We played narrative street last night with KD playing OKC. If you want that again, you have to like Derrick Rose returning to Chicago for the first time as a member of the Knicks. Even outside a narrative, Rose has been solid, scoring 28.5, 29.25 and 30 DraftKings points over his last three games. He’s taking a ton shots for NYK (16.3) which is just a shade behind Carmelo Anthony‘s shot attempts (16.5). The Bulls are middle of the road against opposing guards making rose a solid play in various formats.
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His price is flying up but how can you avoid the hot hand of DeMar DeRozan. His 36.3 PPG is second in the league to only Russell Westbrook. He launching 25.3 shots per game which is, again, second to only Westbrook. DeRozan isn’t going to shoot many threes (only six attempts this season) which means he’s going to the rack. That has created a ton of free throw attempts, including 16 in his last game. Getting to the free throw line makes his floor so high. A good matchup, a massive usage rate (38.5%, second to only Westbrook) and all those free throw attempts make DeDe one of the safer plays on the slate.
Speaking of consistency, Nicolas Batum hasn’t scored less than 29 DraftKings points in any game this season. He appears to be trending in the right direction, playing more minutes, taking more shots and scoring more points over each of his last three games. Batum is never going to score 30 real points, but he can contribute across all five categories. He has an outside chance at a triple-double against an injury-laden Brooklyn team. Batum notched two triple doubles last season, which doesn’t sound like a ton, but only eight players had more.
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There’s a few elite options at PF, but then nothing until you get down to Patrick Patterson. PP doesn’t start for Toronto but logs heavy minutes (34, 33 and 30 in L3) at PF. He’s an excellent defender who can swap shots, cause turnovers and crash the boards. That defensive prowess has led to 19.1 DraftKings PPG this season. He started to find his scoring touch in his last outing, hitting 4 of 9 from the field and scoring 10 points. Another risky play, but Patterson is not afraid to shoot the three ball and if he knocks a couple down, should have no problem paying for himself.
This will drive you crazy, but Brook Lopez could be in for a big game. We already touched on how thin the Nets are tonight. They are going to be without Jeremy Lin who takes 11.6 shots per page (3rd most on the team). Expect Sean Kilpatrick to pick up the slack, but the Nets should feed Brook Lopez who is coming off a 34-11 game. That massive outing allowed Lopez to finish with 55.75 DraftKings points. If you’re looking for consistency, Lopez is not your guy, but the upside at this price range is too much to overlook.
That’s all folks! Be sure to follow me on Twitter for more player analysis as news and injuries break closer to tip-off! Commentary based on DraftKings strategy and scoring.