Monday begins a new week with a compact eight-game featured-slate, locking at 7:00 p.m. ET on DraftKings and FanDuel. With a slate full of critical decision points, it’s the ideal opportunity to highlight the top NBA DFS building blocks and picks of the day. Let’s dive into Monday’s standout plays, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama, and a passel of Mavericks and Grizzlies.
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NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today: Monday, Jan. 6
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NBA DFS Picks Today: Building Blocks
Giannis Antetokounmpo: Bucks at Raptors
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 59.3 | FanDuel: 58.74
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 31.3% | FanDuel: 30.1%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $11,300 | FanDuel: $11,900
Toronto allowed 120.2 points per 100 possessions over the last 10 games, which was the worst defensive efficiency rating in the league. The Raptors have played at the sixth-fastest pace in this span, just a tick slower than Milwaukee.
The Bucks lost four of their last five games and currently are 17-16, which is good for fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. The bad news is that there are five other teams within two games. Coach Glenn Rivers has his work cut out.
In the three games since missing four with injuries, Giannis Antetokounmpo ramped back up to a full workload. He is averaging 36.8 minutes and 23.7 field goal attempts, culminating in 29.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 3.4 combined blocks and steals. Currently, he is leading the league with 32.3 points per game, and his overall fantasy production is on par with his two MVP campaigns. If you are not interested in Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama is essentially at the same salary as his elder on DraftKings and FanDuel, with about one-third less popularity. That gap is likely to close throughout the day, but if it remains significant, looking to Wemby is a savvy strategy. This duo is projected within 2 median fantasy points, and while Antetokounmpo is the more proven player, Wemby has just scratched the surface of his talent upside.
Everyone else from both sides of this matchup has been assigned appropriate salary cap figures on DraftKings. FanDuel is a little different, where Immanuel Quickly ($6,700) is looking like a bargain. After a six-week absence, the lightning-fast guard rapidly returned to a full workload, averaging 32.7 minutes, 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 13.0 assists. He has been a little rusty from the field, but with 16.5 field goal attempts per game, he should post a mega-DFS score as soon as he is dialed in.
Khris Middleton ($6,200) is a tertiary target with what appears to be an increased playing time allocation of 27 to 28 minutes. He will still need to be efficient, though this is the perfect matchup for that to continue.
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PJ Washington: Mavericks at Grizzlies
NBA DFS Projections
DraftKings: 35.97 | FanDuel: 36.41
NBA DFS Ownership Projections
DraftKings: 25.7% | FanDuel: 27.9%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $6,500 | FanDuel: $6,800
Luka Doncic is out for the next month, Dante Exum likely through the weekend and Kyrie Irving (back) is targeting tomorrow, having missed two of the last three games. Naji Marshall is eligible to return after his four-game suspension, which should help bolster the second unit.
PJ Washington is an enigmatic player who tends to defer to Doncic and Irving, focusing mostly on 3-point shots, rebounding and defense. In his 10 games where he had at least 12 field goal attempts, he averaged 19.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, two assists, and 2.1 combined blocks and steals in 34.5 minutes.
Most of those games were without Doncic and/or Irving and Klay Thompson. Thompson is a neutral option at best since he is mostly a one-trick pony, dependent on putting the biscuit in the basket for his fantasy production. Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford are among many viable fantasy point-per-dollar options, while Spencer Dinwiddie and Quentin Grimes will try to keep the offense moving.
Memphis is even more shorthanded than Dallas with Ja Morant, Marcus Smart, Santi Aldama and Luke Kennard out, while Desmond Bane (ankle) is trending towards missing a second consecutive game. Scotty Pippen Jr. continues to be overrepresented in tournaments, and since the beginning of December, he has topped 30 fantasy points only three times in 16 games.
Jaren Jackson Jr. is the preferred target on both DraftKings and FanDuel, with something approaching a 40-fantasy point floor and 50-plus upside, that latter of which he has hit in three of his last six games. Jaylen Wells is an inconsistent fantasy option since his main focus is as a 3-and-D wing. He has topped 17 points in just three of his 36 starts, but the second-round rookie at least should get 32 to 34 minutes for the thinned-out Grizzlies. Zach Edey is in the mix on DraftKings ($5,400), while Jake LaRavia gets the nod on FanDuel ($4,700).
Today’s Top Sports Betting Pick
Spencer Dinwiddie was a solid third guard in his prime, but he is at best a fourth option, and yet the Mavericks have to count on him tonight. That makes the under on his 15.5 points prop an appealing target in the sports wagering world.
The screenshot of Portfolio EV shows that this wager projects to win 57% of the time. With the -115 odds, that leads to a festive 5.8% expected value when accounting for the -130 “True Odds.”
FanDuel is the operator offering -115, which exceeds the True Odds of -130 and the -140 (or worse) that most other books are offering, with some also electing to lower the threshold to 14.5.
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Stokastic’s Advanced NBA Statistical Projections have Dinwiddie projected for 31.4 minutes and 14.02 points, which is below the 16 needed for this wager to lose.
This season, Dinwiddie is averaging 14.4 points per 36 minutes on a dreadful 37.6% from the field and 33.3% from long distance. Yes, he should get a few more shots tonight with Irving and Doncic out, but he will also be tasked with being the lead facilitator. Even the injury-plagued Grizzlies can still put forth a decent defense.
Final Thoughts on NBA DFS Picks & Building Blocks Today
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