Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks - Friday, January 5, 2024

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Point Guard/ Shooting Guard

Donovan Mitchell FD - $10600 DK - $9500
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 57.25 DK - 60.27

The Cavs and Wizards are playing the second leg of a home-and-home after Cleveland blew the doors off Washington the last time out. Donovan Mitchell was a popular play for that game and should be again here. He only got 22 minutes because the game was well over by the start of the fourth quarter, but he still finished with 22 points, four assists, and three rebounds.

That’s on the very low end of expectation here against the best DFS matchup around, with Washington ranking dead last in defense and first in overall pace. Blowout risk for sure, but Mitchell is still a cash game play easily.

Trae Young FD - $10200 DK - $10100
Opponent - IND
Proj Pts FD - 54.09 DK - 59.61

DraftKings and FanDuel don’t agree on the same games for the main slates, but luckily some of the best matchups are all happening on the earlier side. Trae Young and the Hawks take on the Pacers with a game total sitting in the 262 range. This one should be a total track meet with very little defense to speak of.

Trae is averaging 28 points a game, shooting 38% from three, and Quinn Snyder has been fine running him close to 40 minutes a game if things stay close. He’s expensive, but the floor is so high because of the game environment.

Terry Rozier FD - $9000 DK - $8400
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 41.87 DK - 45.36M

He isn’t as good as the two guys above, but on FanDuel, he’s coming considerably cheaper and has the potential to put up a ton of shots in this game. Chicago is a middling defense, with Rozier putting up 20+ shots in five of his last six games. There’s still no LaMelo Ball, so the offense is running through Scary Terry, and over the last six, he’s averaged more than seven assists per game as well.

If the Wizards could just keep things close then Tyus Jones (FD 6600 DK 5800) would look like a great value.

On DraftKings, T.J. McConnell (FD 5600 DK 4200) has a high floor at this price, considering his minutes off the bench and the pace of the game.

Small Forward

Max Strus FD - $6800 DK - $6600
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 34.77 DK - 37.9

Isaac Okoro FD - $5100 DK - $4900
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 24.67 DK - 25.92

Max Strus was an absolute flamethrower last game, shooting 9-13 from the field and 6-8 from three against the Wizards. It only took him 28 minutes to get 24 points. While the efficiency isn’t necessarily repeatable, the minutes should be higher if the Wizards are just slightly more competitive.

Plus, Strus’s price isn’t prohibitive on either site, considering his ability to score fantasy points across the box score. We had him at low ownership last game, which could be the case again tonight.

Meanwhile, Isaac Okoro was a much more popular play on DraftKings and FanDuel mostly because the price was cheaper and he helped to round out lineups a bit better. Overall, the 9/3/2/1 line was a disappointment, but he was burned off of about 10 minutes because of the blowout.

I’m fine returning to the well here because of the matchup and overall total. He doesn’t have a tremendous ceiling, but the floor should be there with the potential defensive stats ticking up some.

Deni Avdija (FD 5800 DK 6100) would be a lock if we could come close to guaranteeing 30+ minutes, but that hasn’t always been the case.

The Pacers could have some value if both Bruce Brown and Andrew Nembhard sit this game out as well.

Power Forward/ Center

Jarrett Allen FD - $9200 DK - $8300
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 47.51 DK - 49.8

Jarrett Allen went wild against the Wizards on Wednesday, finishing with 17 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks in just 29 minutes. That’s about as amazing as it gets in per-minute fantasy scoring, and we could be staring down the barrel at a similar line tonight. The Wizards are just too good of a matchup, and his price hasn’t gotten too far out of the comfort zone here, especially on DraftKings.

Jalen Johnson FD - $7200 DK - $6900
Opponent - IND
Proj Pts FD - 40.77 DK - 42.97

We’ve been on the Jalen Johnson train most of the season, and there’s no reason to get off it now, especially with a game that has a total in the stratosphere. Johnson got in foul trouble last game and *still* finished with 28 points and seven rebounds in just 29 minutes against the Thunder. He’ll get a chance at that and more against the Pacers and should be a popular play on both sites once again. He’s still worth these prices, which is really saying something.

Clint Capela FD - $7800 DK - $6700
Opponent - IND
Proj Pts FD - 38.4 DK - 39.06

This one is a bit riskier, but if possible, we want as much exposure to this game as possible. Capela can crush in even limited minutes, but it’s just a matter of how long Snyder will keep him on the court. He went for 12 points and 14 rebounds in 25 minutes against the Thunder on Wednesday, but earlier in the season, he played just 19 minutes against the Pacers because of foul trouble. I’m more inclined to run him on DraftKings because of the price reduction and double-double bonus possibilities.

Can we get 28+ minutes out of Daniel Gafford (FD 6700 DK 5900) so he can crush these prices?