We’re kicking off the weekend with a three-game NBA DFS slate on DraftKings and while it’s a small one, there’s green to be won. I’ll be breaking down my core plays, my favorite value plays, game to target, and my top two bets. We went 1-2 on the bets on Friday, looking to get back on track.
NBA DFS – Core Plays
LeBron James $9,600 – 48.75 DK Points – 5.08 Value Rating
Time to ride the 40,000-point narrative, LeBron James is close to reaching history and will have a solid matchup versus the Denver Nuggets. James has met the Denver Nuggets twice this season already and averaged 23 points, 8.5 rebounds, and six assists. The Nuggets do bring a tougher defense overall to teams but the Lakers have been finding success as of late, winning four of the last five. On top of the winning, James has recorded 31 and 34 points in his past two games.
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Jordan Goodwin $5,200 – 31.13 DK Points – 5.99 Value Rating
Jordan Goodwin will be another salary-saver spot once again Saturday and has logged back-to-back games with 30 minutes or more of action. He recorded 10 points, three rebounds, two assists with two steals and four rebounds Friday versus Portland. Getting a similar output similar to Friday might not be realistic but Goodwin will have many opportunities to exceed his price tag. Portland is a team that has struggled versus point guards and allows them to average 24.6 points, 8.9 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game.
Jusuf Nurkic $7,100 – 35.33 DK points – 4.98 Value Rating
Jusuf Nurkic has been performing better as of late and is a walking double-double. In his last five games, he has averaged 11.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. He has recorded three double-doubles in his past five games, with a monstrous one versus the Los Angeles Lakers with 18 points and 22 rebounds. He now faces the Houston Rockets who allow opposing centers to average 23.2 points and 14.8 rebounds per game.
NBA DFS – Top Value Targets
Duop Reath $4,600 – 27.20 DK points – 5.91 Value Rating
It’s time to run it back with Duop Reath who should be filling in for Deandre Ayton once again. He recorded 18 points, five rebounds, and one assist with two blocks and two steals Friday night. With the same matchup once again, Reath should be able to put up a similar performance. Memphis can stop bigs from scoring but they do give up rebounds, allowing opposing centers to average 15.8 rebounds per game.
Matisse Thybulle $3,600 – 20.59 DK Points – 5.72 Value Rating
The Portland Trailblazers have some good value plays for us to target and we’ll follow the hot hand of Matisse Thybulle. He recorded 24.3 DK points Friday night as he dropped 13 points with three rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Thybulle has been able to see plenty of court time lately as in his past three games, he has recorded 26 minutes or more. If he can perform similarly to Friday night, his $3,600 price tag is a juicy one.
NBA DFS – Game To Target
Denver Nuggets (-105) versus Los Angeles Lakers (-115) – Total 229.5 Points
Odds and Total Points are taken from the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Piggybacking off of the core play of LeBron James, the Denver Nuggets versus the Los Angeles Lakers is a great spot to attack. While it is just the second-highest total of the slate, there is a huge pace-up boost here. The Lakers play at a much faster pace, averaging 105 possessions per game while the Nuggets only average 100 possessions per game. This game has three pay spots: Nikola Jokic ($11.4K), Anthony Davis ($10.2K), and LeBron James ($9.6K), all of whom have great upside.
While there are great pay-up spots in this game, the salary-saving spots aren’t as appealing. Usually, we would stick to one game to target but Portland and Memphis will hold all of the value Saturday, allowing us to get multiple stars in our lineups.
NBA DFS – Best Bets
Jusuf Nurkic over 21.5 Points + Rebounds -120 (DK Sportsbook)
Jusuf Nurkic has a solid matchup versus Houston and is averaging 11.6 points and 12.4 rebounds in his last five games. He has faced Houston twice this season and exceeded the 21.5 total in those games. Riding his double-double momentum in his past two games, this should be the third one for him to notch as Houston continues to struggle versus bigs.
Anthony Davis over 23.5 Points -120 (DK Sportsbook)
While Saturday night is most likely going to be about LeBron James reaching his 40,000-point milestone, Anthony Davis should still be in line to continue his consistent play. Davis has hit the total in three of his last five games. On top of that, he has averaged 24.6 points in two games versus Denver this season.
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