This article is part of our DraftKings NBA series.
It's difficult to focus on daily fantasy sports one day after the tragic loss of Kobe Bryant. Our thoughts are with his family and the families of those who lost loved ones.
SLATE OVERVIEW
DET (-6.5) vs. CLE O/U: 219.5
MIA (-4) vs. ORL O/U: 212
DAL (-1) @ OKC O/U: 224
SA (-2) @ CHI O/U: 216.5
MIN (-3) vs. SAC O/U: 224.5
UTA (-12) vs. HOU O/U: 224
There are some injury scenarios we'll have to wait on in Miami, but there's a lot to like about this slate, especially in the HOU/UTA matchup.
INJURY SITUATIONS TO MONITOR
Ongoing situations are excluded, but as the provider of player notes for DraftKings, RotoWire has you covered on every player with an injury designation if you need a refresher.
James Harden (thigh) DOUBTFUL
Russell Westbrook (rest) OUT
It looks like Houston is going to punt this game, and the dual absence is surely why we see such a lopsided point spread this evening. Look for Eric Gordon ($6,900) and Austin Rivers ($3,600) to start in the backcourt, and I favor Rivers as the better pivot due to price. I think Ben McLemore ($5,800) will also assume an enhanced role tonight.
Jimmy Butler (ankle) QUESTIONABLE
Kendrick Nunn (Achilles) QUESTIONABLE
Goran Dragic (calf) QUESTIONABLE
Bam Adebayo (ankle) PROBABLE
Miami is going to be a team you'll likely have to wait on until later in the day. If the three questionable tags are out, I would expect Tyler Herro ($5,000), Duncan Robinson ($5,100) and Dion Waiters ($3,500) to benefit the most in this scenario.
Marvin Bagley III (foot) OUT
Rather than going with pivots Dewayne Dedmon ($4,700) and Harry Giles III ($5,300) here, I'm more inclined to lean on the starters with a special emphasis on Nemanja Bjelica ($6,500).
ELITE PLAYS
Luka Doncic, DAL ($11,900) @ OKC
Doncic sticks out like a sore thumb atop this slate. He definitely had an off shooting night against Utah two days ago, but a look at his game history against the Thunder reveals a 62 DKFP thrashing that wasn't exactly a banner shooting night either. We'd need around that number to match value and justify this price, keeping in mind that we'd be left with a little under 5k per player moving forward. That should afford us one additional elite, and one of the centers below could fit in nicely in that role.
Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN ($10,300) vs. SAC
Towns is back to posting superior stat lines, and I suspect he'll yield a total that will rival Doncic's final tally. This could be a night to stack centers as Towns faces a Kings team that will tackle a mish-mash of Dedmon and Giles under center, but Nemanja Bjelica has been the guy to match up in the paint, and his effective neutralization of Andre Drummond a couple of weeks ago was impressive. If I need a justification to move off Towns I would look to that scenario, but I don't think it's enough for me to discount Towns' potential in this spot.
Andre Drummond, DET ($9,600) vs. CLE
Drummond has been freakishly consistent in three games against the Cavs, posting a three-game average of 60 DKFP against them this season. Double-double lines of 28/23, 23/20 and 17/14 highlight Drummond's excellent track record in this spot. Even if he dips below 60 DKFP, he's still going to give you well over 5x value in this spot. He has fallen well short of seasonal averages in seven of his last 10 games, however.
EXPECTED CHALK AND OTHER TARGETS
Donovan Mitchell, UTA ($7,900) vs. HOU
If there was ever a night to focus on Mitchell, Monday would be one of those occasions as the Jazz face a short-handed Houston team at home. You could argue that Mitchell could be used sparingly in the blowout, but Rudy Gobert will face stiff competition from Clint Capela in the frontcourt and they'll still need some offensive power to take control of this contest. Even if he sits a bit, Mitchell will impart swift damage when he's on the court. Although he has no history against Houston this season, he's coming off a respectable 46.5 DKFP game against Dallas two days ago.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC ($7,300) vs. DAL
I predict SGA will be super-chalky tonight. It's just a gut feeling that he'll look very attractive at this price point, and sharps will take a look at his 46.5 DKFP performance in his last tangle with the Mavericks as proof positive of his value. I'm inclined to agree, especially after looking at Chris Paul's three-game run of middling results.
LaMarcus Aldridge, SA ($7,200) @ CHI
Yes, the Spurs are on a back-to-back, but I have two reasons for going with Aldridge tonight. The first reason is obvious: the Bulls are decimated by injuries in the paint, and the current combo of Luke Kornet and Thaddeus Young isn't particularly intimidating. The second reason is based on a bit of an intangible. As an LA native who patterned his life after Kobe's example, DeMar DeRozan took the news especially hard. He left it all on the court last night and even the fittest of players would have a hard time recouping from such an emotional series of events. I think it will result in a bigger load to carry for Aldridge.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, UTA ($5,900) vs. HOU
Without placing too much emphasis on Utah, it would be irresponsible to not identify guys who could end up in cleanup roles if this game gets out of hand. I think Bogdanovic will be one of those players who will stick around into the fourth quarter, provided the Jazz are only up by 15 points or so. An absolute blowout will skew usage severely, but Bogdanovic has logged around 30 minutes in several lopsided contests this season, so I believe I can roster him with confidence.
Also consider: Aaron Gordon, ORL ($5,900) @ MIA
VALUE PLAYS
Things get a little dicey down here in the bargain bin, but thankfully we've already identified a crew of people to take advantage of in the injury section.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, DET ($5,000) vs, CLE
The Kansas product has now started three consecutive games alongside Bruce Brown and Derrick Rose, and with Tony Snell unlikely to play tonight, Mykhailiuk should be set up for a decent game against Cleveland. His forte is as a pure high-percentage shooter who's shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc this season.
Seth Curry, DAL ($4,300) @ OKC
Dallas' decision to play small-ball almost worked against the Jazz, and despite the loss I think the team saw an added dimension with Curry in the starting five that they weren't getting with Dwight Powell. Even if he doesn't start again, you have to like the potential for further exploration of this setup at this price, as Curry only needs a little over 20 DKFP to meet value. He's bested that number in five of his last 10 games, so there's a bit of variance involved in going this route.
Jordan Clarkson, UTA ($4,600) vs. HOU
Clarkson is another guy who could perform cleanup duty Monday. Some of his best games with Utah have come in lopsided games, and if the game goes as expected, Clarkson could get up close to 30 DKFP in the second half, which would be good for 6.5x value.
Chris Clemons, HOU ($3,000) @ UTA
Clemons was called back up Sunday because they knew they'd be resting Westbrook, and with Harden's immediate future uncertain, the call-up makes perfect sense. I expect we'll see some action from Clemons with the second unit. It's hard to predict production here, but he's crushed value when his services were needed. He's definitely worth a flier in your GPP lineups.
Also consider: Joe Ingles, UTA ($5,400), Bojan Bogdanovic, SAC ($5,300)
