Thursday night’s NBA DFS brings us a much smaller 5-game slate in the association. The Coach is here with his starting five and 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. For reference, last night’s $12k main slate contest pay line on FanDuel jumped to 333.2 points. We will continue to operate and expect our pay line to be in the 300s.
The starting lineup is designed to provide core players with which to construct your DFS builds. 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
James Harden ($9.2k DraftKings and $9.4k Fanduel)
It has to be James Harden and the high price tag starting at point guard tonight. With Kawhi Leonard already declared out, Harden should have a tremendous usage rate. The offense should flow through Harden tonight, and he is in the midst of a three-game stretch averaging 46.23 fantasy points and 12.3 dimes per game. Harden rates at the overall SG2 but is point guard eligible and lines up to face the Jazz, who ranked 29th in points allowed to the position.
Malik Monk ($7.7k DraftKings and $7.8k Fanduel)
Malik Monk, dual guard eligible, will be a starter again tonight and slot in as our shooting guard. He gets a green-light matchup playing in the slate’s highest-implied game at 235.5 and faces the Pelicans, who allow the fourth most fantasy points to the position. Monk provided us with decent production last night, scoring 31.8 points, but we are expecting a better output tonight, playing in a fantasy-friendly environment. Sacramento also boasts the main slate’s highest implied team total of 122 points.
Substitution Options: Jalen Green, Tyler Herro, Collin Sexton (GTD), Jose Alvarado
DFS Starting Forwards
Dillon Brooks ($4.9k DraftKings and $5k Fanduel)
We need a DFS value play for our starting five, and Brooks will be it. Brooks plays in a green light setup against Golden State, who allows the third most points to forwards. He is eligible to be rostered at both small forward and shooting guard, giving us the coveted roster flexibility. Brooks is averaging 35 minutes and 24.32 fantasy points per game in his last five games. We are looking at a potential 5-6x player in our builds if he can continue that trend.
Zion Williamson ($DraftKings and $8.8k Fanduel)
Starting Zion Williamson at power forward gives us another piece of the Kings-Pelicans game. Zion has the green light match-up against Sacramento, who yields the third most fantasy points to forwards. With Zion, it is always about availability, and he has been of late. In his last four contests, he has produced 45.5 fantasy points per game and, like Malik Monk, will be playing in a terrific fantasy environment.
DFS Starting Center
Draymond Green ($6k DraftKings and $6.3k Fanduel)
Substitution Options: Albert Sengun, Domantis Sabonis, Bam Adebayo
DFS Tournament Stacks
Malik Monk-Zach Levine-Domantis Sabonis/ Jose Alvardo-CJ McCollum-Zion Williamson/ James Harden-Norman Powell-Ivica Zubac
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 at least 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.
