Last night, the Indiana Pacers and NBA fans around the world lost Victor Oladipo to a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee.
The Pacers are currently the third best team in the Eastern Conference and just 2.5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors. Tyreke Evans will step into the starting lineup with Darren Collison and Cory Joseph picking up minutes.
James Harden set his career high in points, dropping 61 on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Tonight we have a small four-game main slate that will be played without Anthony Davis, John Wall, Deandre Ayton and LeBron James thanks to injuries.
NBA DFS 1-24-19: Jimmer's 5 DraftKings Locks
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Paul George, SF/PF, Oklahoma City Thunder - $9,600
In the highest paced game of the night along with the second highest total, PG13 is a smash play and I’m taking him all day over Russ tonight. Averaging 36 minutes per game on the year, they are going to need all of George. He has been on a tear lately, scoring 64 DK fantasy points vs Portland on Tuesday. Lock and load.
Wisdom of the Crowd Projection - 49.51 / 5.2x / vs Pelicans / -12 spread / 232.5 ou / 122.25 team implied
Jrue Holiday, PG/SG, New Orleans Pelicans - $8,200
With AD, Mirotic and Moore off the court this season Jrue Holiday holds a 29% usage rate and averages 1.37 fantasy points per minute. In what surprisingly is a pace up spot against the Thunder, we should see plenty of shots going up out of Jrue Holiday's hands. He is another one of my locks for tonight.
Wisdom of the Crowd Projection - 43.05 / 5.2x / @ Thunder / +12 spread / 232.5 ou / 110.25 team implied
Update - With news of Jeff Teague being ruled out, you should strongly consider locking Derrick Rose in your lineups. If you need to free up some cash come down from Jrue and save $1,700.
Julius Randle, PF/C, New Orleans Pelicans - $7,800
Just yesterday he was a popular name around the industry and he fell flat producing only 36.3 points which did not meet what we were all looking for. Today, Nikola Mirotic and Anthony Davis are both sitting this one out. With no one looking to relieve Randle, he is looking to play 35+ minutes today. With AD, Mirotic and Moore off the court, Randle holds a 31.4% usage rate and 1.40 fantasy points per minute.
Jahlil Okafor is now projected to hit 6.9x value but this game is shaping up to be a huge blowout. At just $3,300, Darius Miller is also projected to hit 6.0x value.
Kelly Oubre Jr., SG/SF, Phoenix Suns - $5,700
T.J. Warren, Deandre Ayton and Richaun Holmes are all set to miss this game which, again, means big minutes for Oubre. With those three players off the court this year, Oubre holds a 30.4% usage rate with 1.26 fantasy points per minute. He should see upwards up 30 minutes tonight so there is zero reason why he is out of your lineup.
Wisdom of the Crowd Projection - 28.93 / 5.1x / vs Blazers / +7 spread / 220 ou / 106.5 team implied
Dragan Bender, PF/C, Phoenix Suns - $4,600
Great value play at $4,600, it would be close to impossible for him to not hit value. Bender will receive the start with Deandre Ayton, as well as Richaun Holmes, out. Portland is giving up 14 rebounds per game and 21.4 per game to opposing Centers this season. In the last two games, Bender has started he has averaged 30.25 DK points and 29.5 minutes.
Wisdom of the Crowd Projection - 20.86 / 4.5x / vs Blazers / +7 spread / 220 ou / 106.5 team implied
Check out the rest of the 2018-19 Fantasy Basketball Coverage to help win your leagues.
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