The NBA starts the work week with eight games on Monday’s schedule, tipping off a much more balanced week with at least four games but no more than eight any day this week. On Monday, six of the eight games are on the main slate for fantasy basketball while the two late games are on their own slate. Of the 12 teams in the player pool, eight are playing for the second day in a row, as the Bulls, Pistons, Rockets, Pacers, Heat, Knicks, Suns and Wizards are on the second half of back-to-back games. Be sure to check back for the latest news and updates as the models will adjust to compensate for any players ruled in our out before tip-off.
Let’s dive into some of the top plays on the slate using the FantasyLabs tools and projections.
Also, don’t forget that for large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.
You can also use our SimLabs Lineup Generator, a tool that creates the most user-friendly lineup generation process.
Note: Projections and Leverages Scores/Ratings may change throughout the day after this article is posted. The NBA DFS landscape changes quickly.
Consult the NBA Player Models directly for any updates as we get closer to lock.
NBA DFS Point Guard Picks
Stud
The Pistons host the Bulls in the game with the second-highest over/under on the slate. Chicago has allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to point guards this season and has the highest Pace of any team in the NBA. Their visit to Detroit should set up a great matchup for Cade Cunningham, who has the highest ceiling projection of all point guards on the slate.
Cunningham has gotten off to a fantastic start to the season, averaging 49.4 DraftKings points per game over his first 15 contests at the rate of 1.36 DraftKings points per minute. He has a 31.7% usage rate and has regularly stuffed multiple categories on the box score.
On Sunday, he has his fourth triple-double of the season with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and five steals to post 65 DraftKings points in just 31 minutes against the Wizards. He has over 60 DraftKings points in three of his last six and at least 40 DraftKings points in eight straight coming into this contest.
With such a high ceiling and favorable matchup, Cunningham is a great place to start your lineups Monday night.
Value
Rookie Jared McCain has stepped up huge for the Sixers since an injury to Tyrese Maxey and has exceeded salary-based expectations in five straight games. His salary continues to rise, but he is still just under $6,000, giving him a good chance to return value once again on Monday vs. the Heat.
McCain has the second-highest Projected Plus/Minus of all point guards under $6,000, and he could get even more work if Joel Embiid (illness, questionable) misses another game.
In the five games Maxey has missed, McCain has played 32 minutes per game and produced 37.6 DraftKings points per game at the rate of 1.17 DraftKings points per minute. He went off with a career game last Wednesday against the Cavs, totaling 58.5 DraftKings points with 34 points, 10 assists and two boards. On Friday against the Magic, he cooled off a bit but still had a very solid 38.75 DraftKings points in 31 minutes.
Since the Sixers had the weekend off, they’ll have a rest advantage vs. the Heat, who played and lost to the Pacers on Sunday. Even with Emiid and Paul George playing, McCain has been getting enough work to be a solid play at this price, and he has shown the potential to do much more damage if more changes come his way.
Fast Break
Damian Lillard is probable after missing three games with a concussion. His minutes could be limited after a week off, but he has the second-highest ceiling projection at the position behind only Cunningham as the Bucks host the Rockets.
Fred VanVleet is a good option on the other side of that matchup and has the third-highest Projected Plus/Minus of all point guards. On Sunday, he powered the Rockets past the Bulls with 28 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and 52.25 DraftKings points. He has exceeded salary-based expectations in five of his last six games, including a pair of double-doubles.
Backup point guard T.J. McConnell is still remarkably cheap at only $4,100 and has the highest Projected Plus/Minus of all players at all positions on Monday’s slate. Andrew Nembhard (knee) and Aaron Nesmith (ankle) will remain sidelined Monday, and Ben Sheppard (oblique) had to leave Sunday’s win with an injury as well. McConnell had 20.75 DraftKings points in Sunday’s win and has at least 19 DraftKings points in six of his last seven, exceeding salary-based expectations in five of those contests. Especially if Sheppard is out, McConnell should be a great value Monday vs. the banged-up Raptors.
Don’t forget to check out our NBA SimLabs Lineup Generator to create advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation:
NBA DFS Shooting Guard Picks
Stud
The Bulls backcourt has a couple of top options at shooting guard, with Zach LaVine and Coby White both ranked in the top four in ceiling projection at the position and the top two in Projected Plus/Minus. Of the two, I lean a little towards White since he’s cheaper and has been more consistent this season.
Both players played limited minutes on Sunday since the Bulls were blown away by the Rockets. White only played 25 minutes and had eight points, matching his season low. The down game snapped a string of five straight with at least 18 points. During that five-game stretch, he produced 1.18 DraftKings points per minute with a 25.5% usage rate and exceeded salary-based expectations four times.
White should be able to bounce back in what should be a high-scoring game in Detroit, especially if any of the other pieces in the rotation end up sitting out the second game of the back-to-back.
Value
One of the exciting new features this year on FantasyLabs this season is our partnership with ShotQuality In those ShotQuality Projections, Jaden Ivey has the top Projected Plus/Minus at shooting guard, making him a very interesting backcourt stack with Cunningham in this great matchup vs. the Bulls.
