The NBA has a massive 11-game slate coming up Wednesday night, and DraftKings is ready to roll with huge contests to match the size of the mega-slate. It’s already been a busy basketball week, and the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings are taking the floor for the second night in a row. With 22 teams in action, there are multiple important injury issues to monitor which could open more value options later. To keep up with all the latest, follow @dklive on Twitter and download the DK Live app. You can also find my value picks each day of the NBA season @ZT_Sports.
In this post, we’ll focus on my favorite bargain plays for Wednesday. These ultra-affordable plays are in a position to out-produce their affordable salaries based on form, matchup and expected workload.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $450K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
SG/SF Malik Beasley, Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Clippers, $4,100
Beasley could be in line for a massive workload Wednesday night since Minnesota will be without D’Angelo Russell (ankle) and possibly Patrick Beverley ($3,700; calf, questionable). Beasley has stepped into a larger role in the past and shown a high ceiling as a scorer and creator. He played a season-high 32 minutes on Monday and produced 24.0 DKFP despite a tough night shooting, hitting just 4-of-16 shots from the field and 3-of-12 from long range. His shots were more on-point Saturday when he hit six three-pointers in 27 minutes and had 28.0 DKFP against the Nuggets.
The volume should be there for Beasley while Russell is out, even if Beverley plays. Beverley provides better non-scoring stats, to be sure, but Beasley’s ability to score more points makes him the better fantasy option while Russell is out. Beasley’s usage rate has spiked to 23.3% and 22.7% in Minnesota’s two most recent contests, and whether he moves into the starting lineup or just has the green light off the bench, he should be able to return nice value in his increased role.
PG/SG Anfernee Simons, Portland Trail Blazers at Cleveland Cavaliers, $4,000
Simons has shown flashes of potential in the past when given the chance, but this season it looks like he has turned the corner and can contribute on a nightly basis. Even though he’s in his fourth season, Simons is still just 22 years old, and he is on pace right now for career highs in minutes, points, three-pointers, effective field goal percentage, rebounds and assists. The advanced metrics are all very positive for Simons, and some even indicate he has been the Blazers’ best offensive player from an efficiency perspective.
From a fantasy perspective, Simons has hit for over 23 DKFP in three of his past four games including a pair of games with 29.75 DKFP against the Grizzlies and 76ers. He has scored double-digit points in six of his seven games this season while averaging 10.7 field goal attempts per game and shooting 50.7%. He has a 21.7% usage rate while serving as the Blazers’ sixth man and should continue to be a nightly consideration as a cheap guard play while his salary hovers around $4K.
SF/PF Georges Niang, Philadelphia 76ers vs Chicago Bulls, $3,800
The Sixers are playing short-handed but have started the season 5-2 thanks to some role players stepping up in larger roles including Niang. Ben Simmons (personal) continues to be sidelined, and he’ll be joined by Tobias Harris (health and safety protocols) and Danny Green (hamstring) for this contest. While Furkan Korkmaz ($4,300) started in place of Harris and had a solid game with 28.0 DKFP in 25 minutes, it was Niang who actually posted the bigger game. In his increased role, Niang scored a season-high 21 points, including three three-pointers to go with five rebounds, five assists and a block in 31 minutes on his way to an impressive 37.75 DKFP.
Without Harris, Simmons and Green, there should be plenty of minutes and opportunities for Niang to continue to deliver. He’s reached 20 DKFP in three of his past five contests and contributes in multiple categories. While Korkmaz and Shake Milton ($3,900) are solid value plays as well, Niang offers multi-category potential and a high ceiling in this favorable matchup against the Bulls, who have been the 10th-best matchup for SFs this season.
SG/SF Svi Mykhailiuk, Toronto Raptors at Washington Wizards, $3,700
The Raptors signed Mykhailiuk this past offseason and added him to the bench as a depth option. Over the first six games of the season, he averaged just 13.1 minutes per game, but he has stepped into a much larger role in the past two games after the injury to Scottie Barnes (thumb), who will remain sidelined for this contest against the Wizards. It should be a good spot for Svi since Washington gives up the third-most DKFP to opposing small forwards.
Mykhailiuk scored 15 points and had 24.5 DKFP in 22 minutes last Saturday, the first time he played over 20 minutes this season. He earned his way into the starting lineup with that performance and filled in for Barnes on Monday against the Knicks. In that contest, he played a season-high 35 minutes, finishing with 33.75 DKFP on 15 points, five assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals. Since the Wizards are an even better matchup, he should be in a great spot to continue his success, especially if he stays in the starting unit.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $450K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
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