Fantasy NBA DraftKings DFS Values (Jan. 27th)

In order to afford high-priced players like LeBron James ($10,600) and Stephen Curry ($10,000), you'll need to find some low(er)-priced values to stay within the $50,000 salary cap ($6,250 per player).

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With that said, here are some DraftKings values ($6,500 salary or less) for Tuesday's NBA games:

PG - D.J. Augustin, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. CLE), $5,800: In his first start since Brandon Jennings was lost for the season with a torn Achilles, Augustin scored 35 (real) points with eight assists and finished with 53.5 fantasy points. Duplicating Sunday's numbers tonight would be unrealistic expectations, but Augustin gets a decent matchup against Kyrie Irving and needs just 29 points to reach 5x value.

PG - Jordan Clarkson, Los Angeles Lakers (vs. WAS), $3,700: Getting the start at point guard, Clarkson's production has been modest (20.25 and 10.5 fantasy points, respectively) in his two starts. Getting close to 30 minutes in each outing, however, Clarkson is at least worth a look as a punt option.

PG - Beno Udrih, Memphis Grizzlies (at DAL), $3,500: Depending on the status of Mike Conley, who is questionable with a wrist injury, Udrih could see expanded minutes. Against the Magic last night, Udrih scored 33 fantasy points with 15 points, five assists and four steals in 26 minutes. The Mavs have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.

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SG - J.R. Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers (at DET), $5,000: Even with Iman Shumpert making his Cavs debut, he has only played 23 minutes in his first two games with the Cavs. Meanwhile, Smith has scored 30.46 fantasy points per game over his past seven games with 17.29 points, 4.29 three-pointers and 1.71 steals per game during that stretch. In addition, the Pistons have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing two guards.

SG - O.J. Mayo, Milwaukee Bucks (at MIA), $4,300: Although Mayo hasn't started since Christmas, he has been productive off the bench. In his past eight games, Mayo has averaged 25.97 fantasy points per game (6.03 times tonight's salary) with a minimum of 21.5 (5.0 times tonight's salary). During that span, he has averaged 14.38 points, 2.25 three's and 3.5 assists per game.

SG - Wayne Ellington, Los Angeles Lakers (vs. WAS), $3,900: With Kobe Bryant out of the season, Ellington has now scored at least 20 fantasy points in three consecutive games. His ceiling is relatively low, especially considering the Wizards allow the fewest fantasy points to opposing shooting guards, but Ellington has a good chance to reach value (5x his salary). In addition, there is a good chance that Nick Young (sprained ankle) sits this one out. If he does play, however, here's Swaggy P's thoughts on what the Lakers should do:

Nick Young on what Lakers need to do w/o Kobe: "Pretty much just give me the ball and get out of the way." He laughed as he walked away
— janis carr (@janiscarr) January 26, 2015

SF - Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks (at MIA), $4,900: Luol Deng was one of my favorite value plays tonight, but he's considered doubtful with a sore calf so I'm going with another SF from this game. It's difficult to fully trust Middleton, or any Bucks players with Jason Kidd at the helm, but Middleton has scored 33.25 and 37.25 fantasy points in his past two games, respectively. And before that, Middleton scored at least 21 fantasy points in nine of 10 games.

SF - Paul Pierce, Washington Wizards (at LAL), $4,700: Pierce has played at least 30 minutes and scored a minimum of 28.75 fantasy points in each of his past three games. Meanwhile, the Lakers have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to small forwards this season. Pierce needs just 23.5 fantasy points to reach 5x value and should easily be able to do so.

PF - Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks (vs. MEM), $6,400: Playing fewer minutes than he had for the majority of his career, Nowitzki lacks the upside against one of the best team defenses in the league. That said, Nowitzki has been remarkably consistent with at least 26 fantasy points in 16 consecutive games and an average of 31.77 over that stretch.

PF - Nene Hilario, Washington Wizards (at LAL), $5,400: Nene has an exploitable matchup as the Lakers have allowed eighth-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season. Over his past five games, he has averaged more than 30 fantasy points (30.15) per game.

C - Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto Raptors (at IND), $5,900: More of a tournament play due to his inconsistency, Valanciunas (easy for Barkley to say) now has three double-doubles in his past four games including 20/11 against the Pistons on Sunday. (Too bad he can't play Detroit every day as he had a 31/12 double-double against them on Jan. 12th as well.) That said, the Pacers have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing centers this season.

C - Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat (vs. MIL), $5,800: Playing 25 minutes off the bench on Sunday, Whiteside did maximum damage with his allotment of minutes by posting the rare triple-double with blocked shots. In his past eight games, Whiteside has played at least 24 minutes in four games and he has a double-double (or a triple-double) in all four of those games. The only drawback with him tonight will be his extremely high ownership levels.

C - Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors (vs. CHI), $4,700: Bogut now has at least 34 fantasy points in two of his past three games and he gets a nice matchup against the Bulls, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing centers this season. Even though Bogut gets much of his fantasy points from rebounds and blocks, the Warriors are projected to score the most points in tonight's six-game slate.

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Fantasy NBA DraftKings DFS Values (Jan. 25th)

On Saturday, no player had a higher salary than Portland's Damian Lillard ($9,400) and all of the games had an over-under of 196.0 or less.

What a difference a day makes!

For Sunday's slate of games, we have six different players priced at $10,000 or more with Anthony Davis ($11,100) priced the highest. And nine of the 11 Sunday games have an over-under of at least 200 with the Suns and Clippers leading the way at 222.0.

With an average available salary of $6,250 per player on DraftKings, identifying some values will be key if you're going to fit some of the high-priced studs into your lineup(s).

As usual, we will highlight some players we like that are priced at $6,500 or less in order to help you uncover some value.

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With that said, here are some DraftKings values for Sunday's NBA games:

PG - Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic (vs. IND), $5,500: Payton left Friday's game late with knee soreness and is considered questionable for tonight's game. If he plays, however, Payton has scored at least 28.5 -- and averaged 35.21 -- fantasy points in his past six games. During that span, the rookie has averaged 13.83 points, 8.33 assists, 4.17 rebounds and 2.33 steals per game.

PG - D.J. Augustin, Detroit Pistons (at TOR), $3,200: The devastating injury to Brandon Jennings (Achilles) last night will open up plenty of minutes for Augustin, who moves into the starting point guard spot. Augustin is averaging 0.82 fantasy points per minute and should easily see 30-plus minutes today, which makes him one of the top value plays of the day at any position.

PG - Jerryd Bayless, Milwaukee Bucks (at SA), $3,000: Bayless has played 20-plus minutes with 20-plus fantasy points in each of his past two games. In those two games, Bayless has dished out nine and eight assists, respectively. Bayless provides some salary-cap relief at the position-minimum salary, but I'll have much more Augustin than Bayless today.

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SG - Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards (at DEN), $6,300: Given Beal's inconsistency, he's better suited as a tournament play than for cash games. Over his past eight games, however, Beal has scored at least 26 fantasy points in all six games that he has played at least 30 minutes. During that eight-game span (including the two duds), Beal has averaged 13.38 points, 1.5 three's, 4.5 rebounds, 4.25 assists and a steal per game. Given the favorable matchup against the Nuggets, who allow the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing two guards and rank fourth in the league in pace, Beal has 40-point upside Sunday.

SG - Eric Gordon, New Orleans Pelicans (vs. DAL), $5,700: With Jrue Holiday out for a few more weeks, Gordon should continue to be a strong option although his price is beginning to creep up. Over his past nine games, Gordon has averaged nearly 30 fantasy points (29.64) with an average of 16.3 points, 2.11 three's, 4.78 assists and 3.22 rebounds per game with a steal in eight of those nine games.

SG - Kyle Korver, Atlanta Hawks (vs. MIN), $4,800: As 18.5-point favorites, the Hawks may rest some starters, but the matchup is otherwise as good as it gets. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season than the Timberwolves. Because of the likelihood of a blowout, I'll avoid all of the higher-priced options just in case, but the risk with Korver is relatively low even if he plays only three quarters given his sub-$5,000 salary.

SG - Wayne Ellington, Los Angeles Lakers (vs. HOU), $3,600: With Kobe Bryant out for the rest of the season, Ellington will be one of the biggest beneficiaries. Ellington has 20-plus fantasy points in back-to-back games and should reach value today while providing owners with some salary-cap relief.

SF - Paul Pierce, Washington Wizards (at DEN), $4,600: I almost never play Pierce, but he has been productive in his past two games with at least 31 fantasy points in each. In those two games, he has averaged 16.5 points, 2.5 three's, 9.0 rebounds and a steal per game. Especially for the contests that start at 6 p.m. and therefore exclude LeBron James and Kevin Durant, I'm not crazy about the small forward options today.