Ivey had 28 points and eight assists on Sunday against the Wizards, exceeding salary-based expectations with 47.5 DraftKings points in 30 minutes. While he hasn’t gone off like that in a while, he has exceeded salary-based expectations in five of his last seven games, with 18+ points in each of those five performances.
On Monday, he and Cunningham should both be in great spots against Chicago and can be a nice way to pack your lineup with some nice correlation which raises both the ceiling and the risk. The Pistons have been much better this season under new coach J.B. Bickerstaff and can get to .500 with a win on Monday.
Fast Break
With Bradley Beal (calf) and Kevin Durant (calf) sidelined, Devin Booker has the highest ceiling projection at shooting guard as he continues to carry a heavy workload for the Suns. He had 44 points against the Timberwolves on Sunday night in a three-point Suns loss and will try to help the team bounce back as they come home for a tough matchup against the Magic. He’s expensive, but his potential for a monster game is enough to make him worth a look on Monday if you can make his salary work.
The Rockets’ Amen Thompson has exceeded salary-based expectations in seven of his last nine games and posted his third double-double of that stretch with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 39.75 DraftKings points on Sunday. He ranks in the top 10 in Projected Plus/Minus in both the FantasyLabs and ShotQuality projections and is a solid mid-range target at eighter shooting guard or small forward.
Booker isn’t the only member of the Suns who has had to take on a larger role over the last few games. Grayson Allen has the second-highest Projected Plus/Minus at shooting guard in the ShotQuality projections and the third-highest in the FantasyLabs projections. Allen has scored at least nine points in six of his last seven games, and on Sunday, he added five rebounds to 18 points for 26.75 DraftKings points. He should continue to be involved enough to be worth his very affordable $3,800 salary in Monday’s matchup with the Magic.
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NBA DFS Small Forward Picks
Stud
The Magic have relied on their exceptional defense and Franz Wagner to carry them since Paolo Banchero (oblique) went down with an injury, and Wagner has risen to the challenge. He had 31 points, 11 rebounds, and 63.75 DraftKings points in Friday’s win over Philadelphia and has exceeded salary-based expectations in five of his last six games while producing 1.43 DraftKings points per minute with a 32.9% usage rate.
Wagner has the second-highest ceiling projection at small forward in both the FantasyLabs and ShotQuality projections.
His salary has trended up, so he isn’t as much of a bargain as he was last week, but with at least 27 points in five of his last six games and over 45 DraftKings points in each of those five contests, he’s turning in good enough numbers to still be worth a look at over $9,000.
Value
Aside from one down game last Friday, Bennedict Mathurin has been excellent for the Pacers lately. He has exceeded salary-based expectations in eight of his last nine games and ranks in the top five in Projected Plus/Minus at shooting guard and small forward in both the FantasyLabs and ShotQuality projections.
He had a weird down game last Friday with just eight points and 13.5 DraftKings points but bounced back from that down game with a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double on Sunday that earned him 44.5 DraftKings points.
Over his last nine games, Mathurin has averaged 38.0 DraftKings points per game at the rate of 1.08 DraftKings points per minute. He has three 20-point double-doubles in his last five games and is in a favorable matchup against the Raptors. With multiple injuries for the Pacers, Mathurin should continue to have a clear path to playing time.
Fast Break
R.J. Barrett has the highest ceiling projection at the position and is coming off one of the best games of his career on Saturday night in Boston. He finished with a triple-double and 68.5 DraftKings points in 43 minutes during the Raptors’ overtime loss. Toronto has dropped seven straight and is just 2-12 on the season, but Barrett has been playing well while carrying the load with both Immanuel Quickley (elbow) and Scottie Barnes (eye) out.
Barrett was traded to Toronto last season in exchange for O.G Anunoby, who has also been very productive lately for the Knicks. Anunoby has exceeded salary-based expectations in nine straight games since Nov. 1 and is averaging 1.0 DraftKings points per minute and 37.25 DraftKings points per game over that stretch. He has scored 24+ points in four of his last five games and almost always turns in strong non-scoring numbers as well.
Another player regularly exceeding salary-based expectations but at a much lower salary has been Dillon Brooks of the Rockets. Brooks has averaged 23.4 DraftKings points per game at the rate of 0.76 DraftKings points per minute over his last six games. Despite that low rate, though, he has exceeded salary-based expectations in each of those six games since he is playing 30.7 minutes per game.
NBA DFS Power Forward Picks
Stud
On the entire slate, Giannis Antetkounmpo has the highest median, floor, and ceiling projection as he and the Bucks host the Rockets. Giannis had 59 points and 97.5 DraftKings points last Wednesday against the Pistons and followed that up with a triple-double and 66.25 DraftKings points against the Hornets in Saturday’s narrow loss.
Giannis is averaging 1.73 DraftKings points per minute and 61.0 DraftKings points per game in his 12 contests so far this season, and he should be in a good spot against the Rockets in an intriguing matchup with rising young big man Alperen Sengun.
