NBA DFS Picks For FanDuel 1/4/22

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 smaller sized one that only features 5 total games, so every 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!

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Top Play:

LeBron James (SF/PF - $11400) -

On tonight's smaller five game slate, it feels like a necessity to get LeBron James in your lineup. His $11400 cost isn't cheap, but it is easy to get there with all of the available value today. He is the only option priced over $10000 tonight, and has been the most consistent fantasy producer as of recent. This might sound insane to say, but I truly believe that LeBron is playing the best basketball of his career right now. In his most recent 8 game stretch, he has scored over 52 FD points 7 times, including 3 games of over 66. He has only failed to reach 40 FD points twice in his last 18 games - a true testament to his recent stretch of consistent production. Not only has LeBron James been unstoppable as of late, but he faces off against one of the worst defensive teams in the league in the Kings tonight. There is no nobody in the NBA playing better basketball than LeBron James right now, so it is especially important to get him in your lineups on this five game sample.

Best Value:

Tre Jones (PG - $4100) -

For tonight being just a five game NBA slate, there are an extraordinary amount of adept plays priced under $5000 that are very appealing. Although I will touch on Tre Jones in a second, I feel like it is important to list out all of those players tonight. Keifer Sykes, Devin Vassell, Torrey Craig, Duane Washington, Immanuel Quickley, Justin Holiday, Oshae Brissett, Jarrett Culver, and Brandon Clarke all project to smash value at prices under $5000 due to the health and safety protocol statuses of their teams, with their especially being shortages on the Pacers and Spurs. Even though I love all of those listed players tonight, Tre Jones is my favorite value play of the slate. On Saturday, Tre Jones saw his first start of the NBA season and just the second of his career, and he played well. In that start, Jones played 32 minutes and scored 27 FD points. That number may not seem like anything too crazy, but it would be 7x value at his current price, and he has the capabilities to exceed far past that total. Tre Jones is averaging .88 FD points per minute when on the court without Dejounte Murray this season, which would put his median even higher than his last game's output if he sees the same minutes. $4100 is too cheap of a price for a starting guard who should play well over 30 minutes.

Main Player Pool:

Point Guard:

De'Aaron Fox ($7000)

Tre Jones ($4100)

Keifer Sykes ($3700)

Other great plays: Ja Morant ($9800), Russell Westbrook ($9000), Chris Paul ($7800), Tyrese Haliburton (PG/SG - $7500), Cam Payne (PG/SG - $5200), Miles McBride ($3800)

Shooting Guard:

Devin Vassell ($4800)

Torrey Craig ($4100)

Duane Washington ($4000)

Other great plays: Devin Booker ($8000), Desmond Bane ($7200), Alec Burks (SG/SF - $6000), Gary Trent (SG/SF - $5700), Malik Monk ($5600), Immanuel Quickley (SG/PG - $4700), Kevin Pangos ($3700)

Small Forward:

LeBron James (SF/PF - $11400)

OG Anunoby (SF/PF - $6400)

Justin Holiday (SF/SG - $4600)

Other great plays: RJ Barrett (SF/SG - $5900), Harrison Barnes (SF/PF - $5600), Mikal Bridges (SF/PF - $5400), Oshae Brissett ($4600), Jarrett Culver (SF/SG - $3500)

Power Forward:

Damontas Sabonis (PF/C - $10000)

Jalen Smith (PF/C - $5800)

Keldon Johnson (PF/SF - $5500)

Other great plays: Jaren Jackson (PF/C - $6800), Lauri Markkanen (PF/SF - $5200), Brandon Clarke ($4600)

Center:

Myles Turner (C/PF - $7600)

Jonas Valanciunas ($7500)

Jakob Poeltl ($6100)

Other great plays: Jarrett Allen (C/PF - $7900), Evan Mobley (C/PF - $7500), Steven Adams ($5400), Damian Jones ($4000)

Cover Picture Attribution: All-Pro Reels, LeBron James crop, CC BY-SA 2.0