Welcome back to the Fantasy Alarm NBA DFS Value Vault! We have a seven-game slate on deck for the Association today, and there is a lot of news with health and safety protocols and rest candidates on today’s slate. Let’s see what we have for value currently!
DRAFTKINGS
1.) Terry Rozier PG (CHA) $6,200
I just believe this price on Rozier today is quite off. Rozier is fresh off a 37-point outing on DraftKings against the Pelicans where he scored 15 actual, with four boards, five dimes, three swipes, and a swat. Rozier is second on the team in usage rate currently at 23.5%, only behind Gordon Hayward for the lead at 24.5%. This should be a lovely matchup here as Rozier faced this same Hawks team two games ago in Atlanta but gets them at home tonight. We know the kind of game flow we can expect with the Hawks, and this price is really nice on Rozier tonight.
2.) Patty Mills PG/SG (SAS) $4,300
Can’t help but really like the spot here for Mills as the Spurs travel into Minnesota to take on the T-Wolves. Mills has been getting consistent run on the floor with Derrick White still on the shelf, and he has now played 23 or more minutes in all but two games so far this season. Mills has flashed quite a bit of upside to start the season, also, as he has topped 27 fantasy points in three of his eight games, with a 35-point effort on DraftKings two games ago against a strong-defensive Clippers team. The T-Wolves come into this game allowing the third-most DraftKings fantasy points to opposing PG’s, so I am willing to take a run with Mills here in this high PACE affair, as the Spurs come in as the eighth-ranked team in PACE, with the Wolves at sixth. This game has a total of 232 as well.
3.) Raul Neto PG (WAS) $4,100
The free square once again here on Neto as we are “expecting” Russell Westbrook to sit here on the second-leg of the back-to-back for the Wizards. Neto has seen an 82-minute sample without RWB on the floor and is carrying a modest 19.4% usage rate (bump of roughly +2%), while also hosting a generous 0.97 FP/M for that sample to boot. The last time we saw this occurrence with RWB sitting on the B2B scenario, Neto went off for 40.5 DraftKings fantasy points with 22 actual, four boards, five dimes, and three steals. However, this is a bit of a tougher match up with the Heat tonight than the Magic in which he played very well. Nonetheless, as long as RWB is indeed ruled OUT, Neto will be a free square play for cash at his price.
**NOTE – Trey Burke is stone minimum tonight on DraftKings at $3K and is probable to play with an illness. The Mavs are very thin today with no Finney-Smith, Josh Richardson , or Jalen Brunson due to health and safety protocols. Burke could be in line for big minutes off the bench here.
FANDUEL
1.) Cedi Osman SF (CLE) $5,400
Don’t really think you can afford to overlook Osman on FanDuel at this price, an $800-dollar savings on salary from FanDuel as he is $6.2K on DraftKings for today’s game against the Bucks. Let’s face it, the Bucks play with a top-ranked PACE in the league and this game should see plenty of possessions. Osman has been playing extremely well lately and is fresh off a 33.5-point outing on FanDuel against the Grizzlies last game where he notched 16 points, five boards, seven assists, and a steal. The assists have been a very encouraging sighting here for Osman, as he has dished seven in his last three games, while scoring double-digit actual points in three of his last four as well. For FanDuel boosting in scoring purposes, his six total steals over his last three games will aid quite a bit in his fantasy production here on FanDuel. He has played 38, 32, and 38 minutes over his last three games, while also putting up 42.9, 27.5, and 33.5 points on FanDuel FanDuel in that span. I think he is easily in play on FanDuel today for the price.
2.) Tyrese Haliburton SG (SAC) $5,400
Haliburton got the price bump on DraftKings but didn’t get much of a bump on FanDuel after playing another 29 minutes last night while putting up 15 actual, two boards, eight dimes, a block and two steals against the Raptors in route to 37.4 FanDuel points. This makes the second-straight game that Haliburton has come off the bench and produced well playing around or over 30 minutes with 46.4 and 37.4 FanDuel fantasy points. Fox was limited to just 25 minutes last night with the hamstring tightness that forced him to exit the previous game in the first quarter, and there could be speculation that Fox may potentially sit this second-leg of the back-to-back tonight against Portland. POR is also allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing SG’s, while allowing the tenth-most to opposing PG’s. Haliburton could be in a prime spot here.
3.) Maxi Kleber PF (DAL) $4,200
Kleber’s price is just too cheap here for this match against the Magic. As mentioned above for the Mavs, they are missing a few different pieces tonight due to the health and safety protocols, and Kleber should be in for a near 40-minute floor-time. Kleber played 36 big minutes in the Mavs’ OT game against Denver last time out while notching out nine points, eight boards, three dimes, and two blocks. He has topped 23 FanDuel points in three of his last five games and has played at least 27 or more minutes in his three of his last four. The Mavs will have to have him tonight against Orlando, and this price is hard to beat on both sites to be honest.
Player News
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that Stephen Curry has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain and is expected to miss at least a week.
Shams notes that Curry has already been ruled out for Game 2 on Thursday, but the week timeline means he’ll miss Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 on Monday with a chance to return for Game 5 on Wednesday. This is the first muscle strain of Curry’s career, so how quickly he returns will depend on how he responds to rehab. Fortunately for Golden State, the team came away with a win on the road in Game 1, and two of the next three games will be at home, giving the Warriors a chance to stay alive while their superstar PG is out. Expect Buddy Hield to step into a much larger role on offense while Curry is sidelined. Hield has totaled 57 points across his last two games while stroking a blistering 14-of-18 shots from beyond the arc.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters Stephen Curry is day-to-day with a hamstring injury and will undergo an MRI on Wednesday.
Kerr relayed that Curry was “crushed” after being forced from the game due to injury. While Kerr described Curry as day-to-day, he also mentioned that the 37-year-old point guard will undergo imaging on Wednesday to determine the severity of the injury. There should be an update on his status at some point prior to Thursday’s Game 2 showdown. With the Warriors taking Game 1 on the road Tuesday, Kerr added that it’s hard to imagine Curry being available for Game 2 on Thursday. With Game 3 Saturday at Golden State, Curry could have more time to rest and recover.
Naz Reid had 19 points (8-of-14 FGs), five rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block and three three-pointers in Game 1 against the Warriors on Tuesday.
Reid briefly left the floor with an apparent leg injury towards the end of the second quarter before returning in the second half. The 25-year-old center played 34 minutes and was the second leading scorer for the Timberwolves in what turned out to be a lackluster game for Minnesota. Reid appeared healthy in the second half and should continue to be counted on for starter-level minutes despite coming off the bench.
Anthony Edwards had 23 points (9-of-22 FGs), 14 rebounds, two assists, three steals, one block and one three-pointer in Game 1 against the Warriors on Tuesday.
Draymond Green had 18 points (6-of-13 FGs), eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and four three-pointers in Game 1 against the Timberwolves on Tuesday.
Buddy Hield had 24 points (7-of-19 FGs), eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and five three-pointers in Game 1 against the Timberwolves on Tuesday.