Even at his $12,000 salary, Giannis’s ceiling is too high to overlook, with over 65 DraftKings points in three of his last four games. Getting Lillard back could decrease his usage slightly, but it will also give him someone else to help carry the offense.
Value
In both the ShotQuality and FantasyLabs projections, Tobias Harris has the highest Projected Plus/Minus at power forward from his mid-range salary of just over $6,000. Harris has been very solid for the Pistons since returning as a free agent this offseason, and he makes sense at power forward in this juicy matchup with the Bulls.
He has averaged 31.2 DraftKings points in 33.3 minutes per game on the year, and he has at least 30 DraftKings points in seven straight games. Harris has played the second-most minutes on the team over those seven games, behind only Cunningham, and has a 17.8% usage rate.
Harris doesn’t typically go off with huge games, but his reliable production makes him a solid mid-range target on Monday in a favorable game environment.
Fast Break
Josh Hart has exceeded salary-based expectations in six of his last seven games, scoring double-digit points in each of those six games and turning in his always-excellent non-scoring numbers as well. On Sunday, he had 20 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and 43 DraftKings points against the Nets while playing 46 minutes. He is averaging a massive 37.3 minutes per game this season as coach Tom Thibodeau lives up to his reputation of riding his starting five for huge minutes.
The Magic are always very careful with the minutes for Jonathan Isaac, who has had to overcome multiple injuries to get to this point in his career. Isaac has played over 20 minutes in each of the last two games for Orlando, though, after not hitting that mark in his first nine games. He had 30.25 DraftKings points against the Pacers, and 26.25 DraftKings points against the Sixers in those two games. He has been a solid per-minute contributor over the last few seasons, and if he’s going to get 20+ minutes, he’ll be in a great spot vs. the Suns on Monday since Phoenix has allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards in the NBA this season. Rookie Tristan Da Silva is also worth a bargain look in this matchup.
Another bargain to consider from a salary under $4,000 is Nikola Jovic, who moved to the bench just over a week ago but has played well in his new role. He has double-digit points in three of his four games in the second unit and has over 22 DraftKings points in each of those games. The 21-year-old broke his nose and only played two minutes in the only game he didn’t reach those numbers off the bench, but his protective mask didn’t seem to hold him back against the Pacers. He played 30+ minutes on both Friday and Sunday, producing 22.5 and 23.75 DraftKings points.
NBA DFS Center Picks
Stud
Karl-Anthony Towns has the second-highest ceiling projection of all centers, behind just Giannis. He’s in a smash spot against the Wizards, who have given up the most DraftKings points per game to the position so far this season. Towns also has the highest Projected Plus/Minus at the position in the FantasyLabs projections.
On Sunday, Towns was a game-time decision after missing Friday’s game with a knee contusion. He returned against the Nets and dropped 59.25 DraftKings points on them in just 30 minutes. He finished with 26 points, 15 boards and six assists. In his last game before missing Friday’s game, he went off against the Bulls with 46 points, 10 rebounds, and 71.5 DraftKings points last Wednesday.
In his first 12 games with the Knicks, KAT has produced 51.4 DraftKings points per game at the rate of 1.54 DraftKings points per minute. He’s $3,000 cheaper than Giannis and much easier to work under your salary cap if you think he can come close to duplicating Antetokounmpo’s production.
Value
In the ShotQuality projections, Goga Bitadze has the highest Projected Plus/Minus of all centers, and he has the fourth-highest in the FantasyLabs projections. Bitadze has started seven straight games for the Magic with Wendell Carter Jr. (foot, doubtful) injured. In those seven games, Bitadze has averaged 9.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 28.1 DraftKings points per game.
Bitadze only had two points on Friday against the Sixers, but he only took one shot in that game. Before that, he had 30+ DraftKings points in five of his previous six games, and the projections indicate he’s in a great bounce-back spot against the Suns on Monday. He’s a great play at just over $5,000 if you are looking for a mid-range option.
Fast Break
Alperen Sengun posted his second straight triple-double on Sunday with 56.76 DraftKings points in the Rockets’ comfortable win over the Bulls. He has over 45 DraftKings points in five straight with at least a double-double in each contest. He gets a tough matchup vs. the Bucks on Monday, but he continues to be one of the most exciting young bigs to watch whenever the Rockets are on the slate.
The ShotQuality projections give Jakob Poeltl the second-highest Projected Plus/Minus at the position behind only Bitadze, while the FantasyLabs projections give that spot to Myles Turner. The two will go head-to-head in Toronto, and I prefer Poeltl if your salary cap space allows. He is coming off back-to-back monster games with 25 points, 18 boards, and 61 DraftKings points against the Pistons on Friday, followed by 35 points, 12 boards, and 52.5 DraftKings points on Saturday in Boston.
Along with his teammates Isaac and Bitadze, Moritz Wagner should be a good value against the Suns, but another name to watch as a cheap center play is Suns rookie Oso Ighodaro, who scored a career-high 11 points on Sunday and played more minutes than Jusuf Nurkic. The second-round pick from Marquette has played 15+ minutes in four straight games for Phoenix and is still priced under $4,000.
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