBA DFS slate. I’ll be breaking down my core plays alongside my favorite value plays. I’ll also go over which game to target when building your lineups tonight. To end the article, I’ll drop my two favorite bets overall. Let us dive in and get to the green.
NBA DFS – Core Plays
Victor Wembanyama $10,500 – 55.34 DK Points – 5.27 Value Rating
Fresh off rest and back from the injury sittings, Victor Wembanyama faces a banged-up Golden State Warriors team Monday night. Now, in their first meeting, Wembanyama only recorded 22 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. He added two blocks and one steal. Can the Warriors slow him down again and while banged up? Most likely not. We have some great pay-up spots tonight and Luka Doncic is hard to pass up but Wembanyama makes for a strong play.
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Luke Kornet $3,300 – 19.87 DK Points – 6.02 Value Rating
While Luke Kornet is backing up Al Horford tonight, the matchup versus the Portland Trailblazers is one to go after. The Trailblazers are one of the league’s worst at guarding centers. They allow them to average 24.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. Now, Kornet hasn’t had the most consistent play but there is a big opportunity to continue his strong showing versus the Phoenix Suns as he recorded 14 points with six rebounds.
Trayce Jackson-Davis ($4.4k) is also a great low-cost play tonight.
Cade Cunningham $8,400 – 43.86 DK points – 5.22 Value Rating
While the Detroit Pistons are already eliminated from the playoffs, Cade Cunningham has been playing strong basketball. He has recorded back-to-back double-doubles with 32 points and 11 assists versus Brooklyn and 33 points and 10 assists versus Dallas. Charlotte allows point guards to score and almost average a double-double with 23.7 points and nine assists per game. There is also a huge pace-up boost for the Detroit Pistons as they average 104.1 possessions per game and Charlotte only averages 101.
NBA DFS – Top Value Targets
Sam Merrill $4,400 – 21.63 DK points – 4.92 Value Rating
The Cleveland Cavaliers are without a good amount of players tonight. Sam Merrill should benefit from that. Currently, he’s projected for 21.63 points tonight. With just 11 active players (as of now), Merrill will get extra run time. In his last five games, he has averaged 7.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while averaging 23.5 minutes per game.
Davis Bertans $4,900 – 27.65 DK Points – 5.64 Value Rating
Davis Bertans is in a pace-up boost spot tonight as we mentioned the pace in the Cade Cunningham breakdown. With that boost, should come more opportunities for him to score. That’s something he has been doing pretty well in his last five games. Bertans is averaging 12.8 points with 3.8 rebounds in his last five. He recorded three straight games with 14 points and then back-to-back games with 11 points.
NBA DFS – Game To Target
Charlotte Hornets (+150) versus Detroit Pistons (-180) – Total 217 Points
Odds and Total Points are taken from the DraftKings Sportsbook.
This game is tied for the lowest total of the slate the pace and the price are worth it. We already targeted Cade Cunningham as a core piece and Davis Bertans as a value piece. For Detroit, Ausar Thompson is already questionable. That will make way for even more value tonight if he is ruled out. Jaden Ivey and Cade Cunningham could have a good night. Ivey is only $5,900 and projected for 31.70 DK points with a value of 5.37.
For being in a pace-up spot for Charlotte, Brandon Miller is at $7,200 and should be able to make more of his opportunities versus Detroit. For Vasillij Micic, he is coming off of a strong outing and gets another great matchup. Detroit allows guards to average 26.9 points and 8.8 assists per game. Also, Charlotte currently has 10 active players for tonight’s game and the minutes could be heavy for their starters.
NBA DFS – Best Bets
Kyrie Irving over 4.5 Assists +120 (DK Sportsbook)
Kyrie Irving has a good opportunity tonight to rack up assists versus the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls currently allow 8.7 assists per game. Irving has only hit this mark once in his past five games but on the season, averages five assists. This will be their first meeting versus Chicago and with Luka Doncic scoring at his will, Kyrie Irving should be able to reach his total tonight.
P.J. Washington over 11.5 Points -125 (DK Sportsbook)
P.J. Washington will be seeing the Chicago Bulls for the fourth time this season. In the first three games, Washington is averaging 11.7 points. In his last five games, he is averaging 13.4 points and has only missed the total in the past two games. For Chicago, they are allowing forwards to average 23.2 points per game and most likely will allow Washington to hit closer to his projection of 14.7 points tonight.
