Orlando Magic @ Sacramento Kings

In tonight’s Showdown DFS slate, we have the favorite for NBA Rookie of the Year, Paolo Banchero, making his first trip to Sacramento to play the Kings. The Kings and their strong offense led by Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox have been one of the surprise stories of the NBA this season. But Banchero and Franz Wagner have both been on fire lately. Here are the NBA DFS top plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings!

 

Orlando Injuries:

Bol Bol – OUT

R.J. Hampton – OUT

Jonathan Isaac – OUT

Chuma Okeke - OUT

Sacramento Injuries:

NONE

 

MVP/CAPTAIN

Domantas Sabonis (C)

At this rate, Sabonis is a lock for an All-NBA team and a top-six MVP finish assuming he avoids more injuries the rest of the season. He has simply been one of the most dominant all-around players in the NBA this year and he is almost to the point where he has almost caught up to the most elite players in salary. It’s well-deserved as he has scored under 51 fantasy points just once in the last three weeks and scored 52 fantasy points in his only other meeting with Orlando this year. Both of these teams are bottom eight in defensive rating so points should be plentiful in this one. This looks like a game where Sabonis keeps his 50-point streak alive. 

De’Aaron Fox (PG)

The Magic have been really bad against point guards in their last seven games as the roster has constantly been in flux. Even ranking 19th in pace, the Magic are the eighth-worst team against point guards in that span. For a substantially lower salary, Fox offers just as high a ceiling as Sabonis in this nice matchup, and he is coming off a 48.5 fantasy point performance after hitting 50+ fantasy points four times in the past month. He averages 41 fantasy points per game this year, but that balloons up to 49 in his one game against the Magic this year. 

Paolo Banchero (SF/PF)

Right at about the time most rookies are hitting the first-year wall, Paolo Banchero is actually raising his game to another level. In the last 10 days, he averages 25.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and more than one steal + block per game. He is also playing 32-38 minutes every night so there is very little concern about his run when he is cleared for a game. He has played the Kings once this season already, and it was the best game of his young career. He scored 33 points, grabbed 16 boards, and handed out four assists – which all adds up to 62 fantasy points. I love his upside tonight against a Kings team ranked fourth in pace. 

 

UTILITY 

Kevin Huerter (SG/SF)

Huerter has become a real fan favorite since he came over to the Kings from Atlanta. His clutch three-point shooting has won the Kings many a game this year, and he has only shot less than 38% from three in a game just twice since December 13th. The Magic allow the sixth-most three-pointers made to opponents this year as teams have been bombing away against them. Priced well below all the studs, this is a great spot for Huerter tonight. 

Franz Wagner (SG/SF)

This is an absolutely perfect spot for Wagner tonight. The Kings (and Harrison Barnes) are the absolute worst team against small forwards this season. They allow three more fantasy points per game to the position than any other team. They allow the most actual points and third-most rebounds to those players and are coming off games allowing 37 points to LeBron James and 22 points to DeAndre “14 points per game” Hunter. Last time Franz Wagner played the Kings? He torched them for 49.3 fantasy points. 

Wendell Carter, Jr. (C)

Carter doesn’t quite make the cut for the MVP slot tonight as his floor is much more reliable than his ceiling for DFS. He has scored under 25 fantasy points just once since October 26th, but has only topped 40 fantasy points two times in that span. The Kings have been a bottom-10 team against centers the last 30 games, so the floor should remain intact. The $7,200 salary on DraftKings is right where it should be for a player who is going be almost certainly be around 30-35 fantasy points every night. 

 

DART THROWS

Terrance Ross (SG/SF)

Terrance Ross is back in our lives as a DFS asset for the last few weeks. The former microwave scorer off the bench is averaging 21.5 minutes and 20.3 fantasy points per game over his last 10 days, including one game where he went off for 34 fantasy points against the Thunder. He is putting up at least 17 fantasy points with ease every night this month and the $2,800 salary on DK is an easy pill to swallow for someone who has made a history of coming in and hitting a bunch of shots in limited playing time. 

Trey Lyles (PF)

We of course like Lyles a lot more when Sabonis or Keegan Murray are out, but he has solidified his place as the top backup to both the power forward and center positions for the Kings. He has played more than 13 minutes in seven of his last eight games and has scored double-digit fantasy points in each of those seven games. The $2,400 salary is very reasonable on DK ($2,000 less than Keegan Murray) and we know he will be out there for 14-18 minutes in this game against a Magic team that is bottom-five against power forwards in their last seven games.