Hi there! I’m Aaron/AFriedman15 (@AFriedman15DFS) and this is Friedman’s Dirty Dozen, where I will include 12ish of my favorite plays, using information from the DFS Army NBA Research Station (RS), NBA WOWY, and other sources. Some days, when there is a smaller slate, there will be fewer picks. I will generally list them in order of personal preference. My research is focused around DK and the DK Research station, so keep that in mind. Players may be viable to varying degrees at the other sites as well. I will generally try to write Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Weekends, but I may have some spare time on other days as well.
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Lauri Markkanen: I frankly don’t care how popular the Finnish big-man is, he is essentially a lock button for me on tonight’s slate. In the wake of Wednesday’s trade sending Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis to Washington, the Bulls are essentially left with Lauri, Cristiano Felicio (turd), and Robin Lopez (who could be subject to a buy-out—stay tuned to our coaching channels!)
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Giannis Antetokounmpo: Facing limited rim protection, the absence of All-Star Khris Middleton, and uncertainty with some of the other studs, the Greek Freak rates my top spend up play on tonight’s 8-game slate. With Middleton off the court, Giannis has a 34.7% usage rate and 1.81 DKFPPM. With DeAndre Jordan out of the picture, responsibility for stopping Giannis’ fatal transition attacks will default to…Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber.
Karl Anthony Towns: As an alternative to Giannis, may I present Mr. Towns, who quite literally has the Pelicans’ number and leads the RS in And1 Rating for tonight’s slate. All KAT has done in the three matchups this season is produce an average of 67.3 DraftKings points. At $10,000, I am extremely comfortable paying for him in cash games.
Isaiah Canaan (if Rose/Bayless/Teague out): Derrick Rose is out, Jerryd Bayless and Jeff Teague are questionable, so if all three sit, Canaan is a free square at the minimum $3,000.
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Andrew Wiggins: The coaching switch to Ryan Saunders has been a boon for Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins jumped from 27.3 DKFPPG in November, to 30.1 in December, to 34.7 in January coinciding with Saunders taking over the T-Wolves top job. It is a fairly small sample without the three point guards above (plus Tyus Jones), but Wiggins is crushing in this sample with nearly 40% usage and 1.44 DKFPPM. He could be an elite play at just $6,000.
Justise Winslow: Winslow is yet another beneficiary of the trade deadline with Wayne Ellington and Tyler Johnson now off the team. Against opposing point guards, Sacramento is top five worst in fantasy points allowed, real points allowed, and assists.
Malcolm Brogdon: With Khris Middleton out, Brogdon is a significant beneficiary, with nearly a 6% usage spike as he will see more shots here.
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Eric Bledsoe: Bledsoe also sees a usage jump here, and is rated pretty high on the Sim Model, being projected for 42.77 (6.38x) there. With Middleton off the floor, all three of Giannis, Brodgdon, and Bledsoe should see a spike in assists.
Dennis Smith Jr.: Sure, the Knicks are still hard to trust, but Dennis Smith Jr. took 25 shots and played 39 minutes on Tuesday against the Pistons and now gets them again in tonight’s rematch. The other guards above are much safer, but I will be taking some shots with DSJ.
Tim Hardaway Jr.: From the opposite side of the blockbuster trade, I really like Tim Hardaway Jr. who is now the number two scoring option behind Doncic, now that Harrison Barnes is out of the pictured after being traded mid-game on Wednesday. Even when Barnes was in, THJ still took 16 shots. With his price remaining at $4,900, I am willing to go back to the well here. As you can see below, THJ is a good candidate to 6x here.
Collin Sexton: Despite there being a 10-point spread, many of our betting analysts at our sister site Beat the Bookie believe that this game will be much closer, and if so, much of Cleveland’s success should come from Collin Sexton, with Washington terrible against point guards. For $4,500, you can do far worse here.
Cristiano Felicio (only if Lopez ruled out) : Part of me has died inside putting Cristiano Felicio in my list, but he needs to be included here in case Robin Lopez is ruled out or bought out even. In this scenario, Markkanen might slide over to the 5 and any minutes that he is not at center will have to belong to Felicio. Very gross play, but he needs to be mentioned.
Those are your Dirty Dozen! Some are going to be commonplace, and some won’t. These are players my research led me to and some will contain risk. Your research may indicate you agree or disagree, and that’s ok….we discuss these things in our coaching channels nightly. Good luck tonight! Check the coaches picks for even more confidence in your plays. And always consult all of the unlocked tools (including the Research Station) before lock! And, if you are catching me on a #FreebieFriday, you are going to want to unlock those coaching channels by admitting……
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