Saturday has a Mother Nature shortened three-game featured slate, locking at 7:00 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. With a slate packed with pivotal decision points, it’s the perfect time to spotlight the top NBA DFS building blocks and picks for the day. Let’s break down today’s standout plays, including Cade Cunningham and friends against a terrible Toronto defense, with Anthony Edwards needing superhero strength to carry the Minnesota offense.
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NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Saturday, Jan. 11
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Cade Cunningham: Pistons vs. Raptors
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 52.97 | FanDuel: 49.35
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 52.2% | FanDuel: 46.7%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $10,400 | FanDuel: $10,400
Across the last 15 games, Toronto has a league-worst 121.1 defensive efficiency rating, which is beyond abysmal. During this stretch, the Raptors are also playing at a top-six pace, which should lead to plenty of fantasy goodness for Cade Cunningham and some of his teammates.
The fourth-year guard is running out on the court for a career-high 35.6 minutes per game, which in turn is leading to personal-best averages of 24.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 9.3 assists, 0.9 blocks and 0.8 steals. The 23-year-old is also knocking down 45.7% of his shots from the field and 37.6% from downtown. This is well above his career rates of 43.7% and 34.0%, which has the young star finally looking like he was worthy of being the top-overall draft pick, on a nightly basis.
Tim Hardaway Jr. (back) missed the last game and he is questionable tonight. Prior to his injury, the veteran had played 32-plus minutes in four-consecutive games. That is well above his 27.2 minutes per game, though likely buoyed by Jayden Ivey being lost for the season, five games ago. Ausar Thompson missed two games with an illness, though he returned to start on Thursday, notching 16.6 minutes. Malik Beasely has also started the last three games, seeing his playing time increase from 28.9 minutes, to 33.0 and then 36.2.
While it may seem like overkill focusing on these players, the California fires and the ice storm in Atlanta have cut tonight’s slate in half. That means gamers will be savvy if they dig into the Detroit rotation, since the matchup against the Craptors is so favorable. While Hardaway Jr. is not particularly appealing, his presence does take minutes away from Thompson and Beasely, plus that leaves fewer offensive opportunities for fellow veteran Tobias Harris. It is far from sexy, but understanding and then correctly projecting the minutes for the Pistons is likely to be the key to this slate.
Jalen Duren is a wild card, with his minutes typically curbed by the presence of Isaiah Stewart. Duren has the edge in playing time and he is a strong fantasy point per minute option, rivaling the median fantasy projection of Jaren Jackson Jr. Optomizers and simulators are not going to overlook Duren, though he still is likely to be underrepresented in tournaments on this wonky three-game docket.
Jakob Poeltl is shaping up to be one of the 10 most popular options on DraftKings, though on FanDuel, with the roster limitations, he is unlikely crack the top-25 most rosterd players. After missing four games at the end of last month, Poeltl has regained his conditioning and is averaging 32.5 minutes over the last five games. Though his offensive opportunities are lacking, with only 9.4 field goal attempts per game in this period, he is converting at nearly a 75% clip. This has him producing 14.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists along with 2.4 “stocks” making him a fun tournament target.
Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickely can be sprinkled across lineups for tournament differentiation, with the five most popular players on the each of the main DFS sites carrying an outsized representation among DFS portfolios.
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Anthony Edwards: Timberwolves vs. Grizzlies
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 47.73 | FanDuel: 45.24
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 55.6% | FanDuel: 55.4%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $8,900 | FanDuel: $9,100
Anthony Edwards is clearly missing Karl-Anthony Towns, more than he expected, but the budding superstar seems to be realizing he is going to have to do it all. While that can work in the regular season, the playoffs will be a different story, which is a shame since the Timberwolves appeared to be on the verge of a breakthrough, losing in the Western Conference Finals last season.
In his last four games, Edwards is averaging 39.1 minutes, with 25 field goal attempts. That has culminated in 35.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.3 steals, and a pair of 60-fantasy point performances under DraftKings scoring format, with 57-plus on FanDuel. Tonight is going to be a tough matchup, with Memphis getting back most injured players, other than Marcus Smart.
Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels are the next best DFS options from Minnesota, with Rudy Gobert joining the fun on DraftKings, though giving way to Donte DiVincenzo on the blue site.
Memphis does not currently have any key players on the early injury report, so it is hard to endorse anyone in the rotation on DraftKings, with the key trio of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jackson getting a nominal nudge on FanDuel.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick
Terry Rozier is worth looking at in the sports wagering market for the under on his 3.5 assists prop.
The screenshot of Portfolio EV shows that this wager projects to win 57% of the time. With the -127 odds, that leads to a respectable 2.7% expected value when accounting for the -135 “True Odds.”
SugarHouse , BetRivers and Unibet are currently offering -127, which exceeds the True Odds of -135 and the -137 (or worse) that most other books are offering.
Let Portfolio EV eliminate the guesswork in finding +EV bets. This powerful tool pinpoints inefficient odds in real time, making it easy to spot profitable opportunities.
With odds constantly changing, having accounts at multiple sportsbooks is essential to lock in the best lines quickly. Portfolio EV stands out by continuously scanning multiple platforms, ensuring you’re always ready to seize valuable opportunities as they arise.
Stokastic’s Advanced NBA Statistical Projections have Rozier projected for 31.7 minutes and 3.04 assists. That median projection is nearly a full dime shy of the four needed for this wager to fail, so while this is not a flashy wager, the math is on our side, on a day with limited options.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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