Welcome to Bales’ Stacks and Hidden Gems for today’s NBA DFS slate for DraftKings! Below, I will discuss my favorite NBA DFS plays for tonight’s slate!
Easy Breezy: Chalk Stack
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz rank second and 21st in the NBA in pace, respectively. Houston also ranks third in the league in offensive rating, while Utah ranks seventh in defensive rating. The Rockets are +12.5 point underdogs in a game set at 221 points, and they own an implied team total of 104.3 points.
Chris Clemons
Russell Westbrook has been ruled out for the game tonight, while James Harden is doubtful to play. Chris Clemons will be thrust into 20+ minutes tonight, and he is likely to run the offense while on the court. On the season, Clemons is averaging 21.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.0 steal on a per-36 minute basis. He has played 10+ minutes in 3 of his last 10 games, scoring 20.75, 35, and 29.5 DK points in those contests. Overall, Clemons is averaging 1.38 DK points per minute in those contests. He’s the minimum price on the slate, and he’s arguably the easiest option to plug into cash games tonight.
Austin Rivers
Austin Rivers is another player that will benefit from Houston losing their two star guards tonight. He has been heating up recently, averaging 13.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 block, and 1.3 steals (24.4 DK points) in 24.4 minutes per game over the last 10 days. He has scored 20+ DK points in each of his last 3 games. Rivers will likely be thrust into 30+ minutes tonight, and he’ll see a small uptick in usage rating, as he’ll likely run the offense when Clemons is off the court. Rivers is still near the minimum price on this slate, and using him will open plenty of salary elsewhere.
Clint Capela
Clint Capela isn’t cheap, but he’s the final piece of this stack. He’s only averaging 12.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 3.0 blocks (33.2 DK points) in 30.5 minutes per game over the last 10 days. He has scored 40+ DK points in only 1 of his last 5 games. With that being said, Capela is likely to shoulder more of an offensive workload in this matchup. He also will see more rebounding opportunities without Westbrook or Harden on the court. Capela is a bit riskier than the above options because of his price tag, but he is a must start in a Houston stack tonight.
Important Odds: Vegas Stack
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz will see an uptick in pace against the Houston Rockets, as it has been outlined above. Utah also ranks seventh in the NBA in offensive rating, while Houston ranks 15th in defensive rating. The Jazz are -12.5 point favorites in a game set at 221 points, and they possess the highest implied team total on the slate at 116.8 points.
Donovan Mitchell
Donovan Mitchell is averaging 28.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.4 steals (42.6 DK points) in 32.6 minutes per game over the last 10 days. Mitchell isn’t overly consistent, but he recently scored 62.5 DK points against the New Orleans Pelicans. Mitchell relies heavily on scoring, and he’ll benefit greatly from this particular matchup.
Bojan Bogdanovic
Bojan Bogdanovic has found quite a bit of success recently. He’s averaging 22.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists (30.8 DK points) in 33.2 minutes per game over the last 10 days. He has scored 29+ DK points in 4 of his last 5 games, while flashing 40 DK point upside. Similarly to Mitchell, Bogdanovic relies heavily on scoring, and he’ll benefit from the matchup tonight. He’s surprisingly cheap on this slate, and makes an outstanding option in all leagues.
Rudy Gobert
Rudy Gobert has been the top option for the Jazz in recent games. Over the last 10 days, he’s averaging 21.8 points, 15.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 3.0 blocks (51.5 DK points) in 34.1 minutes per game. He has scored 47+ DK points in 8 of his last 9 games, while flashing 60 DK point upside. He’s a player that boasts 20/20 potential and the ability to contribute in each of the five categories. Gobert isn’t going to come cheap, but he’s playing well enough to be considered in all leagues.
Hidden Gem: Value Guard
Delon Wright
Delon Wright has seen plenty of ups and downs recently. He’s averaging 6.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists (18.5 DK points) in 21.3 minutes per game over the last 10 days. Wright has played 31 and 28 minutes in his last 2 games, though. He was able to score 27.5 and 24.5 DK points in those contests.
Wright gets a matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight. They rank 20th in the NBA in pace and 12th in defensive rating. Wright is expected to find minutes in the high-20s once again tonight. He’s a versatile player, but best suited for tournaments in this particular matchup.
Hidden Gem: Value Big
Danuel House
Danuel House has been heating up a bit recently. He’s averaging 8.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.0 block, and 1.4 steals (21.4 DK points) in 27.3 minutes per game over the last 10 days. House has scored 20+ DK points in 3 of his last 4 games. He has flashed 30+ DK point upside over that span, as well.
House gets a matchup against the Utah Jazz, which has already been outlined above. House is likely to see 30+ minutes tonight with Russell Westbrook and James Harden expected to miss this game. He could see a bit more usage, adding to his upside, as well. House a player that can be considered in all leagues tonight.
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