One of the top performers for Tuesday’s slate saw Tyrese Maxey drop 43 points in a winning effort against the red hot Los Angeles Lakers, which headlined only a four game slate yesterday evening. On Wednesday, there will be 22 teams in action – which includes the 76ers on the second tilt of their back-to-back.
Here is a closer look at some my NBA DFS picks for the Wednesday, January 29, 2025, slate of games.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Warriors
One player who is firmly in the MVP conversation – arguably the front runner – on the young season is the star point guard of the Oklahoma City Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – who is leading the league in scoring at 32.1 points per game.
As impressive as SGA’s entire campaign has been this season, his last five games have arguably been the best six game stretch of this campaign. Gilgeous-Alexander has scored a minimum of 27 points in all five games, but does include a 54-point outing against the Utah Jazz and a 40-point performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Gilgeous-Alexander is an elite play that needs to be in your lineup regardless of the cost.
Jayson Tatum vs. Bulls
One will certainly need to keep an eye on the injury status of Jaysum Tatum’s knee injury that he picked up on Monday against the Houston Rockets, but he still draws a favorable matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
Tatum played 42 minutes on Monday, which makes me optimistic that he’ll still see the floor against the Bulls tonight.
If you look at Tatum’s production on the floor against the Bulls this year, you’ll quickly realize he needs to be in your lineup. In three games against Chicago this season, Tatum has averaged 36.3 points and 13.0 rebounds – which does include on triple-double back on December 21.
Again, make sure Tatum is a go for tonight. If he is, play him with confidence.
Tyrese Maxey vs. Kings
As mentioned in the intro, Tyrese Maxey was outstanding last night against the Lakers with 43 points on 57.7% shooting from the field, which included four triples. In fact, he has knocked down 4+ threes in four of his last five contests on high volume shooting.
Maxey may not be the elite faciliator of some of the other top scorers in the league, but he is still averaging six dimes per game over the last week. Speaking of the last seven days, no player has a higher scoring average than Maxey’s 34.3 points per game.
With the Sixers still banged up with Joel Embiid and Paul George dealing with innjuries, Maxey is still a great fantasy option against a Sacramento Kings defense that is allowing 114.6 points per game.
Cade Cunningham vs. Pacers
Ths may feel like a sentence that hasn’t been said in quite a while, but the Detroit Pistons are playing .500 ball into late January.
One of the biggest reasons why is the play of Cade Cunningham, who has been averaging 24.8 points, 9.4 assists, and 6.4 rebounds on the season in his breakout campaign.
While those numbers are very encouraging, Cunningham has actually ramped up his scoring over the last week, where he has been averaging 28.5 while still averaging nine dimes per contest.
A matchup against the Pacers isn’t a cupcake matchup on paper for opposing backcourts, but I’m willing to ride the hot hand in Cunningham with Indiana potentially without Andrew Nembhard for tonight’s contest due to injury.
Nikola Jokic vs. Knicks
In six of his last eight contests, Nikola Jokic has registered a triple-double – which shouldn’t be all that surprising he is averaging a triple-double on the season.
Ironically enough though, Jokic had one of his least productive fantasy outings of the entire season against the Knicks back on November 25th with just 22 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists – which all significantly lower than his season averages of 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The Knicks defense has been one of the stingiest units against opposing centers this season by giving up an average of just 49.4 fantasy points per game – which is the third lowest mark in the league this year.
Yet, I don’t see a superstar like Jokic laying an egg at Madison Square Garden in this contest. Fade him at your own risk.
NBA DFS Picks for Wednesday, January 29