SF - P.J. Tucker, Phoenix Suns (vs. LAC), $4,200: As noted earlier, the Suns-Clippers game has today's highest over-under (222.0) and stacking this game is certainly a recommended course of action. Obviously, Tucker is far from the Suns' top option, but he's a cheap way to get additional exposure to a game loaded with this much fantasy upside. Tucker's production tends to be a bit inconsistent, but he has averaged 24.07 fantasy points per game over his past seven games. In addition, he doesn't need to score to be productive as he showed on Wednesday with three real points and 36.75 fantasy points.

PF - Thaddeus Young, Minnesota Timberwolves (at ATL), $6,000: Young had just 21 fantasy points on Friday, but he had scored more than 30 fantasy points in each of his previous four games. Over his past five games, he is averaging 16.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

PF - Nene Hilario, Washington Wizards (at DEN), $5,400: Nene returns to Denver, where he has spent the majority of his career. The Nuggets really struggle to defend bigs as they allow the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards and Nene has been productive recently. Not only does he have at least 20 fantasy points in nine of 10 games, but he has averaged 31.88 over his past four games.

PF - Brandon Bass, Boston Celtics (at GS), $4,400: Whether or not the Celtics are showcasing Bass for a trade, he's become nearly a must-start as long as he's still a Celtic with his low price point. Over his past four games, Bass has averaged 15.75 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.25 assists and 1.25 steals per game. And he's been especially good in his past two games with 38.0 and 43.75 fantasy points, respectively.

PF - Patrick Patterson, Toronto Raptors (vs. DET), $4,000: Patterson has been playing well and even if he doesn't start (although he started the second half on Friday), Two-Patt should be able to reach value. In his past three games, he's averaging 10.67 points and 11.67 boards per game with a total of 11 three-pointers in those three games. (DraftKings offers a bonus for double-doubles and three-pointers.)

C - Marcin Gortat, Washington Wizards (at DEN), $5,500: The Polish Hammer is coming off a sub-par performance (13.75 fantasy points), but he is another Wizard that is a solid value today. As noted with Nene, the Nuggets struggle to defend the low post and they have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing centers.

C - Timofey Mozgov, Cleveland Cavaliers (vs. OKC), $5,200: Mozgov has now posted double-doubles in three consecutive games. During that span, he's averaging 15.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.67 blocked shots and 35.83 fantasy points per game.

C - Alex Len, Phoenix Suns (vs. LAC), $4,600: The potential of early foul trouble against the talented Clippers front court is a concern, but Len has had a couple of productive outings the first two times he has faced the Clippers this season. Even though he had 11 personal fouls in those two games, he has averaged 15.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in 26 minutes per contest.

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Report: Nene out 4-6 weeks with sprained knee

Initially, there were fears that Washington Wizards center Nene Hilario would miss the rest of the season after sustaining a knee injury on Sunday against the Cavs.

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Monday's MRI shows that Nene has a sprained left MCL and he will miss four to six weeks with the injury.

Based on the longer end of that range, that would put Nene's return roughly on or before April 7th. The regular season concludes for the Wizards on April 16th.

Only John Wall (19.7) and Bradley Beal (16.8) are averaging more points per game than Nene (14.2), who is tied with Trevor Ariza for third on the team in scoring. Nene is also third on the team in rebounding behind Marcin Gortat (8.9 rebounds per game) and Ariza (6.5). In addition, he ranks second on the team in blocks (0.92 per game) and third in steals (1.24).

With Nene sidelined, both Trevor Booker and Kevin Seraphin will see more minutes.

Is it "evitable" that the Warriors trade Monta Ellis?

According to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, "it seems inevitable" that the Warriors will trade guard Monta Ellis even though they aren't actively shopping him.

Meanwhile, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that "Ellis' representatives have joined the Warriors in an attempt to find a mutually beneficial destination."

Per Thompson, four players the Warriors have discussed are Rudy Gay of Memphis, Andre Iguodala of Philadelphia, Luol Deng of Chicago and Nene of Denver.

Some of the other players mentioned by Simmons include Atlanta's Josh Smith and Portland's Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum.

While one of Thompson's sources says "it's not close to happening," the Iguodala-to-Warriors option, in particular, is "the one that has legs."

Ellis, who is under contract at $11 million per season for three more years, averaged 24.1 points, 5.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game in 80 games last season. Ellis led the team in scoring and steals and was second in assists behind guard Stephen Curry.