Our NBA DFS journey continues with a huge 11-game slate in the association this evening. The Coach is here to unveil his starting five and give his authentic insight from ‘inside the ropes’. The NBA’s daily fantasy landscape continues to change, especially as we approach the league’s trade deadline. We see almost nightly examples of last-minute injury designation and load management rest. For reference, last night’s $12k main slate contest pay line on FanDuel was 325.1 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
Trae Young ($9.6k DraftKings and $9.2k Fanduel)
The point guard spot is crucial, he is the floor general and an extension of the head coach. Trae Young will be that player for us tonight. Despite the difficult match-up statistically, Young plays in the game with the slate’s highest implied game total of 240. He is the overall PG4 and producing 43.89 fantasy points per game. Young is also on a mini-heater, scoring 106.6 points in his last two contests and dishing out 26 dimes. Vegas is expecting the Hawks-Spurs to be a track meet, and we need to have pieces of that within our DFS roster builds.
Josh Giddey ($7.1k DraftKings and $7.5k Fanduel)
Josh Giddey has taken off of late in the absence of Zach Levine, and he will hold down the two-guard spot tonight. He lines up versus the Timberwolves, who allow the third most fantasy points to shooting guards, and over his last five games, is averaging 37.5 fantasy points per game and nearly seven assists. He is a terrific mid-tier priced option and point-eligible. This allows us, if need be, the flexibility to plug Giddey in as our point and roster Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels as the two-guard.
Substitution Options: Dyson Daniels, Steph Curry, CJ McCollum, Ja Morant
DFS Forwards
Jayden McDaniels ($6.5k DraftKings and $6.6k Fanduel)
Jayden McDaniels is a terrific value play tonight at $6.6k and has been smashing his DFS price salary. In his last two games, he is averaging 49.9 fantasy points and tonight faces a Chicago defense ranked just 19th in points allowed to small forwards. McDaniels’ season average stands at 25.87 points a game, but over the last five, that number has climbed to 34.88. His recent fantasy production has been paying 7x his salary and he gives us another dual-position player in our starting five. Minnesota has the slate’s third-highest implied team total on the main slate at 119.25.
Guerschon Yabusele ($6k DraftKings and $6.3k Fanduel)
The power forward green light this evening goes to Philadelphia’s Guerschon Yabusele. Joel Embid is already declared out tonight on the second night of the back-to-back, so that frees us to pay down at the five spot. Yabusele has been very productive of late averaging 34.5 points per game, well above his season average of 23.14. Similar to Jayden McDaniels, he has been smashing his DFS salary making him another great value play. Yabuselse is averaging 35 minutes a game in the last three games and that included a game with Embid in the lineup.
Substitution Options: Tobias Harris, Andrew Wiggins, Paola Banchero
DFS Centers
Nikola Jokic ($12.8k DraftKings and $13k Fanduel)
The man in the middle with the major green light will be Nikola Jokic. Not a lot needs to be said to convince a recommendation of Jokic in your DFS builds, but a major one is his game environment. Denver plays in the game with the highest implied team total of 240, and the Nuggets have the highest implied team total of 124.75. In addition, New Orleans yields the tenth most points for the center position. Jokic is the overall fantasy C1, a nightly triple-double threat, and averages 64.86 fantasy points per game. We hate the price tag but love the player and situation!
Substitution Options: Jarren Jackson, Evan Mobley, Walker Kessler
DFS Tournament Stacks
Jamal Murray-Aaron Gordon-Jamal Murray/Cade Cunningham-Tobias Harris-Malik Beasley/Trae Young-Dyson Daniels-Onyeka Okongwu/ Ja Morant-Luke Kennard-Jaren Jackson
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 always double-check our recommendations and your roster builds once line-ups are finalized for late inactives.
