NBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Playbook January 20
![NBA Daily Fantasy Picks January 20](https://d29m18w01sxjzp.cloudfront.net/thumbnails/source/fatest/Donovan_Mitchell_NBA_DFS_January_20-1000x600.jpg)
Published: Jan 20, 2024
Seven games for Saturday's NBA DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. This slate sees the return of Victor Wembanyama who sat out the Spurs game on Friday and reports have since come out that his minutes cap could soon be lifted. This slate is also notable due to Joel Embiid, Trae Young and LaMelo Ball all being listed as questionable to play this evening. Trae Young missed the Hawks matchup on Friday due to illness while both Embiid and Ball suited up.
NBA DFS Tools to dominate tonight's NBA DFS slate!
Make sure to check out today's NBA DFS projections and NBA DFS ownership projections before finalizing your lineups today. We also have the NBA Consistency Report to help identify players that have exceeded value based off their current price tag this season and of course our NBA DFS Lineup Generator!
Notable NBA Injury Updates
Out
- Darius Garland
- Evan Mobley
- Zach LaVine
- Jakob Poeltl
- De'Anthony Melton
- Gordon Hayward
- Daniel Gafford
- Mark Williams
- Tari Eason
- De'Andre Hunter
- Derrick Rose
- Mo Bamba
- LaMelo Ball
- Nick Richards
Questionable
- Joel Embiid
- Trae Young
- Caris LeVert (Doubtful)
- Bogdan Bogdanovic
- Xavier Tillman
- Patrick Beverley
- Josh Hart
- Patrick Williams
Teams on Back-to-Backs
Second Leg
First Leg
Pace Up Spots
Pace definition: Pace is the total number of possessions a team uses in a game.
*key* Green is elite pace of play, Blue is decent pace of play, & Red is slow pace of play.
Green = Fast Paced team
Blue = Neutral Paced team
Red = Slow Paced team
- Philadelphia 76ers 14th vs Charlotte Hornets 20th
- San Antonio Spurs 3rd vs Washington Wizards 1st
- Cleveland Cavaliers 21st vs Atlanta Hawks 5th
- Toronto Raptors 16th vs New York Knicks 26th
- Memphis Grizzlies 13th vs Chicago Bulls 30th
- Utah Jazz 10th vs Houston Rockets 23rd
- Oklahoma City Thunder 6th vs Minnesota Timberwolves 22nd
Notable NBA Game Totals
- Philadelphia 76ers vs Charlotte Hornets +10 (228)
- San Antonio Spurs vs Washington Wizards -2 (241.5)
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs Atlanta Hawks +3 (229.5)
- Toronto Raptors vs New York Knicks -7.5 (229)
- Memphis Grizzlies vs Chicago Bulls -7.5 (216)
- Utah Jazz vs Houston Rockets -2 (234)
- Oklahoma City Thunder vs Minnesota Timberwolves -3 (234)
Top Tier Core Plays
Donovan Mitchell, SG/PG Cleveland Cavaliers
We got Donny in yet another smash matchup with a 229.5 game total. As long as Darius Garland is going to be out of the lineup we get Mitchell in full control of the Cavs offense. Adding to Garland being out tonight along with Evan Mobley is the fact that Caris LeVert is doubtful to play this evening as well. LeVert, another high usage player, being off the floor means more of the offense should find its way to Mitchell this evening.
Joel Embiid, C Philadelphia 76ers
This one here is two-fold. First, there is an obvious blowout factor with the 76ers currently sitting as 10-point road favorites. The second being that Embiid is questionable to play and the 76ers are on the second leg of a back-to-back. IF Embiid plays it is a smash spot and we've seen him give us 60-to-70 FP in three quarters plenty of times this season. If he starts, I'm in.
Victor Wembanyama, PF/C San Antonio Spurs
Yes, I know Wemby is still technically on his minutes limit but we've gotten 50+ FP in four of the last six games. At his price tag that is enough to give us 5x. Now we add in the matchup against the Wizards and the fact that he wanted to play against the Wizards due to the fact that fellow rookie and countrymen Bilal Coulibaly is on the Washington roster and I think we could be in for another big performance here tonight.
Lauri Markkanen, SF/PF Utah Jazz
We've talked a lot about how good Utah has been at home so this one is obviously a bit risky with the Jazz going on the road to face another really good home team in the Houston Rockets. That said, the Jazz are playing some really good basketball right now and a lot of that is led by Lauri Markkanen who has finished with 48 or more fantasy points in six of the last seven games.
