There’s no shortage of value on tonight’s large 8-game slate with notable injuries to Aaron Gordon (ORL), Hassan Whiteside (MIA), and Eric Gordon (HOU).
Bam Adebayo (HOU) (3800 DK, 3800 FD) – Whiteside’s absence leaves a huge hole in the middle that Adebayo will be tasked with filling. Given his prior starts in place of Whiteside, Bam is a nearly certain 7x value on DraftKings barring injury or foul trouble. This isn’t the spot to go contrarian. On FanDuel, he’s listed as a center and you can only play one, meaning the rest of the player pool will be lightly owned. That’s what you call a game theory opportunity–but I’m still not fading him. Probability of top-5 at position: 39.2 % DK, 69.4% FD.
Kelly Olynk (HOU) (4900 DK, 4700 FD) – Another potential beneficiary of Whiteside injury, Olynk, will not benefit from as many of Whiteside’s minutes as teammate Bam, but as the more offensively-gifted of the two, will get more of Whiteside’s lost usage. Olynyk could be a great pivot from Bam if things don’t go as expected, but they’re such great values that I wouldn’t hesitate to pair them together. Probability of top-5 at position: 37.3 % DK, 54.3% FD.
Isaiah Thomas (CLE) (4900 DK, 6300 FD) – Thomas’ price still hasn’t fully adjusted on either site in response to Kevin Love’s injury. Thomas’ is going to see (and chuck) the ball a lot more without Love on the floor. Plus, he has a juicy matchup against Houston tonight with a 231 over/under and a 114 point implied total. I’m going to keep playing Thomas until the sites catch on. Probability of top-5 at position: 28.4 % DK, 26.55%.
Jonathon Simmons (ORL) (4900 DK, 4600 DK) – Look for Simmons to step up his involvement in the offense with Gordon out. Gordon’s replacement, Mareese Speights, is serviceable (and another decent play, particularly on FanDuel) but not someone who can shoulder Gordon’s full offensive load. Simmons has shown the ability, both with the Magic and previously in San Antonio, to step his game up when needed and carries great upside. Probability of top-5 at position: 22.6 % DK, 44.15% FD.
Good luck!
