NBA DFS Picks For FanDuel 1/17/22

As things still stand, there are many players in the league's health and safety protocols, so other players will have to step in and fill the void, creating for interesting DFS scenarios. The main slate tonight is a small one with only 6 total games, so each lineup choice you make will be even more critical to your success than usual. As on most slates, we have a lot of prevalent injury news that we are waiting on which could shake up the slate when released. Be sure to keep on eye on these injury situations as we approach roster lock. Let's dive in to the breakdown of the NBA main slate on FanDuel tonight!

REMINDER: RTs on the article post on twitter at @SportsVerseHQ are appreciated, as well as following my personal Twitter, @cobioconnell. If you would like to see my lineup package for the NBA/NFL/MLB seasons, message me there. If you want my core 4 lineup players for the slate, RT the article post on Twitter, follow both accounts, and direct message me. Thank you!

Top Play:

Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF/SF - $11300) -

Giannis Antetokounmpo is a standout DFS option on any slate because of his ability to maintain both a very high floor and ceiling for production, and tonight is no different. Despite there only being six games on the main slate today, there are still some quality spend up options as we have Giannis, LeBron, Luka, and Dejounte all priced over $10000, but Giannis is my favorite of the group. The MIL-ATL game carries the highest implied total of any game on the slate, with the Bucks bringing in the highest team total as well. $11300 is about the median price we will find Giannis at, but I have no issue finding the salary to get there tonight. You can label Giannis as essentially any position you want, but the Hawks are in the bottom half of the league at defending both the point guard and center positions, which are probably the two main labels you would give to him with Holiday out. We have come to take his production for granted, and reasonably so as he has scored over 60 FD points in five of his last ten games. Giannis is never a bad play, but I am particularly intrigued by him tonight.

Best Value:

Keldon Johnson (PF/SF - $4900) -

Keldon Johnson is usually a player that we will find priced between $5500 to $6000 in salary, so finding him at a discounted $4900 makes him an excellent value option on tonight's slate. I can understand this price decrease as Johnson has scored 23, 26, and 26 FD points in his three games back from injury, but even those outputs wouldn't kill your lineup at this price. Also, Keldon Johnson has seen a minutes increase in each of those games since his return, so it is expected that he will resume with his normal workload tonight. The Suns are a strong defensive unit, but their biggest weakness is against opposing power forwards as they allow 45 fantasy points per game to the position, which is 11th worst in the league. Keldon Johnson makes for an easy salary relief option tonight.

Main Player Pool:

Point Guard:

Dejounte Murray ($10200)

Trae Young ($9600)

Russell Westbrook ($8100)

Other great plays: Luka Doncic (PG/SG - $10400), Cole Anthony (PG/SG - $7500), Jalen Brunson (PG/SG - $6500), Cam Payne (PG/SG - $4300), George Hill ($4200)

Shooting Guard:

Donovan Mitchell (SG/PG - $8200)

Josh Giddey ($6500)

Dorian Finney-Smith (SG/SF - $4500)

Other great plays: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SG/PG - $8400), Gary Trent (SG/SF - $5000 - if he plays), Devin Vassell ($4900), Joe Ingles (SG/SF - $3700)

Small Forward:

LeBron James (SF/PF - $11200)

Jimmy Butler (SF/SG - $9100)

Mikal Bridges (SF/PF - $4500)

Other great plays: Khris Middleton (SF/SG - $8300), OG Anunoby (SF/PF - $6300), Scottie Barnes (SF/PF - $5600), Lu Dort (SF/SG - $5500)

Power Forward:

Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF/SF - $11300)

Bobby Portis (PF/C - $6300)

Keldon Johnson (PF/SF - $4900)

Other great plays: Robert Covington (PF/SF - $5900), Jalen Smith (PF/C - $4000), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl ($3900)

Center:

Jusuf Nurkic ($7500)

JaVale McGee ($4900)

Onyeka Okongwu ($4300)

Other great plays: Jakob Poeltl ($6200)

Cover Picture Attribution: Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA, Giannis Antetokounmpo (24845003687) (cropped), CC BY-SA 2.0