NBA DFS continues full steam ahead again tonight with another nine-game slate. 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, we saw the pay line in FanDuel’s $25k main slate contest was 318.3 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 will give us a lineup different from the masses. Your obvious must-start studs or options are not always mentioned; we try to offer balanced DFS salary options. The fantasy point-per-game averages referenced are those across FanDuel scoring. Who gets the green light from the Coach tonight?
DFS Starting Guards
Malik Monk ($7.6k DraftKings and $7.9k Fanduel)
Malik Monk will be our floor general tonight and start at point guard. There are multiple elite options at point guard, but Monk has a great DFS salary and is set up in a terrific fantasy environment. The Warriors-Kings tilt has a slate top-four implied game total of 237. Monk is averaging 34.16 fantasy points per game, but in his last five, he is at 36.76.
Golden State allows the seventh most fantasy points to the position, and Monk will provide you roster flexibility if you want to use him at shooting guard and plug in a higher-priced fantasy stud. We will also have lineups with Kyrie Irving and Monk together. Irving’s production can not be ignored since the Luka trade.
Stephon Castle ($6.4k DraftKings and $5.8k Fanduel)
We dropped the ball a bit last night by not mentioning Stephon Castle, but with Wembanyama now out for the season, he should be a consistent piece of the Spurs rotation. Castle has a terrific DFS salary, and at his recent production price, we are looking at a 5x-6x player. In the last five outings, he is averaging 32.38 fantasy points per game.
For perspective, that would qualify as an overall Fantasy top-10 shooting guard. San Antonio faces a Detroit defense ranked in the bottom half of the league in points allowed to guards. Castle is another player that affords us roster flexibility and can be slotted into either guard spot.
Substitution Options: Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, Jordan Poole
DFS Starting Forwards
Kyle Kuzma ($6.9k DraftKings and $7.1k Fanduel)
Kyle Kuzma had the usage last night, even with Damian Lillard playing, he still logged 37 minutes. His DFS price tag is still very reasonable, and he has a green light match up against the Wizards, who allow the tenth most points to forwards. Despite last night’s mediocre 18.9 points outing, Kuzma was averaging 32.97 fantasy points per game in his prior three starts. He is eligible to be rostered at both forward spots, and the Bucks-Wizards boast a nice 230 implied game total.
Josh Hart ($7.8k DraftKings and $8k Fanduel)
DFS Starting Center
Jalen Duren ($6.7k DraftKings and $6.9k Fanduel)
The man in the middle tonight will be the Pistons’ Jalen Duren. This guy has been filling it up over an extended period. Duren is averaging 30.44 fantasy points on the season and sits as a top-11 center, in his last four games, that number jumps to 39.3 points and 12.5 boards per game. Duren will face the Spurs minus Wembanyama, who yield the tenth most fantasy points to centers. The Spurs-Pistons have a nice 234 implied game total and a team total just shy of 120.
Substitution Options: Bam Adebayo, Chet Holmgren, Draymond Green, Brook Lopez
DFS Tournament Stacks
Damian Lillard-Kyle Kuzma-Brook Lopez/ Steph Curry-Jimmy Butler-Draymond Green/ Cade Cunningham-Ausar Thompson-Jalen Duren/ Malik Monk-Keegan Murray-Domantis Sabonis
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.
