We are back to work in our NBA DFS journey with a seven-game slate in the association on tap for tonight. The Coach is here with his starting five to give authentic insight from ‘inside the ropes’. NBA daily fantasy can be very frustrating, with nightly examples of last-minute injury designation, load management, and consistent lineup fluxation. For a reference point, we have seen the main slate pay line on FanDuel between 275-300 points. This gives us a targeted baseline for our player recommendations within our player recommendations.
Our starting lineup is designed to provide core players with which to construct your DFS lineups. We strive for players who have the potential to be less owned and give us a lineup different from the masses. The fantasy point-per-game averages referenced are those across FanDuel scoring rules. Who gets the green light from the Coach tonight?
DFS Guards
James Harden ($9.3k DraftKings and $9.4k Fanduel)
At point guard, James Harden will get the green light from the Coach tonight. His usage makes him a nightly triple-double threat and this evening, he matches up against the Hornest defense giving up the the tenth most fantasy points guard position. He is currently the overall fantasy SG2 but has point guard eligibility on FanDuel. Harden’s season average sits at 42.92 fantasy points per game but has been even better of late. Across his last four contests, he has upped that to 52.16 per game and perhaps just as important, just under 11 dimes per game.
Klay Thompson ($5.3k DraftKings and $5.5k Fanduel)
At the shooting guard spot, we can save some salary and roster Klay Thompson. He has a respectable 23.16 per game fantasy average but lines up in a nice spot tonight versus the Pistons. Detroit is allowing the third most points per game to shooting guards and the Mavs-Pistons game has a very friendly 229.5 implied game total. Klay sees about 25 minutes per game and has bumped his production to 28.35 fantasy points per game in his last two contests. Priced at just $5.5k, he will only need 27.5 fantasy points to pay 5x his salary.
Substitution Options: Jamal Murray, Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon, Colby White
DFS Forwards
Kelly Oubre ($6.3k DraftKings and $7.3k Fanduel)
We need some flexibility and a mid-tier priced DFS option at small forward, and we found one with Kelly Oubre. He has dual position eligibility and is priced right. Oubre currently sits at 28.24 fantasy points per game and faces the Nuggets defense that allows the fourth most points to forwards.
We need some equity in the as the Nuggets-Sixers game boasts one of the slate’s highest implied game totals. Oubre has benefited from Philadelphia’s rash of injuries, scoring 40.95 fantasy points per game in his previous four contests. If he can sustain his recent production he will pay about 6x of his DFS salary.
Kawhi Leonard ($6.9k DraftKings and $7k Fanduel)
At power forward the green light goes to Kawhi tonight with a match-up versus Charlotte that yields the ninth most fantasy points to the forward spot. If they are going to keep his DFS salary this low for the time being we have to use him. Leonard has been working himself back since his return to action on January 23rd, but the fantasy production has been there. In his last three games, Kawhi is averaging 32.8 fantasy points per game and we know what his ceiling can be.
Substitution Options: Josh Okogie, Guerschon Yabusele, Malik Beasley
DFS Center
Jalen Duren ($6.2k DraftKings and $6.5k Fanduel)
We see some nice value in plugging Jalen Duren into the center spot tonight. Duren lines up with the Mavericks defense ranked 24th in fantasy points allowed to the center spot and he is getting good usage of late. He is seeing about 30 minutes per game and in his last five contests is scoring 36.6 points per game. Duren has been a horse on the glass, during the same five-game stretch he is pulling down 12 rebounds per game. Based on his DFS price tag, it’s a green light play!
Substitution Options: Kristaps Porzingis, Moussa Diabate, Luke Kornet (If Horford is out), Nikola Vucevic
DFS Tournament Stacks
Cade Cunningham-Tobias Harris-Jalen Duren/ James Harden-Kawhi Leonard-Norman Powell/ Jamal Murray-Russell Westbrook-Nikola Jokic/ Colby White-Josh Giddey-Nikola Vucevic
Final Thoughts
As we stated earlier, we are trying to find player options projected for low ownership and value. Pay attention to implied game totals and try to get pieces of those games within your lineup construction. The top DFS builds will consist of the right balance between studs and value players that pay 2x-5x their DFS salaries. Good luck with your DFS builds and please like and follow us on social media. Please double-check our recommendations once line-ups are finalized for any late inactives.