Mid-Tier Core Plays
Jarrett Allen, C Cleveland Cavaliers
I do love me some Jarrett Allen and if Joel Embiid sits out he is going to be my plug at the center position tonight in this matchup against the Atlanta Hawks. Allen is averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds in two games against Atlanta this season but in their most recent matchup he exploded for 25 points and 14 rebounds. Given his usage bumps with the current active roster tonight we should see something a lot closer to that Jarrett Allen than the output we saw when these two teams first met this season where he had 11 points and eight rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan, SF/PF Chicago Bulls
Zach LaVine is injured yet again which means usage bumps for DDR. Fortunately for us, the price is still too cheap and the matchup against the Grizzlies is a nice pace up spot. DeRozan is coming off of a strong performance against the Raptors where he had 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Coby White, PG Chicago Bulls
On that same thought as DeRozan above, we saw White have some monster performances while LaVine was out of the lineup and he too is coming off of a big outing against the Raptors where he scored 23 points with eight rebounds and four assists. I look for continued success here against a depleted Grizzlies team in a pace up spot.
RJ Barret, SG/SF Toronto Raptors
Who doesn't love the revenge narrative? Yes, this can work both ways as Barrett likely gets matched up against OG Anunoby in this game but it was Barrett who was in quite a few trade rumors over the years only to eventually be shipped off to Toronto by the Knicks a few weeks back. Barrett has been playing some really good basketball since the trade and I like his price tag in this spot. Yes, you can also play Immanuel Quickley here as well as the Knicks are not great defensively against opposing point guards.
Tyus Jones, PG Washington Wizards
While we all entered this year expected big things from Jordan Poole it has actually been the other guard in Washington that has been popping off in Tyus Jones. Jones had 15 assists against the Knicks after scoring 22 points against the Pistons. He is filling the stat sheet and looking a lot like the player we saw in Memphis when he was given the extra minutes. He will also be starting opposite of his brother Tre Jones who is the point guard for the Spurs.
Vince Williams Jr. SF, Memphis Grizzlies
We love the minutes that VW is getting right now, playing at least 35 over the last three games. With the minutes boost we've seen the production sky rocket, posting at least 34 FP during that stretch. He was less active on the offensive end against the Timberwolves, shooting just 3-of-8 from the floor but he continues to fill the stat sheet and racking up defensive stats which is helping the bottom line.
Collin Sexton, PG/SG Utah Jazz
Sexton has become an elite scorer and that was again on display the other night against the Thunder where he dropped 31 points. He has now scored 30 actual in back-to-back games and should see 30+ minutes in competitive settings. The big question to be asked here is if the Jazz can keep their strong play going while on the road as their recent run of success has all come at home.
Value Tier Core Plays
Tre Jones, PG San Antonio Spurs
The other side of the brothers battle, Tre Jones is having a break out season for the Spurs. Over the last six games he is averaging over 30 fantasy points per contest which included the game where he scored a career high 30 points against the Bulls.
Bruce Brown, SG/SF Toronto Raptors
We weren't sure what to expect from Brown in his debut with the Raptors but what we got is pretty much the player that Brown is which is someone who will step on the floor, hit a few shots and add some secondary stats. He came off the bench and played 25 minutes here and that feels good enough at his price.
Luke Kennard, PG/SG Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies need shooters and Kennard may be the best floor spacer they have on the team. He has been starting and playing over 30 minutes a night over the last three games while averaging in the range of 25 fantasy points. If he gets hot from three-point range the fantasy points can come quick.
Sam Merrill, SG Cleveland Cavaliers
While Max Strus is more expensive and likely has the bigger role, it is Merrill getting the ownership love today with Caris LeVert not expected to play. We know Merrill is someone who spaces the floor and can get hot from three-point range but it has also been great to see him fill out the stat sheet as well.
Santi Aldama, PF/C Memphis Grizzlies
Xavier Tillman is questionable to play tonight which would really shorten the Grizzlies front court rotation. Either way, Aldama should see increased minutes here and we've seen him be a big fantasy point per minute player this year when given extended run. His ability to space the floor is what the Grizzlies offense needs here.
ROSTER LOCK NEWS
IF….
Embiid is ruled out
- Tobias Harris becomes a core play
- Tyrese Maxey will see a nice ownership increase
- Paul Reed a value play add at center
Trae Young is ruled out
- Run it back with Dejounte Murray
- Jalen Johnson has a nice usage rate bump
LaMelo Ball is ruled out (Updated: RULED OUT)
- Terry Rozier gets a nice usage rate increase
Player Pool
$ Tier | {{pos.alias}} |
---|---|
{{tier.name}} | {{ pos[i-1].player.team.name }} {{ pos[i-1].player.name }} |
Stacks
{{stack.team.name}} | {{player.name}} |
![]() | {{player.fantasy.price.value[8]}}- |
![]() | {{player.fantasy.price.value[6]}}- |