GAME INFORMATION
When: Monday, January 21 at 2 pm Eastern Time
Where: Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.
TV: NBC Sports Washington
DFS Start: Zaza Pachulia
Andre Drummond Out
Zaza Pachulia will enter the starting lineup in place of Andre Drummond, who is dealing with a nasal injury while going through the concussion protocol. The veteran Center who has been more than reliable to be a high exposure play when injuries occur. Zaza Pachulia destroyed his expectations Saturday as he played 35 minutes on the second half of a back to back set. He is not a high fantasy point per minute type of player but with how bad the Washington Wizards are defensively he is going to have a lot of easy rebound put-back opportunities.
Gameplan
With Andre Drummond out there is a ton of usage and volume to be filled in the paint. Zaza Pachulia could see a season-high in rebounds in what looks to be a very favorable matchup because he is a specialist in getting boards. Andre Drummond has been a defensive monster in the paint as of this season given that he allows the worst field goal percentage inside the paint and it is mainly because of his presence as a shot blocker.
Fantasy Analysis
In 34 games this season, Zaza Pachulia has averaged 4.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 13.6 minutes. The expectation for today is a double-double stat line in a game where The Detroit Pistons look to extend their chances at playoff contention against a Washington Wizards team that has been fighting for everything as of late. A loss would cause the Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons to be tied for ninth place in the Eastern Conference so there is a lot at stake.
DraftKings Expert Optimization
The floor projection for Zaza is 20.00 with a ceiling of 32.00. Rotogrinders has the projection at a whopping 31.36 while Draftkings Playbook has him at 20.50. His average DraftKings points over the past ten games have been 16.55 but that is with limited usage of 17.7 minutes per game.
It would not be surprising at all to see him come out as the top fantasy play per dollar spent across all DFS lineups. Start him and do it with confidence!
Other Players to Consider
$5800 O.Porter, SF, WAS
$4400 C.Sexton, PG, CLE
$3700 J.Isaac, SF, ORL
$3700 C.Hutchinson, SF, CHI
$7900 J.Nurkic, C, POR
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