Wednesday night’s NBA DFS delivers us a huge 14-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 has changed quite a bit since the trade deadline. We see almost nightly examples of last-minute injury designation and load management rest. For reference, last night’s $16k main slate contest pay line on FanDuel was much lower at 270.7 points. We will continue to operate and expect our pay line to be higher output in the low 300s.
The 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 Starting Guards
Jalen Brunson ($8.4k DraftKings and $9k Fanduel)
You can certainly use either one of Gilgeous-Alexander or Cunningham at the one tonight, but we are passing due to their triple-digit salaries. Our decison came dowm to De’Aaron Fox or Jalen Brunson. It will be Brunson who gets the green light and the start at point guard. Firstly, with Brunson coming off last night’s 17.9-point fantasy dud, we are hopeful the masses will stay away from him tonight.
Second, we expect a bounce-back effort this evening versus the Hawks, who allow the 11th most fantasy points to the position. Before last night’s game, Brunson was averaging 48.72 fantasy points in his previous five games, including two 60-point outbursts.
Malik Monk ($7.5k DraftKings and $7.8k Fanduel)
Starting at shooting guard this evening will be the Spur’s Malik Monk. He provides us roster flexibility by being dual guard position eligible and will face the Pelicans, who yield the fourth most points to the position. Monk has been producing above his season average of 33.93 of late, touching the 40-point fantasy mark three times in his last six outings. Monk is playing in an above-average environment tonight, with the Spurs-Celtics game having an implied game total of 233.5.
Substitution Options: De’Aaron Fox, Dyson Daniels, Jordan Poole, Christian Braun
DFS Starting Forwards
Bilal Coulibaly ($6.4k DraftKings and $6.4k Fanduel)
We have to find value in our starting five, and so we go to Washington’s Bilal Coulibaly. We also need exposure to the Pacers-Wizards tilt that has a main slate high 240.5 implied game total. Coulibaly is seeing nice usage after Kyle Kuzma was traded to the Bucks. In his last five games, he is averaging 36 minutes per game and 34.64 fantasy points. He is not only set up with an expected high game total, but the Pacers allow the third most points to small forwards.
Keegan Murray ($5.3k DraftKings and $5.8k Fanduel)
The green light and starting at power forward is the King’s Keegan Murray. At the price point and recent production, we are in. Murray has multiple factors in his favor. First, he will play in the slate’s third-highest implied game total at 238.5. Next, he will face the Pelicans, who rank 26th in points allowed to forwards, lastly, in Murray’s last two games, he has scored 72.1 fantasy points.
Substitution Options: Evan Mobley, Josh Hart, Kyshawn George, Precious Achiuwa
DFS Starting Center
Bobby Portis ($6.9k DraftKings and $8.1k Fanduel)
Our decision at the center position to roster Bobby Portis is directly correlated to Giannis being declared out. Sunday night, with no Giannis in the lineup, Portis delivered a 41.1 fantasy output. Portis lines up against the Timberwolves, who allow the 11th most fantasy points to centers, and Portis’ has a reasonable DFS price tag. He is a double-double threat tonight and eligible at power forward as well. A second option in your build is to slot Portis in as your power forward and start Detroit’s Jalen Duren at center. Duren is priced at just $6.8k and also has a green light match-up.
Substitution Options: Nikola Jokic, Jalen Duren, Kristaps Porzingis, Jarrett Allen
DFS Tournament Stacks
Jalen Brunson-Josh Hart-Precious Achiuwa/Cade Cunningham-Ausar Thompson-Jalen Duren/Malik-Monk-Keegan Murray-Domantis Sabonis/Luka Doncic-LeBron James-Jaxson Hayes
Final Thoughts
Our substitution options are additional green light options, providing 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.
