Tuesday night’s NBA DFS journey brings us a much smaller four-game slate in the association. The Coach is here with his starting five to give 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. Who gets the green light from the Coach tonight?
DFS Guards
Cade Cunningham ($10.5k DraftKings and $10.5k Fanduel)
Sometimes, you have to spend money to make money, and that is why the green light goes to Cade Cunnigham tonight. The Piston’s point guard is set up tonight to face the Bull’s defense that allows the third most output to the point guard position. In addition, the Raptors-Pistons game has a very fantasy-friendly 238.5 implied game total. Cunningham is a nightly triple-double threat, averaging 48.11 points per game, and in his last six games played, his average goes up to 55.15 a game. We hate the triple-digit DFS price tag but love the situation for Cunningham tonight.
Josh Giddey ($7.3k DraftKings and $7.2k Fanduel)
Playing opposite Cunningham tonight and starting at the shooting guard position is Josh Giddey. He is priced in the mid-tier range and has been rolling of late. In his last five games, Giddey has been producing 37.63 points per game, which is above his 32.76 season average. He is dual-guard eligible and will benefit from the same fantasy environment as Cunningham tonight. The Coach is green-lighting Giddey versus the Pistons, who are yielding the eight most points to the shooting guard spot.
Substitution Options: Tyrese Maxey, Colby White, Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson
DFS Forwards
Grayson Allen ($4.9k DraftKings and $4.9k Fanduel)
At the three spot, we will pay down to Grayson Allen. Bradley Beal has already been declared out with a toe injury, so Allen should get back to his recent usage. Allen did miss Saturday’s game versus Denver, but in his prior three games, he was seeing 33 minutes and 29.3 fantasy points. If we can get to that output this evening, we are looking at a 6x DFS player. Allen provides us flexibility by being shooting guard eligible, and for us to roster Cunningman, we have to find some major value in other parts of our roster builds.
Jaren Jackson ($8.1k DraftKings and $8.5k Fanduel)
We have to be invested in the main slate’s highest implied game total of 244.5 tonight, and Jarren Jackson gives us a nice piece of it. Jackson is the fantasy overall SF4, also eligible to start at center, and will face the Suns, who allow the third most fantasy points per game to power forward. Jackson has been totaling 45.83 points per game in his last five contests, five points above his seasonal average.
Substitution Options: Desmond Bane, Kevin Durant, Josh Hart, Royce O’Neale, OG Anunoby
DFS Center
Jalen Duren ($6.6k DraftKings and $6.8k Fanduel)
We can pay down a bit for our five-man and still get a green light match-up. Jalen Duren has been smashing his DFS salary of late, producing 37.92 fantasy points a game over his last six outings. Over those same six games, he is pulling down nearly 12 boards a game. That is a big get for us with the 1.2x FanDuel rebounding bonus.
Substitution Options: Santi Aldama, Joel Embid (GTD)
DFS Tournament Stacks
Cade Cunningham-Tobias Harris-Jalen Duran/Jalen Brunson-Josh Hart-KAT/Ja Morant-Desmond Bane-Jaren Jackson/Tyrese Maxey-Tobias Harris-Joel Embid
Final Thoughts
Our substitution options are additional green light options and provide our readers flexibility within your builds. We need a balance of studs and players 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. The FanDuel main slate contest lobby does not include tonight’s Suns-Jazz game. Please always double-check our recommendations and your roster builds once line-ups are finalized for late inactives.
