The NBA Daily Plays for Friday, January 15th breaks down the best Stud, Value and GPP plays at each position for FanDuel and DraftKings daily fantasy sports contests. The Stud & Value plays should be considered relatively chalky and are ideal for cash games. The GPP plays dig a little deeper to hopefully find some low owned talent who could pay off big in a tournament. Make sure you check out our NBA projections page to help in your DFS research. We have also added an NBA Injury News page which monitors all injury news and offers pivot plays to consider if the injured player ends up sitting.
Game Lines
Point Guard
Studs
Damian Lillard (FD $9,200, DK $9,400) –
Lillard continues to rack up stats and he continues to be underpriced. When will DFS sites show him the love? Hopefully, never! In his last three games he’s averaging over 50 fantasy points a game and scored 60 against the Warriors during that span. He has an above average matchup tonight against the Nets. As long as he’s priced under 10k and has plush matchups, I will continue to play Lillard until he gives me a reason not to.
Values
Norris Cole (FD $4,200, DK $4,200)-
This pick depends on the health of Tyreke Evans. Evans left Wednesay’s game against the Kings with a knee injury. Jrue Holiday and Cole took over ball handling duties and played admirably against Sacramento. Cole played 26 minutes and racked up 22.4 fpts after Tyreke’s injury. If you need some value because you’re trying to pay up for some studs in other positions, look no further than Cole.
GPP Plays
Isaiah Thomas (FD $8,600, DK $7,900) –
IT is one of my favorite players in the NBA and always seems to go overlooked. Not sure if it’s because of his size or what, but this kid can flat out ball and he puts up massive stats night in and night out. He gets a juicy matchup against the Suns and their uptempo “offense.” IT should have his way with Phoenix tonight and is one of my favorite plays of the day.
Shooting Guard
Studs
Jimmy Butler (FD $8,900, DK $8,700) –
If you haven’t heard, Jimmy Buckets is good at basketball. Butler went bonkers last night and scored 76 fantasy points against the Sixers. He’s the first Bull since Michael Jordan to score 50 points with at least five rebounds and five assists. That’s right, he was mentioned in the same sentence as Michael freakin’ Jordan. Look at his price! I’m playing him, I don’t care who he’s playing against.
Values
Devin Booker (FD $4,200, DK $5,100)-
Booker doesn’t have the best of matchups tonight, but he’s really the only SG I like that’s priced this low. He’s a starter and is going to be playing in a game that has one of the highest Vegas totals on the night. He’s a solid salary saver and will most likely reach value for you tonight.
GPP Plays
Giannis Antetokounmpo (FD $7,400, DK $6,700) –
Jerryd Bayless and OJ Mayo have been ruled out for tonight’s game. This just means more playing time and opportunity for the Alphabet. He’s had a 40 point and 50 point game in his last two games and looks to be heating up. His matchup isn’t the best, but it will be a little better if Thabo Sefolosha doesn’t play or at least doesn’t guard him. Giannis has a decent floor, but his ceiling is sky high, he’s worth the risk in tourneys.
Small Forward
Studs
LeBron James (FD $10,300, DK $9,900) –
If I know LeBron like I think I do, he is going to be really mad that he lost to the Spurs last night. I feel bad for Trevor Ariza or whoever is going to try and check LeBron as he is going to make them look like fools as he punishes the rim for the loss he suffered last night. LeBron is the one stud that I have no problem paying up for tonight. Lock him in.
Values
Chandler Parsons (FD $5,700, DK $5,400) –
Parsons has finally been playing some good basketball lately. He was rested on Wednesday night against the Thunder, so he should be nice and fresh for tonight’s game against the Bulls. He gets a nice matchup against Mirotic and his “defense.” The Mavs will need Parsons fire power as they try to keep up with the Chicago Jimmy Butlers’ offense.
GPP Plays
Danilo Gallinari (FD $7,100, DK $7,200) –
Gallinari has been solid since his return from injury. His floor is around 30 and his ceiling is in the 40s, which I’ll take all day. He has a decent matchup against a slow Miami Heat team, but his individual matchup against Luol Deng is one he should exploit. Danilo is the main offensive weapon on the Nuggets and will need to put the team on his back as they take on a very good Miami team.
Power Forward
Studs
Paul Millsap (FD $8,400, DK $8,100) –
I’m going back to the well. Millsap disappointed his faithful fantasy owners the other day as he put up a very lackluster stat line. I’m not mad at him, I’m just disappointed. That doesn’t mean I won’t use him again in a very friendly matchup. He takes on a Bucks team that seems to be allergic to rebounding the ball and has no one that can handle Millsap’s skills. He’s the top PF on my board tonight, make sure you get him in your lineups.
Values
Nene Hilario (FD $4,200, DK $4,200)-
Marcin Gortat is going to be out for an extended period of time with a knee infection. Nene is coming back from an injury himself, but has started the last few games in Gortat’s absence. Even though he is on a minutes limit at the moment, he is still able to reach value easily. We all want to roster guys that are going to get us 6x to 7x value, but what if I can promise a guy to get you a guaranteed 5x value? If you’re trying to save, lock in Nene.
GPP Plays
Thaddeus Young (FD $6,900, DK $7,100) –
Called it! I touted Young on Wednesday, saying that he is going to have to shoulder more of the load with Jack out with an injury. What’s he go and do? He goes and makes me look like a genius by scoring 41 fantasy points. He will again need to shoulder the load as they try to keep up with Lillard and the Blazers. He has a great matchup tonight and is a perfect GPP play.
Center
Studs
Brook Lopez (FD $8,600, DK $7,600) –
I imagine Lopez is currently licking his chops at the matchup that he has tonight. The Blazers have one of the worst front courts in the league, and tonight they get the displeasure of trying to stop Lopez from scoring. Brook is one of the safest Center options on the board tonight as you know he’ll AT LEAST get you 30 points, but I expect much more tonight.
