Coming off just one game on Tuesday, we’re back to massive slates with 12 on the docket for Wednesday on DraftKings. We’ve got Zion Williamson’s NBA debut for the New Orleans Pelicans to look forward to, but in DFS we’ll need to look elsewhere when crafting our lineups. There are also plenty of injuries to keep track of, so stick here with DK Nation for all the latest news and analysis. Also feel free to hit me up on Twitter @BenZweimanDKN with any questions for tonight’s slate.
UPDATE: Bonus play — With Trae Young sidelined tonight, John Collins ($7,100) is another strong GPP play. The Clippers won’t have Leonard or PG-13, so that’ll make things easier on Collins.
Trae Young will NOT play tonight against the Clippers, Lloyd Pierce says.
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) January 22, 2020
Point Guard
Lou Williams, LAC @ ATL, $7,300 — The Clippers are playing the Mavericks on Tuesday, so with the back-to-back we could see Kawhi Leonard rest. If that’s the case, Lou Will is the best offensive option L.A. has with Paul George also sidelined. The Hawks play at a high pace, allow a lot of points and struggle to defend the PG position. I’d peg Lou Will as a great tournament play and is even viable in cash games at this price.
Update: Kawhi Leonard and Patrick Beverley are both out vs. the Hawks. Trae Young is also out.
Other Options: Ben Simmons, PHI @ TOR, $9,300; Kendrick Nunn, MIA vs. WAS, $6,100
Shooting Guard
Donovan Mitchell, UTA @ GSW, $7,800 — If you watched the late game on Monday night, you saw what Damian Lillard did to the Warriors: 61 points. Now, I’m not saying D-Mitch is going to duplicate what Dame did, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if Mitchell sets a new NBA career high. The Warriors don’t have any perimeter defenders to deal with Mitchell and play up in pace. I think Mitchell is another mid-range GPP play that stands out.
Other Options: Zach LaVine, CHI vs. MIN, $9,000; Svi Mykhailiuk, DET vs. SAC, $5,000
Small Forward
DeMar DeRozan, SAS vs. NOP, $8,200 — A lot of the focus in this game will be on Zion. I think that will only help the Spurs, who are playing better basketball lately thanks to DeRozan. The All-Star swingman is averaging nearly 50 fantasy points over his past six games on 25.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists. You probably remember those type of numbers out of DeRozan from the past two seasons. The Pelicans are another bad defense that generally plays in high-scoring games — the perfect DFS environment.
Other Options: Will Barton, DEN @ HOU, $7,400; Robert Covington, MIN @ CHI, $5,900
Power Forward
Nemanja Bjelica, SAC @ DET, $6,700 — Again, if you checked out some hoops on Monday, you also noticed that the Detroit Pistons can’t play defense. They allowed the Wiz to shoot above 50% from the field. Bjelica’s price has jumped up from the mid-$5K range to the high-$6K range over the past week or so, mostly because he’s shooting lights out. Over the past six games, Bjelica is averaging 18 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 56.2% from the field and 51.4% from 3-point range.
Update: Marvin Bagley and Richaun Holmes are both out for the Kings. Bjelica is an even better option in GPPs.
Other Options: Domantas Sabonis, IND @ PHX, $7,900; Pascal Siakam, TOR vs. PHI, $6,900
Center
Nikola Vucevic, ORL vs. OKC, $8,300 — The Oklahoma City Thunder could be very thin in the frontcourt for this matchup. Steven Adams left Monday’s game with an ankle injury and just missed time with a knee contusion. Nerlens Noel didn’t play Monday due to an ankle injury as well. If both or one of them is out Wednesday, Vuce should have a pretty easy time down low. This would be ideal considering he’s struggled from the field lately. At this price, Vuce has triple-double upside and is another good mid-range play for GPPs.
Other Options: Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN @ CHI, $10,400; Montrezl Harrell, LAC @ ATL, $6,800