Garion Thorne dives into Monday’s six-game NBA featured slate to find three undervalued players to use in your DraftKings lineups.
We have a six-game NBA featured slate tonight on DraftKings and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to suggest that it’s going to be a mess, as eight of the 12 teams involved are on the second night of a back-to-back.
That means a whole lot of guess work and a whole lot of paying attention throughout the day as news breaks. Got it? Cool. Let’s dive into the madness.
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PG T.J. McConnell, Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors, $4,100
It’s time. For the last three seasons, McConnell has been a staple of this article. Whenever the Pacers are even slightly undermanned in the backcourt, you know you can turn to the veteran. The first thing you need to know about McConnell is that he’s the rare bench piece that currently leads his team in usage rate (24.8%). The second thing you need to know about McConnell is that he also leads all qualified players on Indiana’s roster in FPTS produced per minute (1.14). In Sunday’s win over the Heat, the 32-year-old led the Pacers’ reserves in minutes (23.2), with Andrew Nembhard (knee) and Aaron Nesmith (ankle) currently nursing injuries. It’s worth noting that Ben Sheppard ($4,300; oblique) left that victory in the second-half due to his own ailment. I wouldn’t expect McConnell to start in Sheppard’s place on Monday against a Raptors squad that ranks 28th in defensive rating — keep your eye on Quenton Jackson ($3,300) — but he should certainly see a bigger role.
PF Nikola Jovic, Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers, $3,700
Jovic just might be my favorite dollar-for-dollar asset on this entire slate. The former first-round pick has been playing well as of late, registering double-digit points and over 20.0 FPTS in four of his last five games. Specific to his last two contests, Jovic has logged over 29.0 minutes in both, averaging 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and a steal. With a price tag far under $4,000, that level of production alone would be enough to make Jovic viable. Yet, there’s an added element to his value on Monday. Jaime Jaquez Jr. ($4,900; ankle) exited Sunday’s loss to the Pacers and said postgame that he expects to miss some time. Between the sophomore and Jimmy Butler ($7,500; ankle), there’s suddenly a massive void at the forward spot in Miami’s rotation. Look for Jovic to fill that void.
PF/C Chris Boucher, Toronto Raptors vs. Indiana Pacers, $4,400
The Raptors simply can not stop losing players to injury. Bruno Fernando (ankle) will now join the likes of Scottie Barnes (eye), Immanuel Quickley (elbow) and Kelly Olynyk (back) on the sideline for Toronto, and while that might not seem like a huge deal at first glance, it does leave the Raptors with just a single real big man on their active roster: Jakob Poeltl ($7,700). Expect Jonathan Mogbo ($3,500) and Boucher to have larger roles on Monday with Fernando unable to suit up. Boucher has long been an efficiency darling in DFS, and he’s doing it again in 2024-25, producing a very solid 1.10 FPTS per minute played. In November, Boucher is also averaging 12.6 points and 4.8 rebounds despite seeing just 19.5 minutes per contest. He’s a spark plug. Look for him to shine in the matchup that has the highest implied total on this featured slate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $300K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
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