NBA DFS Fades for 1/19/23 – Should You Pay for Kyrie Irving?
Thursday’s NBA slate is just four games, so you’re going to have some tough decisions on your hands. It’s a slate light on true studs, too, as Joel Embiid and Jaysom Tatum are the only two players with a fantasy points projection north of 50.
One of the key decisions will be whether you build around one of those guys, or pay down slightly. The other choice, of course, is which chalky studs you decide to pay for – and also which high-owned values are worth your time.
The Brooklyn Nets’ value burned a lot of people in their last game, but on a four-gamer, I’m not sure we can be so stingy to fully ignore them.
You have to fade someone on a slate like this, however. With that, here are my top three NBA DFS fades for tonight’s slate.
Precious Achiuwa, C, Toronto Raptors ($3.7k)
Saben Lee may have just found himself shaping up as this slate’s top value play, to be fair. Landry Shamet and Devin Booker are out, and Chris Paul is staying on the sidelines, too.
Still, this is a small slate and value is hard to come by. That has Achiuwa popping up with 34% ownership for the moment.
That’s chalk you can eat given his price, but he’s only projected for 25 minutes and 21 fantasy points. Maybe that’s enough, but what if Rudy Gobert suits up tonight? Even if he doesn’t, teammate Chris Boucher feels like a more interesting try in tournaments.
Josh Hart, SF, Portland Trail Blazers ($4.9k)
Another guy that is really popular early in the day is Hart. He gets solid burn for the Blazers and for that reason alone, is too cheap.
His projection (28 fantasy points) isn’t bad for the price, either. The issue I have, of course, is with his 46% projected ownership rate.
So far, even with the CP3 news, there is little to kick that number down.
I can see eating the chalk here, but the Blazers are healthy and Hart is no lock to get the job done.
His matchup with the 76ers (5th at defending the long ball) isn’t ideal,. and he hasn’t been in top form, scoring in single digits in four of his last five games.
I’ll hope other value opens up, while lesser owned options like Kevon Looney, Jaden McDaniels, and Torrey Craig could be worthwhile pivots.
Kyrie Irving, PG, Brooklyn Nets ($9.9k)
Let’s be clear; as things stand, Kyrie is not the top chalk play on the board. He also missed his last game, so even though he’s probable to play, he could always sit again.
However, given the fact that Kevin Durant is still out, I have to think his ownership rises as the day progresses. He’s already projected at 16%, but his usage, price, and 4th best slate projection all combine to make him a pretty appealing option.
I’ll let others flock his way if ownership increases, though.
There is the option of paying up for Joel Embiid or Jayson Tatum here, while ownership is presently split fairly evenly between Irving, Damian Lillard, and James Harden.
Since they all project so similarly, I’d lean toward whoever is overlooked by the industry.
Writer at Daily Fantasy Fade
DFS Keanu has been covering fantasy sports, DFS, and props for the better part of a decade, all while fighting The Matrix and a litany of assassins.
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