NBA DFS heads to Friday night with an eight-game slate. The Coach is here with his starting five and authentic insight from ‘inside the ropes.’ The NBA’s fantasy landscape changes daily with nightly examples of last-minute injury designation and load management. Last night’s FanDuel $10k main slate pay line was down to its normal range at 310.4 points. We continue to be right there with yesterday’s starting five yielding 177.5 fantasy points.
The starting lineup is designed to provide a core five as you begin to construct your DFS builds. We strive to recommend players who have the potential to be less owned and build a DFS roster different from the masses. Your obvious studs are not always mentioned and the fantasy point-per-game averages referenced are those across FanDuel scoring. Who gets into the Coach’s starting five tonight?
DFS Starting Guards
Keon Ellis ($4.4k DraftKings and $5.1k Fanduel)
With Malik Monk already declared out, Keon Ellis will man the point guard spot tonight. Ellis played well in Monk’s absence Wednesday against the Nuggets posting 34.9 fantasy points. He will be playing in a green light match up versus Spurs who allow the seventh most points to the position. In addition, Ellis will play in the main slate’s third highest implied game total set of 236 and Sacramento possesses a hefty 121 implied team total.
Stephon Castle ($6.2k DraftKings and $6.4k Fanduel)
Our starting backcourt will come within the same game this evening. Stephon Castle can be used in either guard spot but will start at shooting guard tonight. Castle, despite the presence of Malik Monk and Chris Paul, appears to be staking a claim to the Spurs’ back court. With Monk already declared out, Castle becomes an even better DFS value play. He is in the middle of a four-game stretch averaging 40.73 fantasy points. 5.5 rebounds and 5.25 assists per game. Rostering both Castle and Ellis in our DFS builds, frees us to spend up in our frontcourt.
Bench Options: Ja Morant, De’Aaron Fox, Jamal Murray, Spencer Dinwiddie
DFS Starting Forwards
Kevin Durant ($8.9k DraftKings and $9.3k Fanduel)
Bradley Beal and his friendly DFS price tag continue to be under starting consideration, but he is again a GTD and coming off Tuesday night’s game where he played just 14 minutes. Therefore, we will move to Kevin Durant and slot him in as our three man. KD is averaging 44.25 fantasy points per game and ranks as the overall PF6 but possesses DFS flexibility, allowing us to start him at small forward. Durant is as steady as they come, seeing 38 minutes and 44.58 fantasy points across his last five games. On top of that, the Suns-Nuggets 238.5 implied game total ranks second best on the main slate.
Evan Mobley ($8.1k DraftKings and $8.5k Fanduel)
At power forward, it will be Cleveland’s Evan Mobley this evening. The Cavs-Hornets is another game we want exposure to, sporting a fantasy friendly 234 implied game total. Mobley is green lighted against a Charlotte defense yielding the third most fantasy points to the power forwards. He averages just under 40 fantasy points and 9 rebounds per game on the year and should have his way with the Hornets frontcourt. The blowout concern is always there with Charlotte, but as stated earlier this week, the Hornets are a very competitive 29-28 ATS this season.
DFS Starting Center
Walker Kessler ($6.6k DraftKings and $7.2k Fanduel)
John Collins is out again with the back injury, making Walker Kessler a great value play. Kessler should see a minute’s bump and is producing 35.67 fantasy points per game. In his last seven games, he has averaged 38.77 fantasy points and 13.14 rebounds a game. That production makes him a potential 5x-6x DFS player. Kessler is set up in a green light environment versus the Raptors who rank bottom 10 in fantasy output to centers.
Bench Options: Nikola Jokic, Jonas Valanciunas, Santa Aldama (GTD) or Zach Edey, Bismack Biyumbo
DFS Tournament Stacks
Keon Ellis-DeMar DeRozan or Zach LaVine-Jonas Valanciunas/ De’Aaron Fox-Stephon Castle-Bismack Biyumbo/ Jamal Murray-Michael Porter-Nikola Jokic/ Ja Morant-Desmond Bane-Santi Aldama or Zach Edey
Final Thoughts
The bench options provide followers, similar to a coach, with additional green light options, injury replacements, and flexibility for your DFS builds. Pay attention to implied team and game totals and try to get roster exposure to those games. Top DFS builds will consist of the right balance between studs and value players that pay at least 5x-7x their DFS salaries. Good luck with your roster builds, and please like and follow us on social media. Double-check our recommendations and your builds once line-ups are finalized for late inactives.
