The one major piece of news that came down today was that Eric Bledsoe has been ruled out making Malcolm Brogdon a decent play. Other than that, my focus here will be on the Memphis Grizzlies. Although they only have a 97 point implied total, that’s still 97 points that need to be scored by a collection of bench warmers and Marc Gasol. Here are my top plays for the DraftKings and FanDuel main slates.
Note: Top value is determined for DraftKings and FanDuel by being excess points above 5x and 4.75x salary, respectively.
DraftKings
Andrew Harrison
With yesterday’s news that Tyreke Evans is being held for the foreseeable future while Memphis shops him to contenders, the list of Grizzlies who are either out or questionable has grown to eight. This creates an opportunity for numerous Memphis players, including Harrison, who sports a 27% usage rate when Tyreke, Parsons, Conley, and Chalmers (all designated “out”) are off the floor and is line for big minutes. Chance of top-3 value: 27.3%.
Nikola Jokic
Jokic is in the midst of a cold streak which has driven down his price on DK to 8100 but I expect him to bust out of his slump in this one given Denver’s 108 point implied total. He’ll still be one of the most popular center plays given the attractive price, but his ownership will be lower than it should be. Chance of top-3 value: 25%
Blake Griffin
Blake should thrive in Detroit surrounded by low usage players. Expect Detroit to go to their newest acquisition early and often. Plus, you know he’s going to want to make a splash in his first game for his new team. Chance of top-3 value: 31.3%.
FanDuel
Wayne Selden, Dillon Brooks, Andrew Harrison and Marc Gasol
In addition to Harrison (discussed above), fellow Grizzlies, Selden, Brooks and Gasol will see increased workloads. Selden is a high usage player with 20-point/5-assist upside. Brooks has the ability to reach value in steals and blocks alone. And point-center Gasol can pile up numbers in every category. Selden has a 34.2%, Brooks a 30.9%, and Gasol a 29.3% chance of hitting top-3 value.