Daily Fantasy Basketball: DraftKings Cheat Sheet – January 13

DeMarre Carroll

Daily Fantasy Basketball is in full swing, which means each day XN Sports will have a column detailing advised plays and lineups for the remainder of the NBA season. For those familiar with DraftKings, their daily fantasy basketball is formatted differently this season. There is no multi-position eligibility, which makes it a bit harder to set your lineup.

For those unfamiliar with DraftKings, you are given $50,000 in cap space to select a point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, center, a guard, a forward, and a utility player. There are no points deducted for missed shots, which changes the strategy from other sites. To read the full scoring, click here. Keep in mind that a double-double awards a bonus, which can be the difference between cashing in and winning nothing.

Generally, the goal for value is at five times a player’s salary, plus five points. That brings a lineup to 290 fantasy points, which will cash each day.

Give DraftKings a shot, as there will be a few freeroll opportunities each night in Daily Fantasy Basketball. Click here to play.

Tonight’s featured contest:
-$60,000 prize pool.
– First place wins $5,000
– $2 entry fee (FREE with first deposit)
– Top 7,600 finishing positions are paid.
– Starts tonight at 7:00 PM EST
– Salary Cap Style Drafting. $50,000 to select 8 players
– Roster Format: 1 PG, 1 SG, 1 SF, 1 PF, 1 C, 1 G, 1 F, and 1 Utility
– First time depositors at DraftKings receive a 100% bonus up to $600

Remember, when you sign-up on DraftKings, use the promo code: XN.

Each position will have a few guys that we like for each night, ranked from top to bottom. To find these players, tools like usage rate, defense vs. position, injuries, minutes, and more are used.

There is a lot of news that will affect lineups tonight, stay informed before tip.

Point Guard

Darren Collison, Sacramento Kings $7,000

Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks $8,500

Cheap Plays:

Patty Mills, San Antonio Spurs $3,400

Norris Cole, Miami Heat $3,500

Shooting Guard

Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat $8,800

Kyle Korver, Atlanta Hawks $5,000

Eric Bledsoe, Phoenix Suns $8,700

Cheap Plays:

Rasual Butler, Washington Wizards $3,400

Elijah Millsap, Utah Jazz $3,400

Small Forward

DeMarre Carroll, Atlanta Hawks $5,200

Harrison Barnes, Golden State Warriors $4,900

Cheap Plays:

Solomon Hill, Indiana Pacers $4,100

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Philadelphia 76ers $3,000

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks $6,600

Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks $8,300

Cheap Plays: 

Jason Thompson, Sacramento Kings $3,700

Center

Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat $5,700

Alex Len, Phoenix Suns $4,400

Timofey Mozgov, Cleveland Cavaliers $4,900

Cheap Plays:

Pero Antic, Atlanta Hawks $3,000

Notes

Rudy Gobert is backing up Enes Kanter, I wouldn’t recommend playing either until the minutes are sorted.

– There is great value at center tonight, one of Whiteside, Len, and Mozgov will be an excellent addition to your lineup and all three could reach value.

– Solomon Hill and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute are two cheap options to consider at small forward, and Mbah a Moute is an excellent play if he starts.

– Patty Mills is a value machine, and should see good run again tonight against the Wizards.

– A good tournament play is Pero Antic, who will play the bulk of the minutes at center if the Hawks are up big against the Sixers. Antic has reached value in four straight games. A Hawks stack is a very good tournament strategy tonight.

Andrew Bogut was slated to start, but was sent back to the hotel after being ill. If he is unable to go, Marreese Speights becomes a decent option.

Usage Rates

– No outstanding usage rates for tonight’s slate. If LeBron James is out (game-time decision), Kyrie Irving would be the play with a high usage rate.

If you have any questions or concerns leading to tip, let me know on Twitter @JoshCollacchi.

*Keep an eye on the inactives, as things in the NBA change at the last second. Good luck tonight

author avatar
Josh Collacchi
In addition to writing here at XNSports, my fantasy content can be seen at Pro Football Focus Fantasy, eDraft, and Project Roto. Member of the FSWA and the FWAA and can be reached on Twitter @JoshCollacchi